bushcraft in canada

[canadianwildman]

I was just wondering if you guys know anything about wild food and the uses of trees in canada.
I would also be great if you got a website it would be great.

 

[JonnyP]

I was just wondering if you guys know anything about wild food and the uses of trees in canada.
I would also be great if you got a website it would be great.

Anything in particular you want to know...

 

[canadianwildman]

I want to learn about wild food

 

[spamel]

A lot of the plants and food stuffs are similar to what we have here in UK, but the enviornment may dictate where they grow. Mors Kochanski has a great book for use in the bush, as he is Canadian I'd assume it would be particularly pertinent to your neck of the woods!

 

[xylaria]

The canandian government have excellant information on toxicolgy of plants, in my opinion it is some of the best researched on the web.

http://www.scib.gc.ca/pls/pp/ppack.list?p_sci=sci&p_type=all&p_x=px

http://nativetech.org/recipes/

http://www.ontariowildflower.com/shrub.htm#chokecherry

There is a lot information on the various first nation sites on canadian bushcraft, and wild foods, do a search on the name of your local tribes and nation.

http://www.littleflowers.biz/medicinal_plants

 

[Mungo]

Hello,

I live in Toronto - and on the weekend I bought a Peterson's guide to medicinal plants of the Eastern/Central region of North America. It is a brilliant guide, but I am more interested in edible plants and when I searched for another guide like it, I was pleasantly surprised to find this book - Peterson's Guide to edible plants... $14 Cdn.

If it is as good as the medicinal plants book, then I would highly recommend it... I intend to buy it this weekend!

"From the Publisher
More than 370 edible wild plants, plus 37 poisonous look-alikes, are described here, with 400 drawings and 78 color photographs showing precisely how to recognize each species. Also included are habitat descriptions, lists of plants by season, and preparation instructions for 22 different food uses."

Good luck and let me know if you decide to get it!

Cheers,

Mungo

 

[Yonderer]

Depending, of course, on your location. I'm in Alberta, so I would recommend Albertans pick up a copy of Northern Bushcraft (I believe it's been re-titled Bushcraft) by Mors Kochanski, and also his handbook 21 Native Wild Edible Plants. Both are available from Karamat Wilderness Ways (I have absolutely no affiliation with them or any of the others I'm recommending). They can be reached online at http://www.karamat.com/ .

NATURALLY: Medicinal Herbs and Edible Plants of the Canadian Rockies by Rick Langshaw, available from Summerthought Ltd. of Banff Alberta.

Plants of the Western Boreal Forest & Aspen Parklands from Lone Pine Publishing www.lonepinepublishing.com .

Also, Tom Brown's Field Guide To Wilderness Survival lists plants that are common all over North America. As do the other books I've listed.

HTH.

 

[PaleoHunterGatherer]

Canadianwildman, I second Mungo and Yonderers choices. Peterson field guides are great,like Mungo says the books on Edible and Medicinal plants are well worth the money. As a matter of fact, I'm likely going to have to buy them both again new, as my originals are in tatters from constant use over the last dozen years or so. And as Yonderer mentioned Northern Bushcraft is pretty much indispensable, especially if you're in a part of Canada with Boreal Forest(I'm guessing 1/2 of Canada )
Good luck in your search.
Cheers
Alex

 

[Grey Owl]

It is fantastic to see so many Canadian congregated on one Post.

My list of books is relevant to the area in which I spend most of my time. I would suggest searching a bookseller or sizable library for titles that match the name of a local First Nations group and the term ethnobotany. This will provide very good local information. Nancy Turner has co/written many books in this field for the western regions of Canada and may be an excellent start. Our region has until quite recently been under-represented in field guides and information as many of the books are focused on our neighbor to the south.

My suggestions for plant books in Canada.
Rogers' Herbal Manual by Robert Dale Rogers
Aboriginal Plant Use in Canada's Northwest Boreal Forest by Marles, et al.
Food Plants of Interior First Peoples by Nancy J. Turner
Plant Technology of First Peoples in British Columbia by Nancy J. Turner
Mushrooms of Western Canada by Schalkwijk-Barendson
Plants of the Western Boreal Forest from Lone Pine Publishers
Botany in a Day by Thomas Elpel
Trees in Canada by ____________

If you have further questions feel free to contact me off or on forum

Cheers!

 

[PaleoHunterGatherer]

Grey Owl, good to meet you. What part of B.C. are you in. I have family in Kelowna.
Cheers
Alex
P.S. nice list of books.