A Kid’s Guide to Plants of the Pacific Northwest: With Cool Facts, Activities and Recipes
A Kid’s Guide to Plants of the Pacific Northwest: With Cool Facts, Activities and Recipes
Wild Ginger
Description
Wild Ginger grows close to the ground, with many stems forming large mats of slightly fuzzy heart-shaped leaves. The flowers come out in early spring and are a red-brown colour. They are often tucked in behind the leaves but are worth looking for because they are quite unusual, with three long squiggly petals. Wild Ginger likes to grow in moist, rich soil, often in the fallen leaves of deciduous trees, like Alder or Birch.
Cool Facts about Wild Ginger
Aside from looking like flowers from outer space, the flowers are also interesting because they are pollinated by flies and ants, rather than by bees! The flowers smell and look like rotten meat so that flies are attracted to them and pollinate them. But don’t worry, the roots don’t taste like rotten meat! As its name suggest, Wild Ginger roots taste kind of like the ginger you can buy at the grocery store. In the fall or spring, you can carefully dig up a root and use it to make yummy tea that is good for stomach aches or colds. It isn’t quite as spicy as regular Ginger, but it can still be used in place of it in cooking.
“Plants and people have a long history together. Humans have always harvested plants to use for food, medicine, tools, clothing and other purposes.” While we probably recognize this about the numerous plants and plant products we see every day, we may rarely think about plants in great detail, or even realize how much there is to learn. This informative book holds a wealth of fascinating and useful information about more than 50 plants found in the Pacific Northwest, with much of the knowledge coming from Coastal Indigenous cultures.
The author introduces the book with a personal anecdote about how she discovered the importance of plants in her life and a chapter about Indigenous peoples’ close relationship with plants, the source of so much traditional knowledge about them. Included are some notes to describe the geographic region and plant names used in the scope of the book. One chapter discusses ethical ways of ‘wildcrafting’ (harvesting plants): for instance, being careful with roots to allow future plants to grow. Before Joly delves into examples of individual plants, readers are given information about 6 common plant families to be familiar with and are introduced to the term ‘plant guilds’ which refers to communities of plants that often grow together (for support, or because they like similar soil). Readers learn about poisonous plants and invasive ones. These first 30 pages form a helpful background to learning more about specific plants.
The next 160 pages of Plant Profiles are divided into seasons, “so you will know when to look for them”. Each plant is presented with its guild, a description and cool facts, supplemented by trivia inserts (often provided by youngsters), illustrations/photos and often an activity to try. The activities may be a recipe (making wild salad), a game (plant tag), a craft (make your own digging stick), or a harvesting tip. Each seasonal section ends with a scavenger hunt, and there are several quizzes to test readers’ reading memory. This part of the book is loaded with detail; readers will likely dip into samples of interest rather than reading through the entire book at once. But the activities hold the greatest appeal for their variety, hands-on style (do it, and you remember….) and wealth of additional facts. For instance, wild carrot (find out why it is also called Queen Anne’s lace) can be roasted, but beware of other plants in the same family that are poisonous. Cautions are included throughout the book, as well as tips to check with an adult for safety.
At the back of the book find notes ‘For Parents and Educators’ that include tips for teaching nature connection to kids, tools, craft supplies and safety. The “Glossary” runs to 5 pages of highlighted terms. Finally, a “Plant Book Quiz” asks specific questions about the book’s content. “References” and “Suggested Reading” and an “Index” complete the volume.
The content of A Kid’s Guide to Plants of the Pacific Northwest is drawn largely from northwest coast Indigenous teachings, for which the author gives credit, and from her own training as a herbalist and outdoor educator. She refers often to the need to respect and appreciate plants (read about all the uses of cattail, for instance) and the land that supports them, paying attention to changes in landscape if different plants die off and new ones emerge. She encourages the enjoyment of plants as a sensory experience, giving frequent examples of visual impressions, textures, scents and tastes. While wandering barefoot in a marsh exploring skunk cabbage, don’t forget to listen for songbirds! Time spent outdoors (even the backyard or a city park) will yield invaluable dividends in caring attitudes towards the environment.
The easy-reading writing style of straightforward factual presentation mixed with personal anecdotes will engage both middle grade readers and adults. Most photos and illustrations are by the author. The combination of soft pencil sketches of flowers and leaves to help with recognition works perfectly with the many photos of young people showing the uses of plants and participation in outdoor activities.
A Kid’s Guide to Plants of the Pacific Northwest is a most useful book, one to be shared and valued as a reference and guide to enjoying the natural world.
Gillian Richardson is a freelance writer living in British Columbia.