I wanted to let my readers know about this wonderful online resource, Nature Skills. I found it through the Wilderness Awareness School website. One of my life goals is to attend a program like this, they also offer a home-study program, but until then I’ve been taking advantage of the free e-courses offerded through Nature Skills. The “Tourist Test” alone will engage me for a long time (so many questions I never would have thought to ask!). I just signed up for the Wild Plant Identification e-course. Between this and the informal yoga teacher training I am taking with my yoga teacher friend I shall be pretty busy.
Common Snowberry (symphoricarpos albus)
My latest wild plant obsession is the Common Snowberry, a native deciduous shrub belonging to the honeysuckle family. The berries are an important food source for many birds, including quail, grouse, pheasant, and cedar waxwings, especially in the winter as the fruit is produced in the fall and winter–although I’m sure the berries get eaten up fairly quickly). And now I’m off to the garden centre to buy one! (50% off plants today so we’ll see if they have any–it’s listed on their website). I may also get Winterberry ‘Winter Red’ but I’d have to get a male and female and I don’t have a lot of money right now, so we’ll see!
Common Snowberry
