Picnics & Plant identification: A morning in the woods with the Canadian Rangers.

Paddy is a local Ranger here in Mackenzie. The 'Rangers' are a trained group of people in remote communities that can be called upon to assist in search and rescue efforts & natural disasters such as forest fires and floods. They are "the eyes & the ears of the north". Their ethics & interests lie towards conservation, promoting right relationship & stewardship of land, as well as in practical learning of bush craft & survival skills.

This month at their casual meet up they planned to get 'planty' & I was invited to tag along..

I learned this cool technique to start a plant ID folder from capturing the live plant behind clear tape onto a piece of plain paper. The water from the plant dries through the backside of the paper therefore leaving the plant protected, in tact & keeping their colour on the front of the paper. a great way to log species 'instantly' & the process feels both creative & mentally satisfying for visual & kinesthetic learner types like me.

We identified a bunch of plants using both our own cultivated knowledge and also book referencing Terry Willards Edible & Medicinal Plants of the Rocky Mountains & Neighbouring Territories & Plant of Norther British Colombia expanded second edition by McKinnon, Polar & Coupe. Having no phone signal out in the bush means you can't fall back on apps that instantly ID the plant at the click of a picture through the internet.. It was actually so refreshing to just use the books & put our heads together even if we were unsure what something was and couldn't ID it immediately. Searching organically through what we did already know, or could literally see or read & narrowing things down by cross referencing with other plants we thought they might be.. Moving in this slightly more devotional way felt healthy for both brain & plant practice. To really get to know the plant by taking in the shape or feel of their leaves, counting flower heads/petals & colour of berries for example. Really studying them..the connection feels deeper, more intentional & with a higher chance of learning & understanding who they are by heart not just memory- which often feels short lived & shallow anyway.

The pristine lake at this spot was an extra beauty bonus.. We found Water Parsnip, Wild Mint, Arnica & Chives. The chives surprised us as they really were abundantly popping up and it felt like such an unusual place to find them.

We came home that day with fresh Engellman Spruce resin which we've used so far in the sauna burning a little on the hot rocks which gives an aromatherapeutic gentle smoke release that is just wow! As well as a basket full of Saskatoon Berries, Chives & Wild Mint. We've been enjoying them in the kitchen, making mint tea infusions, chopping chives into our eggs and we got a couple of jars of Saskatoon, Haskap & Blueberry jam made also!