Politics above all

just about our students.

I will start with students and schools. No one can say politics are not in our schools. One could argue that school boards are more about politics than ever.

Look at the Elizabeth School District. Board members resigned even though all of them had conservative political views. However, fear and rumors brought the makeup of the elected board down.

In Douglas County, several of the current board members received voter support because they promised to be against mask mandates during the COVID-19 shutdowns. Gone are the days where school boards are looking at test scores and seeing what measures need to be taken to improve reading and math scores. Instead, it’s the trigger words that lead to battles over critical race theory, social-emotional learning and masks.

As a parent, I want an emphasis placed on reading, writing, math and good student-to-teacher ratios. All the shouting, bickering and politics has me agreeing with the cess when we become rich, we achieve success first by believing, doing the behaviors, and having the right attitude that leads us to our success. e best way to get started on your way to getting things done is to create a list of all the things you are hoping for. Make room for hope, give hope a chance, and watch what happens.

How about you? Are there areas of your own life, personally or professionally, that can bene t from an infusion of hope, purpose, passion, performance, and achieving greater results? I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we can begin with a little spark of hope, to ignite the res of purpose and passion, to elevate our performance, results will happen and that really will make it a better than good life.

Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.

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Now, The Colorado Sun co-owns this and other Colorado Community Media newspapers as a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy. The Sun is CCM’s partner for statewide news.

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Wise’s point goes far beyond schools. Political bickering from our two major parties has gone to extremes that most Americans are sick of.

Political ghting prevents this country’s lawmakers from compromising to produce sensible legislation in key areas. Homelessness, a ordable housing, in ation, crime — all of these need focus and attention.

However, one side will introduce legislation only to have the other vehemently hate it. Compromise may happen in some areas — but it’s rare.

Our lawmakers are threatened by party leaders from voting for bills introduced by the other side. Sensible gun control should be discussed and debated. What is good for this country? What might stop some of these mass shootings? However, it won’t happen because every time a tragedy takes place the left screams gun control while the right barks about the Second Amendment. What if they came together, talked and discussed true solutions? elma Grimes is the south metro editor for Colorado Community Media.

In the end, “politics” is like slime, spreading all over, leaving residue, stains and permanent marks that will never be resolved without true e ort.

Local foragers teach students to cook with wild foods

ere some see weeds, Erica Davis sees ingredients for delicious soups and salads.

“In urban areas, there are a lot of plants that we call weeds that spring up everywhere, that are widely available to people, that are edible and good,” she said.

Foraging is the act of gathering wild plants from nature, generally to be used for food, and sometimes to make other products. For Davis and other foragers, spring means plants are starting to grow –which means kitchens will soon be full of wild foods ready to be prepared in creative ways.

Across the Front Range and in the mountains, several foragers share their knowledge through cooking classes based on wild foods.

Why cook with wild food?

Davis, who runs a blog called Wild Food Girl, has upcoming classes in Ramah and Fairplay. Her Arvada class this spring has already sold out.

“I think one of the biggest challenges with edible wild plants is that people don’t always know how to prepare them,” she said. “We all know how to cook spinach, we all know how to make broccoli — but we don’t all know how to cook tumble mustard so that it tastes good. So in my classes, I like to give students that experience of preparing an edible wild plant — or three — in a way that I think they are going to like best.”

Davis’ classes begin with an hourlong plant walk where students learn the names of plants and safety and sustainability guidelines for foraging. Afterward, she teaches them how to prepare several of the plants they have foraged. In the spring, dandelions and wild mustard greens are common staples in her classes, Davis said.

“People sometimes picture foraging as going out into the forest and picking plants

— and that’s part of it — but I would really encourage people to learn the weeds and make use of them,” she said. “A lot of them are non-native species, so there really aren’t as many ecological considerations with picking them.”

Davis teaches her students to make dandelion green soup from a recipe passed down by an Italian relative. Musk mustard is great in salads, and tumble mustard and field pennycress are fun to ferment, she said.

Beyond the creative and flavorful uses of foraged foods, research from 2019 suggests that wild edible greens harvested in urban areas can be abundant and highly nutritious. The study dubbed wild edible plants “open-source food.”

“This idea that open-source food is out there for anybody to eat and make use of — and then furthermore, it’s organic, it’s free, it’s fresh — I just think that’s a great concept,” Davis said.

Safety precautions

Despite their affordability and freshness, wild plants are not all safe to eat. Crystal Baldwin, who teaches wild plant-based classes at her Golden business, Earth Sweet Boutique, said it’s always important to triple-check plants before you eat them.

“I don’t like to frighten people away from… foraged foods because there’s a lot of very safe ones,” Baldwin said. “But I like them to be aware that there are dangerous, poisonous ones that will kill you, and so it’s important to kind of have an idea of what those might be and what to look out for.”

Baldwin encourages those interested in foraging to start by taking classes, working with local experts and reading about which plants are safe to eat.

She also said it’s important to check if plants are near old buildings that could be contributing lead to soil or if plants have been sprayed with pesticides.

‘Part of human history’

In addition to cooking, Baldwin said wild foods can be used to make skincare products, tinctures, infused honey, medicines and more.

“There’s many different things you can do with foraged foods, and the great thing about it is that we have tons of free, wonderful, wild foods here in Colorado,” she said.

Some of Baldwin’s favorite plants to forage are pine and conifer needles, which are high in vitamin C. She uses the needles to make a simple syrup that she drinks with seltzer water and fresh lemon.

“It’s extremely refreshing and has a lot of minerals, so it’s very hydrating in the summertime when it’s hot,” she said.

When foraging, it’s important to do so in a way that does not damage plants or plant populations, Baldwin said. When gathering pine needles, for example, she takes about an inch or two from each branch and moves around to different branches so as to not damage the plant.

Davis agreed that sustainability is an important part of foraging process, and it’s something foragers need to be mindful of in order to do correctly.

“Sometimes people think ‘Foraging must be bad for the environment because you’re picking the plants!’ But I think the actual truth is much more nuanced than that,” she said. “Foraging is part of human history, I mean, we have been foraging since time immemorial, and we can do it in ways that don’t harm the plant populations if we’re mindful.”

Beyond freshness and accessibility, Davis said foraging offers health benefits and a range of flavors that are not available in grocery stores.

And perhaps best of all, wild food offers a way to get close to nature.

“For me, also, they o er a connection to nature,” Davis said. “ ey invite time spent outdoors, getting to know plants, working with my hands.”

Davis has available spots in her classes in Ramah and Fairplay this spring and summer. Her classes can be found at https://wildfoodgirl.com/wfg-events/.

On her webpage, people who want to learn more about foraging can also sign up for the Colorado foragers email list.

In May, Baldwin is hosting a wild food cooking class at her shop, taught by veteran forager Wendy Petty. Students can sign up at https:// earthsweetboutique.com/ products/wild-foraged-food-cooking-class and see future classes at https:// earthsweetboutique.com/ pages/classes-events.