Backyard Foraging

Would You Like to Learn
How to Identify
Edible & Medicinal 
Wild Plants?

Discover the abundance of edible and medicinal plants that grow in Virginia’s Western Highlands — through guided walks across the gardens, meadows, and forest edges at Emerald Mountain Sanctuary.

2 or 3-Hour Walks Full Day Classes


early harvest
Pawpaws
Fall Berry Harvest
roses and poppies

Choose Your Pace

Choose either a 2 or 3-hour walk. Morning or afternoon tours are available.

We begin by exploring the gardens, then meander through fields, hedgerows, and forest edges. We will identify edible wildflowers, berries, nuts, greens, leaves, and barks.

You will learn about ethical foraging rules and about plants that should never be picked because they are either endangered or poisonous to humans.

At the end of your walk, enjoy a sample of the many drinks and dishes that can be prepared with foraged foods.

Come prepared: Wear sturdy walking shoes, long pants, and insect protection.

Two-Hour Guided Tour

$120

Up to 2 individuals, $50 per additional person

Three-Hour Guided Tour

$180

Up to 2 individuals, $70 per additional person

How to book your tour:

Contact Annette to book your tour.

Full Day Classes

During full day classes, we spend the morning identifying plants and in the afternoon, we turn foraged plants into juices and teas,salads, and stir fries and learn how to incorporate wild foods into your regular, everyday dishes.  

You will also gather inspiration for making jams, baked goods, spice mixes and medicinal salves and tinctures.

scarlet beebalm
Blue Violet flowers

Full-day classes are held from 10 am – 4 pm (typically on Saturdays) and cover the following:

  1. The importance and ethics of foraging wild foods.
  2. Finding and identifying plants in their habitat.
  3. Spending individual time with your chosen plant(s) and learning from them.
  4. Harvesting the plant(s) you’ll be preparing.
  5.  Preparing/cooking your foraged foods.
  6. Sharing your dish/beverage with the rest of the group.

2026 Foraging Class Dates

April 25

Spring

August 8

Summer

September 26

Autumn

You can take only one class or follow the seasonal plant cycles from spring through fall by attending all three classes.

$125 per class

or $300 for all three classes

Maximum # of participants is 12 per class.

Kind words from clients and students

  • “What Annette shares with her foraging students goes beyond the basic facts about native, introduced, and invasive plants — she helps her students open their eyes to an interconnected ecosystem and the many ways humans and plants can interact through those interconnections. Through hands-on activities, discussion, reflection, and recommendations for follow-on learning, the classes provide confidence about what questions to ask when foraging and how to do so safely. To top off a day of exploring and learning by working together to prepare a delicious shared meal — using what we had foraged — was a wonderful capstone to the day.”
    C.D.
  • “This is a sacrament”
    C.T. about the wild food dishes the class prepared.
  • “Annette, I learned so much in just 2 hours yesterday. I love your very practical and learned approach to the bounty that surrounds us, unappreciated and unseen though it is right under our feet, and in our lawn and gardens, meadows, and woodlands.”
    A.C.

Your Foraging Instructor:
Annette Naber, Ph.D.

Originally from Germany, Annette has lived in the US for over 40 years and has traveled extensively. After retiring from a career as a clinical psychologist in the Washington DC area, she now offers foraging classes, guided forest bathing tours, and nature reconnection retreats. Tending to her organic gardens, she continues to study traditional ways of growing and preparing foods, using plants for culinary, medicinal, and cosmetic purposes. She also keeps nurturing a small native plant sanctuary to support bio-diversity on her land. Her interest and experience in holistic living are inevitably interwoven through all of her services.

Annette Naber Sat in golden rod meadow

Annette is also a photographer and writer. Many of her photographs and photo essays are featured on her Substack blog. Her first book, Seasons of a Wild Life, was published in 2024. Learn more on her author website. 

Her second book (with co-author Keith Carson), Growing Native Plants in the Virginia Highlands: For Gardeners in Allegheny, Bath and Highland Counties, was published in March 2026 and is available online here (PDF).

Book Your Backyard Foraging Class

Get in touch to reserve your guided walk or full-day class.

Contact Annette