About me

Ph.D. Candidate at University of Colorado Boulder

Alongside eating wild edibles on the trails near my house, I am also conducting research that examines the connections between plants, personal wellbeing, cultural resilience, and local ecosystems. I research ethnobotany, microbiology, and foraging practices in Southwest North America. 

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Using soil samples, human gut microbiome data, and qualitative ethnography, I examine how eating wild plants can be a form of stewardship - for both local ecosystems and human health. In this work, it is clear that the macro-biome (plants, animals, insects, fungi, soil)  and  the microbiome (commensal and pathogenic microorganisms) are two inseparable ecological systems. Damaging one will damage the other. 

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My academic work asks how different cultural paradigms, including traditional ecological knowledge and modern microbiome science, are being transmitted within and between groups of people in a changing climate. I am passionate about sharing awareness of the edible plants of one’s bioregion and working to cultivate a greater awareness of the precious and precarious biodiversity of an area.

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Outside of my academic research, I lead foraging workshops in Colorado - come rain or come shine- and am almost always experimenting with wild food recipes in my home kitchen with my husband and dog Kaya!  I feel that first-person experience with the edible landscapes around you is vital to cultivating a connection and  sense of responsibility to these spaces.

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I have seen how learning how to identify, acquire the skills to ethically harvest, cook, eat and protect these plants can lead to a newfound relationship to the environment, energizing us to become healthier and better participants in a larger ecosystem.