Native Plants for Native People with Priscilla Hayes and Joanne Zuckerman (Nov. 6)

The Lenni Lenape Peoples were the original inhabitants of Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve and its surrounding area. They foraged wild-grown native plants for food and medicine and cultivated native plant species in farmed plots during the growing season. This program will explore some historically and culturally important plants still used in agriculture and medicine. Participants will be introduced to these plants in person during a guided walk on the Medicinal Trail, enjoy the opportunity to shell and grind corn and create their own corn-husk doll.

We will discuss how crops like corn, beans, squash and pumpkins may have arrived in Pennsylvania—and at BHWP in particular—without trucks or horses! This program is for children ages 8-12 with an accompanying adult.

Priscilla Hayes has been designing and implementing hands-on environmental education programs for children since the 1990s, when she started introducing children to recycling, reuse and composting through the Robbinsville Clean Communities and Recycling program. She was the school garden educator for three Princeton schools. Hayes is turning her backyard into a meadow for bees, butterflies, birds and native plants.

Joanne Zuckerman has been a volunteer at BHWP for the past 6 years. As a psychiatric social worker, she specialized in the treatment of young children and developed programs to meet their needs. More recently, therapeutic horticulture has become another arrow in her quiver. She believes strongly that making a link with nature benefits everyone, even little folks.

Program Fee: $12 per person (Members: Enter your code to receive your 20% discount)

Each child must be accompanied by an adult. One adult can attend no more than two children.

Walks are weather dependent; please dress for the weather.