By Blake Jackson
Native plants provide benefits for both people and the environments they support. This spring, Lincoln University of Missouri’s Native Plant Academy focused on edible native species, highlighting how they connect conservation, nutrition, and daily living.
Organized by LU’s Native and Specialty Crops Program in collaboration with the Missouri Department of Conservation, the academy featured a five-part series exploring a new topic each year. This year’s program centered on edible native plants, offering webinars, recipes, demonstrations, and a concluding in-person symposium on May 23, 2026, in Kansas City.
Participants showed strong interest in learning about native edible plants and how to grow them in home gardens and farms. The sessions provided practical guidance for gardeners, educators, and conservationists on identifying, growing, harvesting, and preparing native edibles.
During one webinar, Tina Wurth, extension educator with LU's Native and Specialty Crops Program, encouraged participants to rethink familiar plants.
“Today is not just about native plants,” Wurth said. “It's about the common plants around us that we should learn more about—and start eating.”
Participants learned to recognize everyday edible plants such as chickweed, lamb’s quarters, clover, and plantain. They also explored lesser-known perennial edibles like sochan, nettles, bergamot, wild leeks, and violets, discovering how these plants can be used in a variety of dishes and beverages.
The program also highlighted preparation techniques and recipes using wild ingredients. “Eating wild is a connection to the seasons, to special places, the memories of harvesting outdoors,” said conservation educator Ginger Miller of the Missouri Department of Conservation.
The program concluded with a hands-on symposium at the Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, where attendees sampled dishes like chickweed pesto, purslane salad, and mountain mint tea. Participants toured native plant gardens and took home plants and recipes to continue learning at home.
Since its launch in 2021, the Native Plant Academy has continued to expand interest in native plant education, with another session planned for the fall.
Photo Credit: lincoln-university-missouri
Categories: Missouri, Education, General