Native plant walk Saturday hopes to seed interest in bolstering ‘earth skills’

Many Orange County denizens know the region’s geography, its rugged coastlines, hills and canyons, like the backs of their hands, but it’s unclear how many could survive its wilderness if left to their own devices.

Earth Skills — a continuing series of monthly classes being offered by the Newport Beach nonprofit Environmental Nature Center through June — aims to teach locals the art of surviving in nature, primarily by understanding it on a much deeper level.

From animal tracking and understanding birdsong to orienteering and creating fire by friction, the guided lessons get participants outdoors, learning through hands-on, sensory-rich experiences how to live in concert with the land, plants and animals around them, says ENC Vice President Lori Whalen.

Mariposa lilies can be found in isolated areas in Orange County, including Modjeska Peak in the Santa Ana Mountains, in spring.

(Courtesy of Environmental Nature Center)

“It gets you more connected to your surroundings and thinking about stuff that is completely outside of your normal day-to-day [routine],” Whalen said of the series, which began last weekend. “You’re not thinking about your stressful job, you’re thinking about the present and you’re focused.”

While many of the courses take place at the Environmental Nature Center’s own acreage, at 1601 E. 16th Street, an upcoming session this Saturday morning takes place at 12-acre Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary in Silverado’s Modjeska Canyon, acquired by the organization in 2021.

That’s where Southern California herbalist William Broen will lead visitors on a 90-minute plant walk, during which they will learn to identify native plant species and understand their various properties and uses in herbal remedies, including teas, tinctures and salves.

A lifelong plant lover formally trained in the Pacific School of Herbal Medicine in Oakland, Broen’s talks focus on how plants’ abilities to adapt to and survive in their natural environments plays a big role in their use by humans over thousands of years.

“Plants have to defend themselves from whatever they’re dealing with in the wild, and we get to benefit from the protection they have,” the herbalist said Wednesday.

Herbalist William Broen, seen in 2022, will lead a plant walk Saturday through the Environmental Nature Center’s Earth Skills series.

(Courtesy of Environmental Nature Center)

Some species have antioxidants to protect the plant’s cells from damage, and the substance has the same protective capacity when ingested by humans.

White sage has antimicrobial properties that can aid in cleaning, while yerba santa, a favorite of Broen’s, can help ease respiratory problems when used in a tea or be applied in a poultice for wounds or sore muscles.

“If we were living here 200 years ago, we’d all know about it, because it was used by first peoples all the time,” he said of yerba santa. “It’s got resins that protect the plant and tannins that can dry mucus. You can find it at some health food stores, but it’s also everywhere in the wild.”

Broen, 60, always loved plants, but it wasn’t until he went on an herb walk in San Francisco in 1993 that his interest in herbs and their medicinal uses was piqued.

“I was totally hooked — I thought this is the most fascinating thing ever,” recalled the Los Angeles resident who now leads about 20 or more herb walks each year. “Whenever I go hiking, wherever it is, it’s like new worlds open up. You could spend lifetimes learning about this.”

Herbalist William Broen, seen in 2022, returns to Orange County Saturday for a walk through Modjeska Canyon, presented by the Environmental Nature Center.

(Courtesy of Environmental Nature Center)

Those who attend Saturday’s walk will learn to use their senses, including smell, to detect plants’ protective or poisonous qualities and learn more about the species in Modjeska Canyon.

“We’re basically animals and for years we’ve been connected to the natural world,” Broen said, opining a bit on ENC’s Earth Skills series. “So this is all really good stuff to learn just for our connection to nature.”

“Earth Skills: Native Plant Uses” takes place Saturday, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Environmental Nature Center’s Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary, 29322 Modjeska Canyon Road, Silverado. Admission is $9 for ENC members, $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are encouraged. For more information, call (949) 645-8489 or visit encenter.org.