Bo Brown
Bo Brown is the author of two Falcon Guides books - Foraging the Ozarks and Foraging Central Grasslands, and is founder/director of First Earth Wilderness School LLC.
He has worked all over the U.S. and Belize as a songbird biologist since 1985 and has led countless courses on foraging, stone-age wilderness survival, and nature education over the last three decades. He also worked a 9-year stint as a Naturalist for Missouri Deptartment of Conservation.
Bo also conducts weekly foraging walks and primitive skills demonstrations at Johnny Morris’ Dogwood Canyon Nature Park near Blue Eye, Missouri, presents foraging progams for various area groups and organizations, and offers public speaking at events.
Offerings
PROGRAMS & EVENTS
BOOKS
Bo presents foraging/wild food programs at libraries, nature centers, and regional events, and 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 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. Available on Hulu and Disney+.
Bo was recently awarded a Living History Fellowship by the Missouri Folk Arts Project for his decades of community engagement in nature education, songbird research, and music.
Schedule a plant/mushroom identification walk at Bo's place or at your location. Learn more about the Ozarks by booking a trip to explore our unique geologic landforms, birding hotspots, and areas of botanical specialty. Get an overview of natural and cultural history, or focus on individual subjects such as area birdlife, wildflowers, edible/medicinal plants, archaeology, geology, primitive outdoor skills and wilderness survival. Stone-age survival courses available on request, covering friction fire, flintknapping, basketry, traps, weaponry, utensil-less cooking, and much more. Visit the First Earth Wilderness School page for details.
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Bo's educational programs are listed on the calendar, check back regularly for updates and added programs throughout the year. Stay updated via his Facebook page.
Bo authored two books, Foraging the Ozarks (2020) and Foraging Central Grasslands (2023) for Falcon Guides. He is currently working on a revised and expanded second edition of the Ozarks book, and a collaboration with wild food chef/author Rachel West is in the works to produce a companion guide titled the Ozark Forager's Cookbook.
MUSIC
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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