Lauren Imhof is a program specialist at Lower Shore Land Trust under the AmeriCorps program. She is currently a senior at Salisbury University (SU), double majoring in Environmental Studies and Economics. She previously ran a show with SU’s WXSU called Deep Dives with Lauren, where every week she deep-dived into a new topic curating music to match. Lauren is passionate about combining her creative passions and environmental knowledge to connect with her community and show others the importance of preserving our local landscapes.
RUSSO: The Lower Eastern Shore is a hotspot for many things; farming, tourism, and outdoor activities like foraging. I'm Bryan Russo. Many still practice the age old tradition of exploring forests and meadows for plants and mushrooms they can incorporate into their regular diets. In a new segment, we're calling "Conservation Conversations", Lauren Imhof introduces us to a local woman who incorporates foraging into her business and her life.
ELYSE: It's interesting that Europe actually brought this over as a food source, so it's not native to the area. They brought it over and then now it's just so curious to me that everyone tries to kill it, and it's like one of the most potent healing tools we have in our own yard.
IMHOF: This is Amanda Elyse, co-owner of Meadowlands Retreat and Nectar. Today we are walking through the warm November sun and crunchy leaves on our property in Princess Anne. I had prepped for a journey into the property's surrounding trees, but the real adventure was in her own backyard. She led me to a small bush, or in its shade, laid our treasure, a humble dandelion.
ELYSE: Now, this isn't a native herb plant, but this was brought over from the Europeans, and the dandelion was used in Asia and Europe for medicinal components, but also edible components.
IMHOF: What some people might call a weed is actually a versatile ingredient. Amanda says that in warmer seasons you can steam the leaves, make wine with the flowers, or use both fresh in a salad. But in the current colder season, the true gold lies in the dandelions root.
ELYSE: So yeah, you can roast this, chop it up, wash it, chop it up, roast it, and then make a tea, and it makes a really yummy coffee alternative that's bitter. So it'll start to stimulate digestion where coffee can actually hurt your digestion.
IMHOF: Using her hands to dig through the soil, Amanda explained how dandelion roots are powerfully beneficial to both the environment and our bodies.
ELYSE: So cool thing about dandelion is if it comes up in your yard, it's because it's trying to take calcium from down below and bring it up. And so when the dandelion dies back in the spring after it has bloomed and everything, it provides calcium to the other plants to actually be able to use. Dandelion helps with relieving things like acne, eczema, stuff like that. Because its helping clear out the liver, it also helps to strengthen your body. So it's super rich in minerals, especially right now in the fall because all of the energy that will be used in the spring to make flowers is actually in the roots right now.
IMHOF: It's important to note proper practices when foraging. For roots, it is best to pick plants that are a few years old to ensure the plant is developed, and if you want to harvest larger batches, aim to only take a third of the plants in the area. Although for Amanda, proper foraging includes not just ecological practices, but spiritual as well.
ELYSE: So I came out here yesterday and inspected my yard and asked this plant permission if I could pick it for today. And then, so you just can kind of just sit with the plant and you'll hear a yes or a no. For me, my yes was that this is the only one that made itself obvious until today.
IMHOF: The idea that physical practices echo spiritual ideals is a tale as old as time. Amanda recounted a folktale symbolizing the lifecycle of the dandelion. The yellow blooms representing the lion or the sun are full of life and energy, but just as the sun sets the blooms do too. Leaving an old man or the moon, whether a lion, old man or weedy ingredient dandelions serve as a reminder that inspiration, adventure and healing are closer than you think. In fact, they may even be growing in your own backyard. For Delmarva Public Media, I'm Lauren Imhof.
RUSSO: Conservation Conversations is a partnership between Delmarva Public Media and the Lower Shore Land Trust. To learn more, visit lowershoreland trust.org or delmarvapublicmedia.org.
