Adult Classes and Workshops
Deepen connection to self, others, and Nature.
For adults of all skill levels, unless noted otherwise.
ABOUT ADULT CLASSES:
Please add nashvillenatureexplorers@gmail.com to your address book to be sure class information does not end up in your spam folders!!
Location details are emailed a few days before the class.
Children 14+ may register for a class/workshop with an adult present, also registered, but Family Workshops are all ages
Most classes happen outdoors, unless noted. Prepare for all weather including meeting in rain and cold (for severe weather, classes may be rescheduled).
Some walking/hiking may be required, so if you need a class to be accessible or have questions please reach out and we will work to make the class accessible.
Some of our program locations have no restrooms, or no full restrooms (port-a-potties only).
At this time, no refunds are possible for these courses. We rely on each registration to hold a class. In the rare case we cancel a class, full refunds are given. If you cannot make a class, please let us know and we will offer the spot to someone who otherwise would not be able to attend.
Some classes offer eating or drinking wild foods, and you are responsible for knowing about any allergies you may have to wild foods.
15% of ticket sales go to Metro Parks, for all classes on Metro property. This is part of our licensing agreement with them, as well as a great way to support our local parks! *Note: there is a no foraging/harvesting rule in the Metro Parks.
July 25 10am-12:30pm Location TBD
August 22 10am-12:30pm Location TBD
October 17 10am-12:30pm Location TBD
November 7 10am-12:30pm Location TBD
This beginner class is taught by Tennessee State Naturalist and forager Judy Scoville. It is an introduction to wild mushroom foraging. With her guidance, you'll learn to identifying different mushroom features, and types, and leave knowing at least 3 easy to identify edible mushrooms, and the confidence and resources to learn many more.
July 24, 6-8:30pm
October 16, 6-8:30pm
Private home in East Nashville
Step back in time and learn the ancient art of flint knapping — the craft of shaping stone into tools, blades, and arrowheads.
You’ll learn how to strike flakes predictably, shape a core, and begin crafting your own small project to take home.
No experience needed, all tools and materials provided.
Expect sparks, satisfying “pings,” and a deep connection to one of humanity’s oldest skills.
Come connect with others and learn a timeless skill.
July 25 10am-12pm Location TBD
September 5 10am-12pm Location TBD
Learn the basics of plant foraging, get familiar with some local plants, and how to harvest and prepare them, while enjoying a wild treat made by your teacher.
Friday September 4 6-8pm
Private home in East Nashville
Connect with the timeless skill of making fire from the land. Robert will help you learn how to gather materials, make a bow drill set, and use steady pressure and rhythm to bring an ember to life. This is a slow, mindful practice that teaches patience, focus, and respect for the elements. All materials provided, and beginners are warmly welcomed. Celebrate that first wisp of smoke!
September 19 10am-12pm Location TBD
Discover one of nature’s most abundant wild foods in this informational foraging workshop. Learn how to identify and responsibly harvest acorns, distinguish between different oak species, process acorns to remove tannins, and transform them into nutritious flour and other delicious foods. Participants will gain practical skills, seasonal harvesting knowledge, and a deeper connection to local landscapes through this traditional wild food practice. Suitable for beginners and nature enthusiasts alike.
September 26 2-4pm Location TBD
For the foraging nerd and nerd-wannabes!
This workshop is designed for those who have taken our Plant Foraging 101 or Mushroom Foraging 101 courses, and have been practicing what they learned, as well as folks with foraging experience who want to take their knowledge to the next level.
We'll go beyond simple plant ID and dive into deeper skills like seasonal foraging strategies, habitat reading, sustainable harvesting methods, and distinguishing lookalikes—especially among trickier species.
Participants will sharpen their plant and mushroom identification skills, learn to track ecological indicators of edible abundance, and collaborate on how to use wild foods in practical ways—from field preparation to kitchen use. We'll also cover ethical wildcrafting, preservation techniques, and how to build a foraging journal or personal field guide.
Hands-on and field-based, this workshop blends structured learning with open discussion and curiosity-driven exploration. You’ll leave more confident in your ability to safely identify, harvest, and enjoy a wider range of wild foods—while deepening your relationship with the ecosystems you forage in.
Prerequisite: Familiarity with basic plant ID and wild food safety. Have worked with at least 10 different species of plants and fungi for personal/professional use. Not suitable for beginners.
Perfect for home herbalists, nature educators, wild food cooks, and anyone ready to grow beyond the basics.
Includes attending the Annual Forager’s Gathering afterward from 5-7pm
Saturday September 26, 5-7pm Location TBD
This gathering is a welcoming space, open to all ages and experience levels, and is informal. Come with questions, knowledge, resources, and/or a dish to share. Bring a spoon, bowl, and cup for sampling, a notebook, and a sense of gratitude. Hopefully we’ll all leave with new skills, new/deeper friendships, and inspiration for our future foraging journeys!
Join us to experience:
Connection with the land and community
Inspiration
Informal skill-sharing
Gratitude
Tasty wild treats
and… return home nourished!
Ticket sales cover the shelter rental, and any extra will be donated to Friends of Warner Parks.
October 24, 10:30 am-12:30 pm.
Discover the rich history and flavor of wild-crafted root beer by making traditional sassafras root brew. You'll learn how to safely identify and sustainably harvest sassafras root, and learn about the other aromatic wild plants commonly used in old-timey root beer recipes, such as spicebush, sarsaparilla and wintergreen.
We’ll walk through the full process: cleaning, preparing, and simmer the roots with High Garden’s “Roots Beer” tea. Next we sweeten the decoction and inoculate it with a wild yeast from organic ginger roots. The workshop ends with filling bottles to take home!
Participants will get to sample root beer, take home the recipe, and leave with a bottle or two of their own brew to finish fermenting at home. For those who would like to make a ginger bug for future ferments, you can add that on for $15.
This workshop is perfect for herbalists, home brewers, foragers, and families interested in connecting with Nature in a tasty way!
If you’d like to work further with Sassafras, register for the afternoon class on Sassafras Incense from 2-4, registration on the website, and pack or grab a lunch for the break in between.
Friday November 6, 6-8pm
Private Home in Cleveland Park
Celebrate the harvest season by learning to weave your own traditional cornucopia basket! This iconic form, often seen as a symbol of abundance and gratitude, makes a perfect seasonal centerpiece or gift, and is a lasting reminder of the connection between craft and the land.
We will weave this beautiful, horn-shaped vessel using natural materials such as willow, grapevine, or other flexible plant fibers.
No prior basketry experience is needed, and all materials are provided.
November 14 1pm-3pm Location TBD
Toast hickory bark, and turn it into a delicious syrup! Learn to identify hickory trees, harvest bark appropriately without harming the tree, and make a decoction with the fire-roasted bark. Sampling is part of the class, and all participants go home with a jar of the sweet-smoky-umami syrup! Delicious on everything from pancakes and coffee to cocktails, mocktails, marinades, and dressings! Use anywhere you’d use maple syrup.
Learn the basics of plant foraging! Get familiar with, and confident in, identifying some local plants, as well as how to incorporate them into something you already cook. We will also sip on one of High Garden’s incredible teas, with ingredients we likely find during class.
Valid for any Plant Foraging 101 Class in 2026
Learn the basics of mushroom foraging! Get familiar with identifying some local edible mushrooms, as well as how to incorporate them into something you already cook. We will also sip on one of High Garden’s incredible teas WITH mushrooms!
Valid for any Mushroom Foraging 101 Class in 2026
Toast hickory bark over a campfire, and turn it into a delicious syrup! Learn to identify hickory trees, harvest bark appropriately without harming the tree, and make a decoction with the fire-roasted bark. Sampling is part of the class, and all participants go home with a jar of the sweet-smoky-umami syrup!
Valid for any Hickory Bark Syrup Workshop in 2026
Learn to weave a simple, beautiful basket while sipping on delicious herbal High Garden tea.
Valid for any Basket Weaving workshop in 2026
This class is designed to nurture outdoor confidence and give families the tools to forage responsibly and joyfully. This is a hands-on, family-friendly, beginners introduction to finding wild edible plants.
We will explore a local trail or meadow, learning to identify a handful of safe, easy-to-recognize edibles and how to distinguish them from look-alikes. Along the way, we’ll share fun plant stories, ecological facts, and simple recipes kids can help make. Families can practice plant identification through a scavenger hunt and taste-testing (when appropriate). This class will touch on ethical harvesting, seasonal patterns, and safety tips. Everyone leaves with a list of “starter plants” for future adventures.
Gift Card is for 1 adult and 1 child, additional family members can be added for $20 apiece.
Valid for any Family Foraging class in 2026
This gift card goes towards any class, workshop, or private foraging tour/workshop in 2026! Class tickets range from $45-$80, and private group tours range from $350-550.
Classes and Workshops for 2026 include: Plant Foraging 101, Mushroom Foraging 101, Family Foraging, Hickory Bark Syrup, Beeswax Candle Dipping, Bow Drill Fire, Wild Sassafras Root Beer, Basket Weaving, Flint Knapping, Acorn Flour, Wild Grape Jelly, Cornucopia Weaving, and more!
If you don’t see the price you need, email me and I’ll create it. nashvillenatureexplorers@gmail.com
Valid towards any class/workshop/private tour in 2026
2026 Classes:
Plant Foraging101
Mushroom Foraging 101
Hickory Bark Syrup Workshop
Beeswax Candle Dipping
Family Foraging
Basket Weaving
Wild Fermented Root Beer
Fire Building 101
Bow Drill Fire Workshops
Natural Cordage Workshops
Beginner Flint Knapping
Turkey Tail Medicine
PAST PROGRAMS
Have a TOPIC REQUEST? WOULD LIKE TO SEE US REPEAT A PAST PROGRAM? LET US KNOW! We also offer private Classes for groups.
Foraging 101
Join us for an introduction to foraging. We will learn about the principles of foraging, the life cycles of plants and when to harvest, and how to identify the edible and medicinal plants growing this particular time of year.
Forage and Feast
Greet the land, meet the plants, sustainably harvest, and cook a delicious, satisfying meal to share.
Urban Foraging
There is so much growing right in the city! We will walk around a city neighborhood and learn how to locate, identify, safely harvest, and prepare wild foods while still being near the city center.
Wild Food: Acorn Flour Making
Learn which oak trees produce the best acorns for making flour, how to gather and process acorns to make acorn flour. This class includes sampling acorn flour pancakes.
Mushroom Foraging
Master forager Alan Powell and naturalist Judy Scoville teach an unmatched introduction to safely foraging for wild mushrooms.
Cordage Making
Join us for a class on how to make cordage with plant fibers. Identify various plants, and learn how to process them to create rope.
Natural Dyeing
Learn the process of using local plants, mushrooms, and lichen to make natural dye, and dye a silk scarf and Patagonia t-shirt/bring light-colored/white natural-fiber items of your own such as yarn, clothing, tea towel, etc. We have used garden marigolds, black walnut hulls, elderberries, chicken of the wood mushrooms, and lichens!
Wild Root Beer Making
Learn to identify and harvest sassafras root, and process and ferment it to make a wild crafted root beer! Participants will go home with a few bottle of root beer, and a “ginger bug” to make more.
Candle Dipping
Learn a bit about the history of light, lamps, candles, and bees while dipping sweet-smelling beeswax candles for yourself, or as a special gift.
Bow Drill Making and Usage
Learn how to make a bow drill (the type of wood matters!), and use it to start a primitive fire.
Plant Walk
Join a master forager for a plant walk to practice your edible plant identification skills. This is not an instructional class, but for folks who have a base knowledge in foraging to practice plant identification get confirmation from an expert.
Hickory Bark Syrup Workshop
Learn to identify hickory trees, harvest bark appropriately without harming the tree, and turn it into a delicious syrup! Syrup sampling will be part of the class, and all participants go home with a jar of the sweet and umami syrup!
Botany Basics
Join us for an introduction to botany. Learn the basic identifying factors of 6 plant families, and the basic anatomy of a plant.
Basket Weaving
Learn to make a simple basket of local woven vines from harvest to finished product. Sip on delicious High Garden tea while weaving.
Wild Grape Jelly
Wild grapes have a deep, complex, delicious flavor. Learn to locate and identify wild grapes, turn them into syrup, and the syrup into jelly. Go home with two pints to enjoy!
Sourdough Basics
Receive sourdough starter, learn the basics of caring for your starter, and using it to bake the most delicious artisanal bread!
Sourdough Discard
Learn how to use your discard to make delicious new recipes.