QUEENS — Naturalist and urban foraging expert “Wildman” Steve Brill will return to Forest Park next weekend to lead a tour in search of various seasonable edibles, like mushrooms and nuts.
Brill, 66, who grew up in Kew Gardens, has been going to Forest Park since he was 3. He has also led tours in parks throughout the city since the 1980s.
Forest Park, he said, is the ideal spot for autumn trips because it “has lots of different habitats,” including mature forest as well as trail edges.
During the three-hour tour on Nov. 8, participants will walk through the winding paths of the park, looking for various species of wild herbs, roots and mushrooms. Brill will discuss their history, as well as cooking and medicinal values.
Among the plants Brill is planning to talk about are ginkgo nuts, which can be quite pungent but may improve memory and blood circulation, he said.
He also came up with a recipe for a gingko cheese dressing, which includes toasted and shelled gingko nuts, as well as olive oil, vinegar and yeast.
Participants will also look for burdock, which has edible roots and is often used in Asian cuisine, as well as sweet cicely, which has roots that taste like black licorice, Brill said.
Cicely, which can be found throughout Forest Park, can be used in various desserts, according to Brill.
“I put it in oatmeal with raisins and wild apples. I put it in cookies and pies, in puddings,” he said. “It has a very unique flavor.”
Attendees will also look for herbs like field garlic and garlic mustard, both of which “taste garlicky.”
The park is also one of the best places in the city to spot various mushrooms, including honey mushrooms, chicken mushrooms and puffballs, Brill said.
Foraging in city parks is forbidden, but Brill says he has tacit approval from park officials to lead his tours, he said.
“Having a positive hands-on experience with the environment is really the best way to learn,” Brill said.
The three-hour walking tour in Forest Park is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. It will begin at the stone wall at Forest Park Drive and Park Lane, near the Parks Department's Overlook building. The suggested donation is $20 for adults and $10 for children under 12. To reserve a place call (914) 835-2153 at least 24 hours in advance. For more information go here.
