Esalen Institute is open! However, Highway 1 to the south is closed — please review the current travel advisory.
Learn More.

Learn more.

Due to road closures along Highway 1 to our north and south, Esalen is closed through April 11.
Esalen Institute is open! However, Highway 1 to the south is closed — please review the current travel advisory.
past workshop

Foraging: Fall in Love With Nature Through Wild Foods

July 25–27, 2025

Maria Finn

Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate. But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street into a sacred bond.

― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

Foraging is the antidote to our too-too-busy lives and convoluted, complex food systems. When we are out in nature, we learn to live by nature’s rules. Check the tides before heading out for clams, sea urchins, or seaweed. Notice rain patterns for optimal mushroom hunting. Learn the plants and trees that are delicious and can heal what ails you. Be very grateful to be an earthling.

What if we receive the generosity of planet Earth with reverence and pass it along? Could we then become a keystone species that improves habitat for ourselves and all other life that share this planet?  

In this immersive, experiential workshop, we’ll explore:

  • Practical tips and education for foraging wild foods found in the woods, coast, and urban/suburban edges.
  • Hands-on wildcrafting and techniques to preserve wild food.
  • Deeply visceral (and fun) experiences in nature, following nature as a guide for healthful and seasonal eating.
  • Journal prompts crafted to deepen our awareness of the natural world and open ourselves to transformation, creativity, and new culinary possibilities.

Big Sur is a spectacularly beautiful place, and gathering wild food is an intimate and fascinating way to discover it. Come spend a weekend tapping into your right brain, your animal body, your free spirit, your awe and wonder. Come fall in love with nature through wild foods.

Maria Finn

Maria Finn is the author of the cookbook Forage. Gather. Feast. and the founder of Flora & Fungi Adventures. In 2024, she launched The Institute for Ecosystem Based Living, an organization that produces pop-up events combining science, art, and regenerative food.

Full Bio