Wild Foraging in NEI with Carrie Vrabel

​Being a “greenie” requires attention to reducing your carbon footprint and embracing sustainability. Another part of being a “greenie” is reveling in nature, in being among the plants and animals and being reminded why you care so much for this home. Wild foraging is one way to accomplish both aspects of being green. There are many wild foragers with a social network presence. There are many active foragers locally in Northeast Indiana. However, one person who is mentioned continually in this context is Carrie Vrabel.  
 
Carrie Vrabel provides foraging-hiking classes in multiple settings: nature preserves, city parks, county parks, state parks, historical settings, and educational settings. She provides these services throughout the year.
 
I have recorded her classes for the past two years. One thing is consistent, she is well known, and she is liked.  She is also gifted. Carrie is a musician and song writer. She is a writer and scholar. She has multiple degrees. She has a B.A. in English and a master’s degree in library science. Carrie cares greatly about animals and the environment. And Carrie knows foraging.
 
Ms. Vrabel did a year mentorship in Illinois learning wild food foraging. This included plant identification at all stages of development. It meant learning which plants were edible (or drinkable), which were medicinal, and which were toxic. She learned about ethnobiology; how Indigenous Peoples used food and honored the food.  She also earned certification in wild mushroom identification in the states of Indiana and Michigan.
 
Carrie’s approach to plant identification and consumption is cautious. Her hikes include guidebooks, plant identification, and highlight look-alike but toxic plants.  She is also respectful of the land and the plants. There is some controversy about whether foraging is sustainable. Well, with Carrie it is sustainable and respectful of the rules of each site and the needs of the animals that live off the plants. These rules for sustainable and ethical foraging by Brianne Dela Cruz of Gather of Grow also reflect Carrie’s approach to foraging and include:

1. Don’t over harvest.
2. Don’t kill parent organisms.
3. Never harvest species that are endangered, or at-risk.
4. Leave no trace, only leave your memories.
5. Harvest in the right season.
6. Observe the health of the plant before harvesting.

 
Consistent with the values and approach by this blog and the Facebook Group A Little Greener Everyday Café, Brianne also advocates that foragers know which plants and lands are sacred to Indigenous Peoples and to respect that plants and land. That includes not using the plants in a way that is culturally inappropriate. Additionally, it is important to receive permission from landowners prior to foraging on their lands. Consistent with this is to get permits if they are required before foraging on public lands. Carrie emphasizes on her hikes that preserves may be great places to practice identification, but they often do not allow foraging and that must be respected.
 
Carrie has presented her popular class-hikes at Merry Lee Environmental Center, Solomon Farms, and many other parks, preserves, and educational settings. Our videos will cover her as she presents at LC Nature Park, Eagle Marsh, Chain O’ Lakes State Park and Fox Island County Park. Many of her attendees are repeat hikers and happy followers. The hikes are multi-generational and held throughout the year.
 
The first video is of Carrie leading a hike at L.C. Nature Park. L.C. Nature Park is a 200-acre park with multiple environments, prairie, woodland, dunes, and wetlands. The park has five miles of trails. The Park has two historical barns with the largest one converted to the Educational Center. The park is in the historic Little River Valley and is the home to a herd of elk and a herd of bison. The park land was once the reserve of Chief Akima Neewilenkwanka of the Myaamia (Miami) Nation.
 
 
The second video follows Carrie as she leads hikes at Eagle Marsh, Chain O’ Lakes State Park and Fox Island County Park. Eagle Marsh is a reclaimed wetland. It is 831 acres and has fourteen miles of trails. It is the home of deer, bats, coyote, beaver, muskrat, raccoon, mink, and otter. Over 250 species of bird migrate through the preserve. The preserve is a continental divide between the Mississippi-Wabash watershed and the Great Lakes watershed. The preserve consists of prairie, forest, sedge meadow, and wetlands.
 
Chain O’ Lakes State Park is located 19 miles north of Fort Wayne. It is 2,718 acres, has nine lakes and 23 miles of trails. This is a very active park with fishing, boating, overnight camping, and of course hiking. A park ranger accompanied Carrie for the hike providing additional information about the trail and the plants.
 
Finally, the video provides a slide show of Carrie’s earlier hikes at Fox Island County Park before it experienced the 2022 derecho. Fox Island County Park is a 605 acre preserve and neighbor to Eagle Marsh. 270 acres of the park is dedicated as a State Nature Preserve.  This is a land of prairie, wetlands, dunes, and a land teaming with animal life.
 
Carrie Vrabel shares her love of foraging with her community. We hope to interview her in the studio so she can also talk about her published articles and a new book she wrote. However, Carrie is not just about facts and skills. She is also about relationships. She ends each hike by sharing an herbal tea she made from one of the plants the group identified. So, sit down, get a warm cup of tea or broth, and join Carrie via video as she teaches us about wild foraging.

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