Book Talk on Pacific Northwest Nature Guides

Nicki’s Wonder List

Show Notes

“Book Talk on Pacific Northwest Nature Guides”

Season 02, Episode 02

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In this book talk episode, Nicki shares a few titles on Pacific Northwest nature guides.

Book list on Bookshop.org

Book Titles

National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Pacific Northwest by National Audubon Society.

Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast by Jim Pojar (Author)  Andy MacKinnon (Author)

Pacific Northwest Foraging: 120 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Alaska Blueberries to Wild Hazelnuts by Douglas Deur (Author)

Pacific Coast Tree Finder: A Pocket Manual for Identifying Pacific Coast Trees by Tom Watts (Author)

Pacific Northwest Medicinal Plants: Identify, Harvest, and Use 120 Wild Herbs for Health and Wellness by Scott Kloos (Author)

Further Reading

“Audubon faces a backlash after deciding to keep name that evokes a racist enslaver” - NPR

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Transcript

Book Talk on Pacific Northwest Nature Guides

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Nicki: Hello, welcome to Nicki's Wonder List, a podcast about exploring story in a time of collapse. I'm Nicki Youngsma

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Nicki: In this book talk episode, I'm going to be sharing a few titles on the topic of Pacific Northwest Nature Guides. So, I came to this topic bit by bit over time. I've lived in the Pacific Northwest for most of my life, and though I've had access to the outdoors, I didn't really have a lot of language about how to talk about plants and animals, um, And the creatures that are really in the wild around me.

 So like I took an ecology class when I was a teenager and that really sparked my interest in plants and like plant identification.

And, um, you know, we did this botany unit that was really cool where we had corrugated cardboard and, bungee cords and we'd have to gather plants and press them in this and then identify them that way and create a book. And, you know, it's like, it's still something I have and I don't know if I could ever part with it.

 It was just this adventure to find things and then learn more about them and just really witness the diversity of creatures, you know, in the place that I lived. And when I got a house, um, and a yard of my own, , I was really interested in naturescaping, and that's a term, you know, kind of used to describe landscaping that focuses on using endemic plants, natural features of the region, maybe you incorporate rain gardens to, um, conserve water, , that kind of stuff, , and so I took workshops and botany classes, and then I took some forging and wildcrafting.

And so I've got some books here that are kind of my favorite like, go to's that um, I've, used over the years and they've really helped me get better acquainted with, , the land around me in the Pacific Northwest.

 So let's get started.

National Audobon Society Field Guide to the Pacific Northwest by Peter Alden and Dennis Paulson

Nicki: The first book I've got today is The National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Pacific Northwest by Peter Alden and Dennis Paulson.

Before beginning , I will note that the Audubon Society has a racist legacy that is part of their name.  I'll link an article in the show notes more about that.

So I found with this book, um, it's probably the nature guide that we use the most. It's not very big. It's about four and a half inches by seven, five eighths inches.

And, um, you know, I can see, it going into a backpack. I've like tried to put it into a backpack before. Um, and then I always forget that I have it.

Um, or if I have a backpack and I will have many moments where I'm like, oh, I wish I had a book right now. And I don't, you know, and it's the story of my life. And, um, but this one's really portable and, um, it's lightweight. It's pretty durable. I've had it for several years. I find that. It works really well, you know, just having it on a coffee table.

Um, my family and I consult it quite frequently, you know, when we want to ID birds, or, if we want to, look up a plant that we saw. It's probably the most comprehensive guide that I have, um, among the titles I'm sharing today because it has a plant section, it has a bird section, it has a mammal section, it talks about Pacific Northwest geology, a little bit about, the climate, and so I feel like it's a nice sized book for how much overview it provides.

One thing that I find is a little bit difficult about it is that the, sections are very condensed. And so sometimes they're kind of hard to read, especially in the bird section, um, there are not multiple photos for like the male and female species of a bird, because there's just not room for that. And also the photos are kind of small.

 But otherwise, I think it's a really, um, useful book. And my kids use it. Um, it, it seems really accessible to them.

Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast

Nicki: The next title that I've got to share today is called Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Jim Poggiar And Andy McKinnon.

There's a lot about this book that I do like. Um, it's specific really to, like, the coast region, of the Pacific Northwest, kind of spanning from, like, mid Alaska down to, um, the mid Willamette Valley. And then, you know, it's a pretty sturdy book.

It has this, like, plastic y, like cover. Um, it hasn't fallen apart. Um, I find that sometimes with books that are not hardback and , you know, thick, um, that the spines just kind of wear out. , and that hasn't happened with this book. , so that's nice.

 Uh, this is really focused on plants. And, the sections of the, of the book are color coded, which I feel like is nice, , you know, being able to like kind of thumb through the book, and search for plants that way when you're IDing a plant and, it's mostly focused on plants that you might find, like, out in the field, and it's not really about foraging. Like, that's not really the focus of it.

 Each entry of a plant species might be like one or two pages. And then the photos are nice.

I feel like, um, the photos are really clear There's sometimes multiple photos for a plant, like, um, the flower. And then the fruit, which happen at different times of the year. And then, um, also maybe the bark. Um, so I feel like having multiple photos is helpful sometimes.

Um, especially if you're trying to ID a plant, , at different times of the year and maybe you don't know what the leaves look like because you're going in winter. Um, or you're, , hiking in springtime and, you know, the fruits aren't ready yet. Um, and you only see the So, so I think that's neat.

Pacific Northwest Foraging: 120 Wild and Flavorful Edibles

Nicki: The next title I've got today is called Pacific Northwest Foraging. 120 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Alaska Blueberries to Wild Hazelnuts by Douglas Doerr.

So this book, is, again focused on plants, , and it's an introduction to foraging.

 I wouldn't say it's like a comprehensive, like, nature guide. Um, it's a big book. It's about six and a half inches by nine inches. and this is like something I, like, wouldn't take with me, um, if I had the wherewithal to, like, pack a book in a backpack before I, like, went hiking somewhere or whatever.

 And I really appreciate how the book is laid out. , , it feels very spacious, um, and it's organized by what's edible in each season. And I feel like that is a nice way to format the book. , And then each entry, of a species, um it's got alternative names

um, that's a thing with plant, identification is like sometimes plants might be known by different names, um, so having botanical Latin as well as those other names I think is really helpful.

 I like that it clearly states which parts of the plant are edible, like if it's the seeds or if it's the stems or the leaves.

 One of my favorite things about this book is the preface. The author, shares their observation that, many people in the Pacific Northwest, at least that they had encountered, um, don't really know how to identify plants, like, are very disconnected and, like, not aware of , the plant life around, , because like a lot of people, are descended from immigrants and settlers, and, urbanized people, and not really resonate with me because, like I mentioned in the, the beginning of this episode, I, did not have language for, you know, how to identify or name, even talk about plants, um, even though I had been around them my whole life.

Pacific Coast Tree Finder

Nicki: Another book that I have today is called Pacific Coast Tree Finder, A Pocket Manual for Identifying Pacific Coast Trees by Tom Watts.

So first of all, this book is like, it's like very cute. It's tiny. It's almost like, is this a book? It's so small. Um, it's about six inches by four inches and it's, very thin.

, it's something that like you could put in your pocket. There have been many times when I've wished this was in my pocket so I could identify a tree. Um, Or, you know, you could put it in a purse or a backpack. It's, it's that small.

The way it's laid out is like, it's really focused on trees , , There's an introduction for how to use the book .

 The illustrations are really simple, you know, there's no photographs in it. There are these symbols, , that, , help you, , use the book. , you know, all of the text and illustrations in this book are green, black, gray, and white. Um, and it's, it's really, , limited in that way. , , it's a very, like, simple kind of, , stylized, , design aesthetic,

I find it's really easy to follow. . And then, uh, It's Not Text Heavy. Again, it's a small book.

Pacific Northwest Medicinal Plants

Nicki: The last book that I've got today is Pacific Northwest Medicinal Plants, Identify, Harvest, and Use 120 Wild Herbs for Health and Wellness by Scott Kloos. So, I found out about this book because I saw the speaker, , present at the, 2017 Plant Medicine Gathering in Portland, Oregon. so I didn't really enjoy their presentation. , at this conference, but they're a very well known herbalist in the Portland metro area.

Um, so I went ahead and got this book, and it's a book that I like. Um, , I like that the book's formatting is like, really spacious. , , it's really beginner friendly. , , it doesn't make any assumptions about the reader being able to, identify or harvest, you know, wild plants. It's really inviting in that way.

 You know, it explains terms in like a digestible, novice friendly way, the photographs are really pretty. Um, I feel like the photographs are really, really nice in this book. , And it just kind of gives a wildcrafting basic guideline, first of all, getting started with like ethics around wildcrafting and foraging, as well as, uh, how to approach each plant that's listed and shared in this book.

 One thing that I appreciate, um, with this book is that It provides information about not only how to forage and prepare, um, and, , use certain plants.

Nicki: It also talks about caution, like when to use caution for certain plants.

It also has a section about, toxic plants themselves, um,, for instance, poison hemlock, which grows in riparian areas. And it even has, like, this toxic plant quiz.

So I appreciate that those are also included in this book because it's important to know What the toxic things are too. Because accidents happen.

Nicki: so these are the books that I have today. And together, you know, these really offer me an introduction to knowing the Pacific Northwest better. especially the plant life and helping me continue becoming a person of place.

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Nicki: If any of these titles peak your interest, then go to the show notes, to buy books through the Nicki's Wonder List storefront on Bookshop.org. Purchasing through this storefront means you'll be supporting authors, independent book sellers, and this podcast.

Thank you for listening to Nicki's Wonder List. Until next time.

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