Book Signing with Mary O'Brien and Karen Vail

Book Signing with Mary O’Brien and Karen Vail

Authors of Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Southern Rockies 

Saturday, May 28, 2016 - 3:00 - 4:30 pm 

Off the Beaten Path welcome Mary O’Brien and Karen Vail, authors of Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Southern Rockies. The authors will be available to sign copies of their book and to answer your questions about foraging.

About Edible and Medicinal Plants: This new, full color reference book introduces readers to over 130 native and non-native plants from the foothills to the alpine of the Southern Rockies. It is written for the curious first-time forager as well as the more advanced harvester of edibles and medicinals. Organized according to plant family, with color photos and descriptions for identification, this guide includes tips for harvesting and preparing foods and medicines, historical indigenous plant uses, gardening tips, recipes and stories,and a complete section on poisonous plants.

About the Authors: Mary O’Brien has been studying and practicing herbal medicine since 1987. She studied with many renowned teachers and completed the Chartered Herbalist program with Dominion Herbal College. A Colorado native, she has lived in Steamboat Springs over 20 years, where she teaches herbal medicine, leads medicinal plant walks, wildcrafts, makes herbal products and maintains a medicinal garden for Yampa River Botanic Park. Her journey has led her to also study the medicine wheel, sacred plant medicine, massage therapy, energy work and permaculture. Through her teaching, she emphasizes the use of native, non-native, and locally grown plants for plant-based self-care and incorporates permaculture principles. She is passionate about empowering others to create a relationship with the plant world and become sustainable caretakers of Mother Earth. 

Karen Vail received a B.S. in Horticulture, with a concentration in Botany from Colorado State University, and earned her Master’s Degree in Gardening from the Royal Horticultural Society in England. She rode the “big yellow bus” for a year on Audubon Expedition Institute during her first year towards a Masters in Environmental Education, finishing up at Antioch in New England. Karen taught botany at the local college and introduced people to local wildflowers through summer wildflower walks. Karen has published two books, For the Joy of Wildflowers: Colorado Creations, and Yampa Valley Visions: Photography and Writing of a Yampa Valley Naturalist. She has also co-published a video/DVD, A Season of Wildflowers: The Rocky Mountains. She runs her own landscaping business, and continues to be active in education through a local environmental education organization, Yampatika, and a variety of local venues.