Join us for a forest foraging workshop and recipe tasting!

PVAS Host: Laurel Schwartz, Amy Thomas, PVAS volunteers

$30/person. (PVAS members receive a 10% discount). All ages are welcome, though youth must be accompanied by an adult. Registration is required and limited to 20 participants. This program has a minimum of 6 participants.

PVMN Continuing Education Credit Eligible.

Join us for a hands-on foraging workshop and recipe tasting, where you’ll discover the art of ethical and sustainable foraging while making a delicious pesto from garlic mustard and chickweed! As we gather ingredients, we’ll also contribute to managing invasive species at Yankauer Nature Preserve.

In addition to pesto, you’ll have the chance to sample a variety of tasty treats made from foraged ingredients. PVAS program hosts Amy and Laurel, along with knowledgeable PVAS volunteers, will guide you through this flavorful adventure, sharing their expertise on responsible foraging.

Bring an empty jar (or another recycled container) if you’d like to take home some of the freshly made pesto. Come ready to explore, learn, and taste the wild flavors of nature!

• Walking Distance: About a half mile
• Pace/Activities: Leisurely (meandering, many breaks to stop and observe) to Moderate (steady but able to maintain a conversation)
• Exposure: Mostly shaded
• Terrain: Hard ground/hiking trail. Gentle slopes/rolling hills
• Restroom: There are 2 composting toilets at Yankauer near the meeting location.
• Parking/Where to Meet: Park in the parking lot and meet at the pavilion.
• What to Bring: A small/medium jar with lid or other recycled container to take home pesto.

Register Here!

Registration will remain open until the start of the program.

If the required minimum # of people do not register by 4 pm the evening prior, the program will be cancelled.

Read our Program Policies.

About Laurel: 

Laurel Schwartz is a PVAS Program Specialist. Since September 2021, she has managed PVAS’s 4th Grade Watershed Program. Additionally, she is the Audubon Discovery Camp Director.

Laurel is a lifelong Jefferson County resident and Shepherd University graduate.  She graduated from Shepherd University with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies and a concentration in Sustainable Resource Management. During the summers between the school year, she worked as a seasonal Park Ranger for both the National Park Service, at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, and the Army Corps of Engineers, at Loyalhanna Lake Recreation Area. After graduation, Laurel served an AmeriCorps year (2019-2020) with us as an Environmental Educator.  Through this role, she fell in love with youth education and nature interpretation. After her AmeriCorps year, Laurel worked for Virginia Tech as a Soil Science Research Associate and a Jefferson County Substitute Teacher.

In her free time, Laurel can be found hiking, spending time with her dogs, relaxing in a hammock, or in the kitchen trying out new recipes.

About Amy:

Amy is a PVAS Program Specialist. She first worked for PVAS starting in 2012 as a camp counselor for three summers and then as camp director in 2015. In her role as a Program Specialist, she oversees Nature in the Neighborhood, school programs (other than 4th Grade Watershed), Turtle Time, and Forest Storytime.

While studying at Towson University, Amy interned with the National Aquarium and Irvine Nature Center and worked for the University’s Office of Sustainability as a Compost Educator. Amy was also very involved in her university’s Outdoor Adventure program where she worked as an Outdoor Trip Leader, Kayak Clinic Instructor, Challenge Course Facilitator and Climbing Gym Supervisor. After earning her BA in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Informal Environmental Education in 2015, she served as a Chesapeake Conservation Corps member, working as a naturalist at Meadowside Nature Center in Rockville, Maryland. Most recently, Amy worked as a field instructor at the Mountain Institute at Spruce Knob, West Virginia, where she led students on backpacking trips and taught Watershed Education programs.

In her free time, Amy enjoys backpacking, biking, rock climbing, kayaking and cross-country skiing.