Todays episode is all about the connection between soil health, human health and the health of the planet.

Dan has been an organic farmer for more than 30 years. He grew up on Many Hands Organic Farm in central Massachusetts with his parents, Julie Rawson, NOFA-MA Executive Director, and Jack Kittredge, publisher of Natural Farmer. After working globally in the late 90s and early 2000s with farmers, NGOs, and researchers across India, Russia, and Central America, Dan returned to the U.S. and in 2010 launched the BFA in order to ignite a movement around food quality.

Dan has become one of the leading proponents of “nutrient density,” and works to demonstrate the connections between soil health, plant health, and human health through workshops and speaking engagements around the world, the annual Soil and Nutrition Conference, and an increased presence online through social media, a YouTube channel, and numerous webinars and podcasts.

Dan launched the Real Food Campaign, now the Bionutrient Institute, that, with open-source science partners Our-Sci and FarmOS, are leading the effort to identify and increase nutrition in the food supply. The Bionutrient Institute has engineered and released a hand-held consumer spectrometer, the Bionutrient Meter, designed to test nutrient density at the point of purchase and bring transparency to the marketplace. Via the Bionutrient Meter, the goal is to empower consumers to choose their foods based on nutrient quality and thereby leverage economic incentives to drive full system regeneration.

We discuss Meadow creation and break dow the process of meadow installation with Nick Novick. Nick Novick (Small Planet Landscaping) has been building healthier landscapes in and around Ashland, Massachusetts for more than two decades. With a degree in Environmental Conservation and a deep bench of hands-on field skills, Nick has done it all, from dry stone walls and lawn care to invasive plant control and fruit-tree care. But these days, nearly all of his work centers on one thing: meadows, and how to create them in a way that actually lasts.

Nick also brings serious community and education chops to the table. He served on the Ecological Landscape Alliance board and edited the ELA newsletter for about seven years, and he supervised the original installation of the Washington Tower meadow at Mount Auburn Cemetery, along with other projects on site. With multiple land-care certificates and years of speaking at conferences and workshops, Nick is equal parts practitioner, teacher, and collaborator, always open to teaming up with other eco-minded people who want to move the work forward.

What if your landscape could feed you and support pollinators at the same time? In this episode of Peace, Love & Pollinators, we explore edible landscapes, wild edible plants, and foraging with legendary New England naturalist Russ Cohen.

Russ is a wild foods expert and lifelong forager from Weston, Massachusetts who has spent over 50 years teaching people how to identify, harvest, and enjoy edible native plants (and yes, mushrooms too). He’s the author of Wild Plants I Have Known… and Eaten (with proceeds benefiting the Essex County Greenbelt Association) and a former Rivers Advocate for the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game, where he dedicated nearly three decades to protecting rivers and watersheds. Russ has been recognized for environmental leadership and education by organizations including the EPA, Mass Audubon, and the Native Plant Trust.

Together, we dig into how native edible plants can fit into regenerative landscaping, how to think about pollinator habitat while growing food, and why foraging can change the way you see your yard, your neighborhood, and the natural world.

If you’re curious about edible native plants in New England, sustainable foraging, wild food, ecological landscaping, or building landscapes that are both beautiful and functional, this episode is for you.

Keywords: edible landscaping, edible landscapes, foraging, wild edible plants, edible native plants, native plants New England, Russ Cohen, wild foods, sustainable foraging, pollinator habitat, regenerative landscaping, ecological landscape design, permaculture, food forest, mushrooms New England, Weston Massachusetts, rivers and watersheds, Mass Audubon, Native Plant Trust, Essex County Greenbelt Association.