Bo Brown
Bo Brown is the founder and director of First Earth Wilderness School and author of the Falcon Guides books Foraging the Ozarks and Foraging Central Grasslands.
He has worked all over the U.S. and Belize as a songbird biologist since 1985, and has led courses on foraging, stone-age wilderness survival, and nature education throughout the Midwest for over three decades.
He also presents weekly foraging walks and primitive skills demonstrations at Johnny Morris’ Dogwood Canyon Nature Park near Blue Eye, Missouri.
Offerings
PROGRAMS & EVENTS
BOOKS
MUSIC
Want to learn about the wild edible plants on your land? Bo offers plant/mushroom identification walks at your location. Only have limited time and want to know more about what’s overhead and underfoot in nature? He can help you explore the Ozarks’ unique geologic landforms, birding hotspots, and areas of botanical specialty. Design a trip to your choice of locations, or choose a set event. Get an overview of natural and cultural history, focus on individual subjects such as area birdlife, wildflowers, edible/medicinal plants, archaeology, geology, primitive outdoor skills and wilderness survival.
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Bo presents foraging/wild food programs at libraries, nature centers, and regional events, and recently presented foraging programs on the national stage for the two-week Smithsonian Folklife Festival held on the National Mall. The Ozarks region was the featured culture of 2023 in a program called “The Ozarks, Faces and Facets of a Region”, with a culturally diverse presentation team of crafters, artists, musicians, herbalists, and even a couple of moonshiners from Arkansas.
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He also recently appeared on episode 6 of “Farming is Life”, a TV series produced by NatGeo Wild featuring host farmer/forager Indy Srnath visiting wild food farms around the country to connect them with local resources and aid in their success. The program is streamed on Hulu and Disney+.
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All of Bo's educational programs around the Ozarks region can be found via the calendar. Be sure to check back regularly for updates and added programs throughout the year. You can also stay updated via his Facebook page and his site First Earth Wilderness School.
Bo has authored two books, Foraging the Ozarks (2020) and Foraging Central Grasslands (2023) for Falcon Guides. He and foraging educator Rachel West are currently in production of a third project, The Ozark Forager's Cookbook.
Bo has been a life-long professional musician with numerous bands, and still performs regionally with several groups. His bands' recordings and videos can be seen and heard on YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, and Reverbnation. See Bo's Music on the Links & Resources page for samples.
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