Plant Walks and Forage Picnics

Welcome to my plant walk and forage picnic page. The fall schedule is posting. Scroll down to see what is loading...

To be added to my quarterly-ish mailing list (and first dibs at new walks), for private walks or consultation enquiries, please email me: myviljoen (at) gmail (dot) com. 

My second book, Forage, Harvest, Feast - A Wild-Inspired Cuisine, is a substantial foraging and growing resource, with plant info for collection and for cultivation, and over 500 recipes for three dozen plants. It is intended as a guide for exploring the range of possibilities for delicious and very versatile botanical ingredients growing (or begging to be grown) near you. Buy it from the publisher, your local bookshop, or Amazon.

About my Walks

I lead plant walks and nature immersions in wild and tame green spaces. As much as these experiences are about sharing my passion for plants, and about identifying edible plants, they are an introduction to the rich natural world that surrounds us, even in the middle of a city. 

Every part of every season offers a unique opportunity to learn more about the plants that live with us in plain sight, especially in places where we do not expect to find them. Yes, we even walk in winter.

Groups are small, low-impact, and personal. It's not unusual for new friendships to grow over the course of the walk. Meet plants, make friends!

On our field trips we identify and talk about so-called weeds, or plants whose habit is invasive; introduced species; and native plants, some of which could - and should, but still don't - define an authentic regional cuisine. Awareness, sustainability and stewardship are the cornerstones of these interactions with nature. My own approach evolves, and I welcome the diverse perspectives that everyone brings to our roving discussions.

I hope to help tune your senses to the botanical and natural details at our feet, and above our heads. Nature is right here, and deserves to be seen.

Photo: Jenny Hamp.

Most walks end with a wild-inspired tasting picnic. It's exactly what it sounds like: Tastes of in-season, wild ingredients, as well as preserved small-batch forages from my feral pantry. Where possible, non-foraged ingredients are organic or locally-grown. Although I have been known to swoop on something interesting from the local bodega. I take broad dietary preferences (vegan, vegetarian, omnivore) into account where possible within a group. You can also book a diet-specific, private walk.

Ways to Walk and Talk

Scheduled Walks - seasonal group walks are posted here (scroll down).

Gift Walks - buy an open ticket to any scheduled walk; valid for one year.

Plant Identification - I identify plants on your land, public space, or in your garden.

Talks, Classes - for botanic gardens, design firms, conservancies, garden clubs, etc.

Consultation - native and edible garden creation, wild recipes, mixology and menus.

Private Walks - for institutions, corporate groups, schools, families, friends.

Cancellation Policy

Refunds are at my discretion: Walks with picnics take a lot of time to plan and prepare. If you cancel with up to three days' notice you are welcome to use your ticket (purchased or gifted) as credit towards a future walk. Cancellations within three days of a walk do not receive a refund or credit.

Gift Walks

A Gift Walk ($90) offers admission to any of my seasonal walks with forage-picnics (classes I teach for outside institutions like the NYBG are not included). Give an experience that includes plant identification, nature immersion, wild-inspired treats, and the company of like-minded humans. Valid for one year. Gift Walks are non-refundable.

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Fall Walks 2025

Dunesploration

Fort Tilden

18 October 2025

12pm - 3pm

$85

The Atlantic Ocean and the city meet on the sandbar that shelters the megalopolis from the sea. With Jamaica Bay on one side, the open ocean on the other, the dunes here are a mix of what was before and what came after.

We will meet the newcomers, like mugwort and autumn olive, and greet the ageless denizens of the Northeast: bayberry, black cherry, juniper, rabbit tobacco, sumac.

Our picnic, on the beach or on a dune, depending on the weather, will feature tastes of this place.

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Bronxploration

Hunter Island, Pelham Bay Park

25 October 2025

12.30pm -3.30pm

$85

Brace yourself for hyphens: It's the almost-annual, end-of-October, perfectly-timed-for-high-tide adventure in the wilds of the Bronx. 

Pelham Bay Park is home to Hunter Island, a beautiful woodland-and-water landscape where some of the last remnants of New York City's native plants still eke out a living. Beneath massive sassafrass trees and oak we will crunch our way across falling leaves to explore the feral edges of mini-Maine. 

2023

And! If (fingers crossed) the weather is nice, this is the best time to dip into the Long Island Sound. Our half-way point picnic offers swimming-pool calm water when the tide rises. It should be at peak when we reach our rocks. 

2021

Bring your swimsuit and a sense of adventure.

By public transport, this is reachable via the 6 subway to Pelham Bay, then the City Island bus (disembark at City Island Circle), then a 15-minute/1 mile walk. If you are driving, let me know if you are able to offer rides (no pressure).

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Tree Walk

Historic Green-Wood

8 November 2025

11am - 2pm

$90 ($5 is donated to the Historic Green-Wood Fund)

The beautiful deciduous trees of Green-Wood are in that interesting stage of semi-undress. We will walk beneath them and learn to identify some of them by bark alone, as well as the shape and angles of their branches. Evergreen, needled trees like pines and spruce offer tutorials in cold country living, and we will talk about (and taste) the flavors of green cones. 

Late autumn is also a time of fruit and possible fungi (mushrooms can also tell us something about the health of these trees) and there is  and persimmoncertainly going to be ginkgo on the menu.

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