Karen Sherwood is a Northwest native who grew up studying the flora of the Pacific Northwest. While studying at the University of Washington, she was hired by Tom Brown Jr. to develop and expand the wild foods curriculum for the Tracker School.

Karen gained a strong understanding of the traditional uses of wild plants while teaching there. Since returning home to the Northwest, she continues to teach ethnobotany programs through Earthwalk Northwest and other organizations such as the Department of Ecology, Washington Outdoor Women, King County Parks, and Wilderness Awareness School.

In addition to her botany background, Karen also spent many years in search and rescue, fine-tuning her wilderness survival skills. To balance her expertise, she also teaches utilitarian uses of plants, including cordage and natural plant dyes. Her professionalism and credibility are enhanced by a special gift for helping students become confident and comfortable with harvesting and using plants. Her current passion is teaching about the vast and wondrous uses of seaweeds, as well as traditional Northwest basketry.

Karen Sherwood and her husband Frank run EarthWalk Northwest at http://earthwalknorthwest.com

In this interview, Karen discusses all sorts of useful wild foods information, from foraging, harvesting, and recipes. Especially interesting is a segment on fermentation, views on wildcrafting, recipes with burdock, yellow dock, and much more.