Grace Hooley | Echo
In the age of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, buying organic has never been so trendy. Actually foraging for food in the wilderness? A little less trendy. But you can't get more organic than right out of the woods.
Junior David Aronson often rides his bike into the woods behind Randall, studying unique plants and food you can harvest right on Taylor's campus. On his quests, Aronson has found apples, black raspberries, elderberries, strawberries, grapes, mayapples, olives and even green, seedy fruits called pawpaws.
If you look closely, there are different plant species everywhere. Aronson has recorded the oxalis, toothwart, waterleaf, violet, spring beet and garlic mustard. He recommends the acres behind Randall and the forest by Taylor Lake as the best spots to look.
Senior Helen Wilbers also enjoys looking for food in the Taylor Wilderness.
"I mostly go for plants," Wilbers said. "There are also a lot of wild grapes on the sides of country roads."
Wilbers and her roommate made jelly out of the wild grapes she found, but had some trouble getting it to set.
"I didn't put enough pectin in," she said. "But I'm going to try again."
Wilbers believes the best way to discover the hidden gems of Taylor Wilderness is to just go out and take a walk. She suggests that those exploring should stay on Taylor property and wear jeans to protect their legs from scrapes. But both Wilbers and Aronson believe not a lot of gear is needed when braving the Taylor wild.
"Just have fun with it," Aronson says. "I go with a couple biology friends of mine, and it's a really fun way to just hang out and be in nature."
There is a garden by Randall, but it's often forgotten about by Taylor students. Aronson and Wilbers would love to see more students involved, but it's hard when everyone is already so busy.
Last year, Wilbers made a class proposal for some trails to be made within the woods, making the wilderness a little more inviting for students. Taylor offers various environmental science classes, but Aronson and Wilbers argue the best way to learn about natural food is to forage it yourself.
So if the DC isn't cutting it for you, maybe consider cutting it yourself . . . in the wild.
