8-week course teaches students how to locate food in the wilderness

Some people, uneducated in the field of wild edibles, might adhere to the old adage, "Leaves of three let 'em be, leaves of four, eat some more." But when stranded in the woods and forced to eat wild plants, one might want to know more about the plant he or she selects for their next meal.\nStudents are able to register for a spring semester course that deals with this topic. The course, which was available last semester, is called "R241: Wildflowers and Wild Edibles." It is being offered by the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation and is scheduled to meet for the second eight weeks during the spring semester.\n"I want to develop their appreciation of the unique features of plants," said Kari Price, naturalist at Bradford Woods and instructor of the course. "We talk about medicinal uses, edible uses and identification."\nStudents who enroll are required to meet in the classroom every Monday for eight consecutive weeks. They learn to effectively use their Peterson Field Guide, which is the only required text for the class. No written homework is assigned to students, but presentations are required.\nThe class includes a weekend at Bradford Woods, the 2400-acre forest owned by IU. There, students are expected to apply their newly acquired knowledge.\n "I really enjoyed the overnight stay at Bradford Woods," said sophomore Ryan Anderson, a student in last semester's class. "It was fun getting to know my classmates and also getting to know some interesting stuff."\n Students arrived at Bradford Woods on a Saturday morning armed with only a few toiletry items, layered clothing and their field guides. They stayed in cabins and tents overnight, and had a feast of wild edibles collected in the woods.\nThe students prepared a variety of items including cattail bread, teas, stinging nettle leaves, fried dandelion heads and persimmon pudding. Price said some of the items prepared were not tasty.\n"Edible does not mean yummy," Price said. "Edible means it is nutritionally sound and it won't kill you."\nBut some students found the food delicious. Persimmon pudding was among the favorites in the class, while the teas were popular as well.\n"I'd have to say that I really liked the fried dandelions," said sophomore Neil Callander, a former R241 student. "You think of wild edibles as raw and nasty, but when you fry them up, they're really tasty. I'd say they're comparable in taste to Rally's fries. Probably a lot better for you, too."\nAlthough the class gets a sense of "roughing it," they do not sacrifice a great deal of modern amenities. The ingredients are mostly natural, but some of them are store-bought. The food is prepared in Bradford Wood's modern facilities.\nOne might make meals completely out of ingredients found in the forest, but it would take extensive preparation, Price said. The students in the class are not expected to learn how to survive in a remote forest with no supplies.\nBut Price said students who complete the class would most likely be able to augment their diets if they were backpacking with minimal supplies because they are familiar with their field guides.\nThe class is popular among students of all majors. Those who want to sign up should not be turned off if they are not studying to be naturalists, Price said.\n"I thought everybody in the class would be outdoor rec people. I really thought that's what everyone would come from, but in a class of 50 people I will literally have thirty different majors," Price said. "My class does have the distinction of being the most diversified in the department."\nThe class is taken by students as an elective and is not meant to add too much to their work load. Price said she hopes the class might kindle a passion for the outdoors in her students, and ultimately produce a better understanding of the world around them.\n"It's a chance to get outside the traditional classroom and to explore the forest around them," she said. "It's meant to be more light-hearted"