A day in the park
Sunday June 28th I had to pleasure of waking up (relatively) early, lathering on sunscreen, and sporting my sneakers as I ventured over to Prospect Park for Green Edge NYC’s Urban Foraging with Leda Meredith. It was an absolutely beautiful morning and the time just flew by! The twenty(-ish) person group–composed mainly of Brooklynites–was friendly and full of interesting stories. We walked throughout the park while Leda stopped to point out various edible plants found in the middle of Brooklyn. Personal favorites include:
Linden
Day Lilies
June Berries
Before becoming a botanist, Leda was a professional ballet dancer. In quick biography at the end of our tour, Leda mentioned that her career transition was made possible by a nonprofit organization called Career Transition For Dancers, which sounds like an amazing program! As we sat under a tree passing around her book, Botany, Ballet and Dinner from Scratch: A Memoir with Recipes, we got to sample some of Leda’s homemade Juneberry & Mullberry Preserves (both of which are found in the Park!). Delicious!

(photo via Leda Meredith)
More on the Green Edge Collaborative NYC: The Green Edge Collaborative NYC is “a social network that connects people with businesses, organizations and the resources they need to build a sustainable future.” In addition to Urban Foraging tours, Green Edge hosts a number of supper clubs as well as a film series in addition to managing a community calendar.
Check back when I post some more photos from the forage!