Making bowls from thimbleberry bushes!

making a cup from a thimbleberry leaf

I had one of the best Saturdays ever!

I got to join in class taught by Tsawout UVic professor Nick Claxton, with his uncle Earl Claxton Jr.

It was about language and land, and we spent the full day on PKOLS (also known by some as Mount Doug).

We learned how to introduce ourselves properly (I am still practicing), we walked around and heard stories and info re plants, and trees, we had a potluck, and walked up the mountain.  What a day!

Along the way, we learned about 4 uses for plants: as food, as medicine, as tools, and as indicators (ie. telling you when the timing is right for certain activities)

One of the great moments for me was our time by the thimbleberry! (which i used to mistakenly call Salmonberries when growing up...)

I learned how to take a leaf, and turn it into a cup.  Basically, you turn it into a cone shape, overlapping two veins, then use the stem (which would still be sticking out the bottom) as a kind of needle, poking in and and out through the leave, to 'stitch it together'.  Then, you have a little cup in one hand to collect the berries you are eating!

Thanks Earl Claxton, Jr!   And thanks Nick Claxton for allowing us to join his class.

This is a technique I will be using this summer!   Yum!