Can you name 50 edible plants native to the Northwest? WWU's Hahn to discuss this and more Feb. 23

Seaweed salad? Pickled kelp? “When the tide is out, the table is set,” goes the old Coast Salish saying.

At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23, Jennifer Hahn -- writer, wilderness guide, and Adjunct Professor at Fairhaven College -- will teach how to spot the "food at your feet" as well as the culture and cuisine of shoreline edibles.

The event will take place at the Bellingham Public Library, 210 Central Ave. in Bellingham.

The event, “GO WILD: Coastal Foraging and Cuisine,” is presented by the SeaDoc Society.

“When it comes to eating within your own food shed, wild foraging is as local as it gets,” says Hahn, who recently kayaked solo from Alaska to Bellingham, harvesting wild food along the way to keep her kayak light.

In her presentation, Hahn, will explore more than 50 common edible native plants and share slides and stories from her new book "Pacific Feast: A Cook’s Guide to West Coast Foraging and Cuisine."

Attendees can discover a host of delicious and nutritious wild and weedy greens, trees, ferns, berries, flowers, mushrooms, sea veggies and shellfish that thrive along the Pacific Coast. Hahn will share a blend of natural history, stories about First Nation uses, personal anecdotes, nutrition, sustainable foraging guidelines and recipes. Attendees will even get to sample a few items such as Chocolate Ocean Pudding (thickened with Turkish towel seaweed -- so rich it rivals truffle ganache) and bullkelp pickles.

The SeaDoc Society is a wildlife health program of the Veterinary School of University of California, Davis. The society is working to help restore health to the inland waters of Washington and British Columbia by pursuing scientific solutions to issues affecting wildlife health in local waters.

For more information, contact Jean Spalti at (360) 376-3910.