Tidal Treasures: Foraging for Seaweed (Half Moon Bay)

At low tide, the ocean pulls back to reveal an underwater forest – feather boa kelp floating in verdant pools, little rockweed sprouting from the sand, and on the underside of rocks, the twisted braids of black pine seaweed. 

With nearly 12,000 kinds of seaweed in the ocean, algae are responsible for most of the oxygen we breathe, serve as carbon sinks, and are a nutrient-rich superfood.

By activating our sense of taste, touch, and smell, naturalist Tanya Stiller will guide us in ethically harvesting and protecting the regenerative power of seaweed on a well-kept secret of a beach, just under the Golden Gate Bridge. After filling our buckets to the brim, we’ll learn creative ways to use our foraged seaweed in cooking and skincare alike!

Through reciprocal foraging practices, we’ll collectively explore:

• how to ethically identify, harvest, and protect a diversity of seaweeds 🍙
• seaweed’s benefits for the climate and its medicinal uses in food and skincare 🌍
• our relationship with the rhythm and cadence of ocean tides, the moon, the seasons, time, and seashore ecology 🌝

Note: This workshop starts early to ensure we are able to see a diversity of seaweeds at negative tide.

About the Naturalist 

Tanya Stiller has been teaching for over 25 years as a clinical herbalist, nutrition consultant, gardener, permaculturalist, and ethnobotanist. She received her Botanical Medicine certificate in 1994 from The Oregon School of Herbal Medicine, ran a tincture and lotion-making company called Pixie Plants and has since been teaching herbal and foraging classes in Oregon and the Bay Area. You can finding her teaching classes on botany, seaweed harvesting, foraging, and homesteading at Ancestral Apothecary, and many Bay Area Herbal Schools.

What's Included 

• A cozy cup of tea & seaweed treats
• Ziplocks & markers for organizing your gathered seaweed

What to Bring 

• Comfortable clothing for spending time outdoors, such as a jacket, hat, warm socks, etc.
• Shoes you don’t mind getting wet (preferably close-toed!) with wool socks
• A bucket or container for collecting seaweed
• Mesh bags for rinsing (i.e. re-used potato sacks, orange bags)
• Scissors

Workshop Pricing* 

By all of us contributing what we can afford, make this experience accessible for a diversity of incomes. The range reflects the disparity between economic conditions in the Bay Area, and is designed for those with more wealth to cover some of the costs of those with less access to wealth. Thank you for giving as much as you are able so that people of different economic backgrounds are able to join our programming.

As you decide what amount to pay, we ask that you not only consider your present-day financial situation governed by income but also factors including historical discrimination faced by your peoples, your current financial wealth, your access to income and financial wealth, people counting on your financial livelihood, and the socio-economic conditions of your locale.

• Partner: $85
• Supporter: $75
• Friend: $65

*Adapted from Dr. Bayo Akomolafe’s We Will Dance with Mountains: Into the Cracks Slow Study course with For The Wild.Covid-19 Safety

Proof of full vaccination is required. Social distancing will be observed. Please do not attend if you are not feeling well, have COVID-19 symptoms, or have been in close contact with anyone who is COVID-19+.

Transportation 

If possible, we request that you walk, bike, or use public transportation to this event to reduce your carbon output. 😊 / Closest Bus Line: 28

About Wild Awake 

Wild Awake curates immersive outdoor learning experiences that are rooted in connecting with and caring for ourselves, each other, and the more-than-human world. We believe that when we re-orient our attention to the time and space around us, we can cultivate relationships that recognize our mutuality and interdependence.

For more details about Wild Awake, please visit www.wildawake.us.