We’ve been talking with VFF board member Ali Zimmer for a while now about offering a series of walks that tap and share her extensive knowledge of medicinal and edible wild plants. Coronavirus changed those plans, but Ali quickly suggested a different means of sharing the abundance and beauty of all the spring unfoldings happening right now in the forest, while following safety precautions that keep our community healthy during the current pandemic.

And so we bring you what we hope is the first of several virtual forays into the woods. The video below is just 11 minutes long, but is packed with Ali’s woods wisdom. She’ll introduce you to four wildflowers–wild ginger, hepatica, dandelion, and coltsfoot– that are blooming now in and around the forest and suggest ways to gather them that leave them and the whole forest community healthy and robust.

We’re planning to continue to make short videos like this one as the spring unfolds, to help you explore the spring ephemerals in your own nearby woods. We’ll focus on new species in each video. Let us know what you think!