Field Guides

Mary Siisip Geniusz has spent more than thirty years working with, living with, and using the Anishinaabe teachings, recipes, and botanical information she shares in Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask. Geniusz gained much of the knowledge she writes about from her years as an oshkaabewis, a traditionally trained apprentice, and as friend to the late Keewaydinoquay, an Anishinaabe medicine woman from the Leelanau Peninsula in Michigan and a scholar, teacher, and practitioner in the field of native ethnobotany. Keewaydinoquay published little in her lifetime, yet Geniusz has carried on her legacy by making this body of knowledge accessible to a broader audience.

Geniusz teaches the ways she was taught—through stories. Sharing the traditional stories she learned at Keewaydinoquay’s side as well as stories from other American Indian traditions and her own experiences, Geniusz brings the plants to life with narratives that explain their uses, meaning, and history. Stories such as “Naanabozho and the Squeaky-Voice Plant” place the plants in cultural context and illustrate the belief in plants as cognizant beings. Covering a wide range of plants, from conifers to cattails to medicinal uses of yarrow, mullein, and dandelion, she explains how we can work with those beings to create food, simple medicines, and practical botanical tools.

Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask makes this botanical information useful to native and nonnative healers and educators and places it in the context of the Anishinaabe culture that developed the knowledge and practice.

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344 pages | 7.00" x 10.00" | Paperback

This guide:

• Highlights 70-plus edible species including seaweeds, beach vegetables, shellfish, mushrooms, berries, trees, ferns, and wild and weedy greens
• Includes more than 60 recipes, plus tips for enjoying this natural abundance
• Includes key sections describe sustainable harvesting practices

Pacific Harvest, written by expert forager and guide Jennifer Hahn, introduces both novice and more experienced foragers to the Pacific Coast’s ample and diverse edible species. Recognizing your local edible berries, flowers, greens, roots, tree parts, mushrooms, seaweeds, beach vegetables, and shellfish is a passport to a comforting sense of place. Hahn shares immersive descriptions of her foraging adventures as well as full-color photos to make identifying these species easy and enjoyable. Each featured food listing includes common names, taxonomy, primary location, description, harvesting details, and culinary tips for transition from the wild to the kitchen table. Select listings call out notable nutrition and wellness benefits, along with contemporary research on conservation status.

This coastal foraging guide highlights authentic Indigenous harvesting practices including profiles of Indigenous leaders in the traditional foods movement. Hahn emphasizes a sustainable approach to foraging, reminding readers what other beings also depend on these plants and animals as food and shelter sources.

Pacific Harvest includes dozens of recipes featuring foraged foods, ranging from no-fuss delights like Salal Berry Scones and Kelp-Wrapped Salmon to comfort foods like Fiddlehead Quiche and Horse Clam Stir-Fry.

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360 pages | 6.00" x 8.50" | 175 Color Photos | Paperback 

 

With Indigenous Métis herbalist LoriAnn Bird as your guide, connect with the ancestral wisdom of over 90 wild edible and medicinal plants from across North America.

A purposeful and powerful reference to the lessons, nourishment, healing, and history of our “plant teachers,” Revered Roots shares guidance on exploring, gathering, and reclaiming these long-revered plants as food and medicine. Separated into two sections, LoriAnn first reveals her own journey to understanding and respecting our plant elders. She offers teachings and lessons about remembering our relationship to the plants around us and our responsibility to the earth that sustains us.

The second part of the book is filled with insightful illustrated plant profiles detailing the identification, uses, and Indigenous folklore of some of the continent’s most treasured ancestral plants. Included are edible and medicinal bark, berries, and buds from trees and shrubs, as well as foliage, flowers, and fronds from herbs, “weeds,” and wildflowers; some native to the continent, others introduced generations ago.

Learn about the gifts our Rooted Nation of plants has to offer, including:

• Evergreen tips from spruces, pines, and firs
• Hawthorn berries, leaves, and flowers
• Plantain seeds and foliage
• Oswego tea leaves and blooms
• Slippery elm bark
• Motherwort flowers, stems, and leaves
• Black cohosh roots and rhizomes
• Marshmallow root
• Cottonwood buds and bark
• Plus dozens more

Reclaiming our natural rhythms and connections to the earth we walk on is essential to our health and well-being, both as individuals and as a community. One simple way to do that is by appreciating, respecting, and seeking to understand the plants around us.

Reviews
“With elegant reverence, LoriAnn Bird weaves connections among ancestral herbalist teachings from several lineages. She invites us into our own personal journey with plant medicine, giving us lessons on how to respect and honor the power of plants and their human knowledge keepers. She carefully and lovingly attributes each piece of teaching to its source. This book is a powerful legacy that we need more than ever at this time of healing and reconciliation. May its words fly into the world and land softly in the hearts of all who need them.”—Lori Weidenhammer, author of Victory Gardens for Bees: A DIY Guide to Saving the Bees

“Revered Roots is truly an essential work of art that imparts the sacredness of each plant, in each harvesting step and in the interspecies relationships with all of life. The authentic and grounded nature of LoriAnn Bird comes through the pages to connect us with a sense of belonging and reverence.”—Katrina Blair, founder of Turtle Lake Refuge; author of The Wild Wisdom of Weeds

“LoriAnn Bird, in her book Revered Roots, creates a beautiful story about our plant relatives with our history woven between the leaves of each page. She highlights each being and allows them to tell their story, including who they are, their benefits, uses, ways to eat, look-alikes, and what makes them unique. It's like looking at an old family album and finally knowing who each person is and what their spirit has to offer the world. The book, complete with information about our relatives, wrapped its warm arms around me as I nestled in to read each page, excited to learn more about family. LoriAnn’s voice provides a continuous honoring of our ancestors, our brilliance, and our resilience.”—Jenna Jasek, Shuswap (Kenpesq't) Band member, Director of Indigenous Learning, The Outdoor Learning School

“LoriAnn Bird weaves stories of plants into a tapestry of vivid imagery and teachings, allowing us to experience earth medicine in a way we never have before. Like a family gathered around the table exchanging stories of cherished ones, Lori Ann’s plant musings draw us into an intimate connection with our More-Than-Human Kin. From a small moment in a back alley in East Vancouver to hundreds of years of history from around the world, Revered Roots feels like an equal blend of encyclopedia, history book, and love letter. Get to know plants in a truly profound way through the words of a master storyteller, sister, friend, mother, and plant protector.”—Stephanie Rose, founder of Garden Therapy; author of Garden Alchemy and The Regenerative Garden

“This is a beautiful book on every level; the gorgeous drawings and painting of plants, the photography and images throughout, but also the words and the feelings on each page. Intensely moving and remarkably practical, deeply personal and filled with worldly wisdom, this book offers the reader a glimpse into a whole new way of seeing the nature. With a plant centered focus, through a biophilia lens, the author invites us to re-evaluate and re-vision our own relationships with plants and the natural world. This book is destined to be a classic.”—Chanchal Cabrera MSc, FNIMH, Medical Herbalist; Horticulture Therapist; author of Holistic Cancer Care

“LoriAnn has put a lifetime of collected knowledge into a work that connects people to plants in ways both honorable and honest. Revered Roots extols both the practical and sacred uses of the plants we see around us, while also nurturing our respect for our More-Than-Human Kin and our responsibility to the greater world. It has been a pleasure to be a teacher and herbal mentor to LoriAnn for many years.”—Don Ollsin, Master Herbalist; Conscious Spiritual Elder, Alchemy of Aging; author of Pathways to Healing

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240 pages | 8.00" x 9.55" | Hardcover 

A compact, user-friendly field guide to 50 of the most prominent and ecologically significant animal species of the west coast, from British Columbia to Northern California.

A keystone species is an organism that defines and supports an entire ecosystem, filling a vital ecological niche. Without these species, the ecosystem would be radically altered or even collapse. This pocket-sized field guide by bestselling naturalist Collin Varner highlights 50 keystone birds, mammals, amphibians, insects, fish, shellfish, and mollusks found across the Pacific Northwest bioregion—including the American Crow, Bald Eagle, American Beaver, California Sea Lion, Sea Otter, Orca, Coyote, Grizzly Bear, Giant Pacific Octopus, Chinook Salmon, Pacific Tree Frog, Pacific Banana Slug, Mixed Bumblebee, and more. Each entry features clear photography, etymology, descriptions, habitat information, risks and warnings. This convenient and easy reference is perfect for casual walkers, hikers, campers, beachcombers, sailors, paddlers, and whale watchers, and draws awareness to the importance of conservation and protection of these crucial species.

Reviews
“Collin Varner provides captivating information that will help keep his 50 keystone species in the back of every reader’s memory.”—Richard Beamish, CM, OBC, FRSC, retired Canadian scientist

“The perfect portable reference for wildlife watchers.”—Barbara J. Moritsch, ecologist and author of Wolf Time and The Soul of Yosemite: Finding, Defending, and Saving the Valley's Sacred Wild Nature

“Enriches our understanding of these critical species, empowering us to contribute to their conservation. A heartfelt thank you to Collin Varner for illuminating the path to environmental stewardship.”—Paul Nicklen, Canadian photographer and filmmaker and co-founder of SeaLegacy

“Whether you love the land, sea or air, you’ll find creatures in this book to delight and to inspire your protection. Varner’s focus on keystone species is very important as they play a significant role in keeping our ecosystems healthy. His images and information give you a beautiful glimpse into their lives.” —Cheryl Alexander, award-winning filmmaker and author of Takaya: Lone Wolf, Good Morning Takaya, and Takaya’s Journey

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128 pages | 5.00" x 7.00" | Paperback

A compact, user-friendly field guide to 50 of the most prominent and ecologically significant plant species of the west coast, from British Columbia to Northern California.

A keystone species is an organism that defines and supports an entire ecosystem, filling a vital ecological niche. Without these species, the ecosystem would be radically altered or even collapse. This pocket-sized field guide by bestselling naturalist Collin Varner highlights 50 keystone trees, flowering plants, fruit-bearing plants, marine plants, and fungi found across the Pacific Northwest bioregion—including Douglas Fir, Sitka Spruce, Large-leafed Lupine, Wild Mint, Salal, Salmonberry, Marine Eelgrass, Red-belted Polypore, and more. Each entry features clear photography, etymology, descriptions, habitat information, risks and warnings. This convenient and easy reference is perfect for casual walkers, hikers, campers, and beachcombers, and draws awareness to the importance of conservation and protection of these crucial species.

Reviews
"This beautiful book is a valuable addition to the library of anyone passionate about the flora of the Pacific Northwest. . . A refreshing way of exploring these incredible organisms." —Amanda Swinimer, author of The Science and Spirit of Seaweed

“A concise and essential guide for anyone curious about the essential plants of the coastal Pacific Northwest.”—Elizabeth Price, author of Native and Ornamental Conifers of the Pacific Northwest

"Like a keystone itself, this guide helps define an ecosystem: the forests and coasts of the Pacific Northwest. It is an indispensable companion for any ramble or expedition."—Harley Rustad, award-winning and bestselling author of Big Lonely Doug and Lost in the Valley of Death

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128 pages | 5.00" x 7.00" | Paperback

Have Indigenous plant knowledge at your fingertips with this gorgeously illustrated card deck from Leigh Joseph, an ethnobotanist and a member of the Squamish Nation.

Plants can be a great source of healing as well as nourishment, and the practice of growing and harvesting from trees, flowering herbs, and other plants is a powerful way to become more connected to the land. The Indigenous Peoples of North America have long traditions of using native plants as medicine as well as for food. Held by the Land Deck includes 45 cards of indigenous plants and their properties and a 48-page booklet to guide you along the way. Here are some of the things you will find:

• Tips to build your own home apothecary
• Notes on how to mindfully harvest and connect to the land you’re on
• Recipes for infused oils and salves
• A botanical glossary to help out with some of the more technical language
• Checklists for safe and sustainable harvesting

This beautifully illustrated card deck includes plants that are culturally significant to the Pacific Northwest, including Western Red Cedar, Devil’s Club, Broad-Leaved Plantain, Camas, Wapato, and Red Laver. Special features in the booklet include recipes for food and beauty products along with stories and traditions around the plants.

This elegant, full-color card deck and booklet is your go-to guide for Indigenous plants and will give you new insights into the power of everyday nature.

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48 pages | 4.50" x 5.90" | 45 Cards and 48-Page Booklet

From sunfish to catfish, there are almost 800 species of freshwater fish in North America. Freshwater Fishes is the ideal pocket-sized, folding guide for the avid angler. This beautifully illustrated guide highlights over 120 familiar species. Laminated and durability, this handy guide will fit into your pocket as you cast your fishing rod into the pristine water.

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12 pages | 3.75" x 8.25" | Foldable guide 

This concise pocketguide helps you discover and identify the most common plants and animals in Canada's Maritime provinces. Compiled by species and type, this guide makes it easy to find information on our natural heritage.

Features include:

• Full-colour illustrations
• Detailed information and descriptions
• Visual guide for size
• Symbols and legend.

Additional information
128 pages | 5.51" x 8.03" | 100+ Colour Illustrations 

This beautiful pocket guide helps you learn about and identify many common and rare wildflowers in Canada's Maritime provinces.

Features include:

• Full-colour photographs
• Detailed information and descriptions
• Organized by season
• Grouped by colour for quick identification.

Additional information
96 pages | 5.51" x 8.03" | 80+ Colour Photographs

From fiddleheads to spruce tips, wild food can be adventurous and fun--with the right guide. In Eating Wild in Eastern Canada, award-winning author and conservationist Jamie Simpson shows readers what to look for in the wilds and how and when to collect it.

Grouping foods by their most likely foraging locations—forests, fields, and shorelines—and with 50 full-colour photographs, identification is made accessible for the amateur hiker, wilderness enthusiast, and foodie alike. Includes historical notes and recipes, cautionary notes on foraged foods' potential dangers, and interviews with wild-edible gatherers and chefs. While gathering wild edibles may be instinctive to some, there is an art to digging for soft-shelled clams and picking highbush cranberries, and Simpson joyfully explores it in this one-of-a-kind narrative guidebook.

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152 pages | 6.50" x 9.00" | Paperback

With gorgeous full-colour photos arranged in an easy-to-use colour-coded chart for quick identification, this pocket-sized laminated pamphlet is perfect for taking along on walks and hikes through the Rocky Mountains, from BC and Alberta to New Mexico. Supplying English and Latin names, the distribution range of each species and average plant height and flower size, Halle Flygare shares his knowledge and pictures of flora gained through over 30 years as a photographer, park warden and guide in the Rocky Mountains.

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2 pages | 4.50" x 9.00" | 112 Colour Photographs 

A comprehensive guide to Ontario trees.

Featuring more than 1,400 vibrant photographs and illustrations, this visually rich and inviting field guide describes the trees likely to be encountered in Ontario, whether on a hike in the woods or on a walk down city streets.

Covering both naturally occurring and cultivated species, this book features an illustrated glossary of botanical terms, distribution maps, and photographs depicting distinctive characteristics of individual tree species.

With diagnostic descriptions for quick recognition of trees by their component parts, and easy-to-use identification keys covering summer and winter conditions, A Field Guide to Trees of Ontario is a must-have for tree enthusiasts--novices and experts alike.

Carry it with you wherever you may find trees, which is practically everywhere.

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512 pages | 4.50" x 8.00" | Paperback

Some of the most vibrant colors and patterns in the Animal Kingdom are found among butterflies. Gawdy swallowtails, exquisite gossamer-wings, and a multitude of eye-catching brushfoots are particular standouts, though plenty of whites, sulphurs, metalmarks, and skippers are also adorned with splendid markings. Flowering plants across North America attract some 700 butterfly species as well as thousands of moths, bees, wasps, flies, and beetles, not to mention some hummingbirds and bats. This portable reference is a handy tool for those wishing to deepen their understanding of butterflies and other colorful pollinators. It features beautiful illustrations of 70 familiar butterflies and moths as well as some especially common larvae and pupae. Also included are notes on life cycles and other common pollinators. Laminated for durability, this lightweight, 12-panel folding pocket guide is a terrific resource for educators, learners, naturalists, and gardeners. 

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12 pages | 4.10" x 8.35"

Animal Tracks provides a simplified field reference to familiar tracks and signs of over 65 North American mammals and birds. Laminated for durability. Features a ruler for measuring animal tracks. It is a great source of portable information and ideal for field use by novices and experts alike.

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12 pages | 3.75" x 8.25" | Full Colour

Was that a lynx or a bobcat? A nuthatch or a chickadee?

A Field Guide to Wildlife of the Rocky Mountains is a must-have for any visitor to the Rocky Mountain region of British Columbia, Alberta, Montana and Idaho.

Featuring over a hundred superb full-colour photos, this pamphlet provides an essential look at the variety of animals one is most likely to encounter on the area's park trails and roadsides. Information on the size of each animal, as well as the common and Latin names makes it easy to identify wildlife. Similar species are grouped by appearance for easy comparison. Handy on the trails, this field guide is also the perfect souvenir of the abundance of wildlife to be found in the Rocky Mountains.

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2 pages | 4.60" x 8.80" | 105 Colour Photographs

Newly revised and updated with additional photographs and up-to-date names, this full-colour field guide to the marine life of coastal British Columbia, Alaska, Washington, Oregon and northern California is perfect for divers, boaters and beachcombers. It is a ready reference to more than 400 of the most common species: the fascinating local sponges, jellyfish, crabs, shrimp, barnacles, clams, snails, seals, fish, whales, sea algae and hundreds of other living things that can be observed and identified without being disturbed. The book is arranged for quick identification with colour-coded sections, full-colour photographs and comprehensive but concise information on size, range, habitat and facts of interest about each species. A glossary, checklist, reading list and full index are included.

This expanded third edition includes new material on identifying bivalves from their siphon shows, as well as current information on introduced and invasive marine species.

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352 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback | 3rd Edition

Step-by-step Questions and Answers with detailed color photographs for easy identification.

The Firefly Guide to Minerals, Rocks and Gems is designed for easy and reliable identification of minerals, gems and rocks. The identification process begins with the stone's streak color, which is how the book is organized: Blue, Red, Yellow, Brown, Green Black and White. Using a sequence of straightforward questions and answers -- aided by over 1,000 photographs and drawings -- the book narrows down the possibilities among 350 minerals, gems and rocks to reach the conclusive classification.

Identification is then further narrowed down with respect to Crystal form, Hardness, Luster, Density, Cleavage, Break and Tenacity. Each rock's main photograph shows the general or typical view, and identification tips about features are noted in the margins of the respective page.

Similar stones are presented for comparison and tips are provided that can eliminate imposters. Drawings show the mineral's crystal shape. The chemical formula reveals the elements from which the mineral is composed. There is also information about where the stone is typically found and some of the ways that humans have utilized it.

Packed with beautiful photographs of earth's many rocks, minerals and gems, The Firefly Guide to Minerals, Rocks and Gems is perfect for amateur mineralogists and collectors.

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256 pages | 4.50" x 7.50" | 1043 colour photos, 257 b&w photos, glossary, index | Paperback

Sustainable Pacific Northwest-based seaweed harvester Amanda Swinimer describes the ecology, culinary uses, evidence-based health benefits and climate change-resisting potential of seaweed and shares highlights from her remarkable life beneath the waves.

Related to the most ancient living organisms on earth, seaweeds are incredible and unique life forms, sharing qualities with both plants and animals, as well as fungi. They have been prized as a nutrient-dense food source for millennia and contain essential vitamins, minerals and fatty acids, protein and fibre as well as biologically active compounds not found anywhere else in nature. Seaweeds are also a source for innovations combating climate change due in part to their ability to absorb massive quantities of carbon dioxide.

Based in the Pacific Northwest, home to the greatest cold-water seaweed diversity in the world, Amanda Swinimer has made her living from the sustainable harvest of seaweeds for over two decades. In The Science and Spirit of Seaweed, Swinimer reflects on the journey that led to her successful seaweed harvesting business and provides identification information, ecologically sound harvesting techniques, traditional medicinal application and evidence-based health information for more than twenty varieties of seaweeds commonly found from California to Alaska. She also includes notes on culinary and skin-care uses for several types of seaweeds.

Complemented by vibrant underwater photography, beautiful illustrations and chef-inspired recipes, this volume richly conveys the benefits and wonder of living in harmony with the ocean. It will be a welcome resource to beachcombers, foragers and anyone fascinated by the marvels of the natural world.

Reviews
"This beautiful book will appeal to poets and photographers as surely as it will to scientists, dreamers, harvesters and beachwalkers–every page opening a little window to the soul of the sea and all that dwells within. A timely salute to the synergy between man, ocean, plant, animal, place, spirit and science." — Prannie Rhatigan, author of Irish Seaweed Kitchen, July 2021

"This tour through Amanda Swinimer’s Mermaid Garden ebbs and flows through seaweed fact and the author’s fantasies and reminiscences, punctuated by Chris Adair’s surreal photos of Amanda suspended mid-water. Red, green and brown seaweeds are described with culinary, health and spa anecdotes. Thirty pages are dedicated to "Seaweed & Health," where the promise of seaweed in the treatment and prevention of diseases, many associated with aging, is explored (this section is neatly referenced). Fitting to Amanda’s sprinkling of ecological concern throughout the book, is the section on "Algae: A Global Perspective." Here we glimpse the role of seaweeds in moderating our abused environment and being the prime producer energizing the coastal ecosystem. The recipes are a pleasure. They are original. Many are provided by featured chefs. Swinimer has created a delightful, readable, informative and richly illustrated resource on seaweeds that I highly recommend." — Louis Druehl, author of Pacific Seaweeds: A Guide to Common Seaweeds of the West Coast, July 2021

"This beautifully written book is an irresistible and unique fusion of practical field guide, personal memoir and warm wisdom of how to live well in a home place. A wonderful ramble through the world of seaweeds from basic identification and natural science to culinary uses and medicine, Amanda’s creation brings us into her sphere by melding science, love and reverence in an inspiring ode to these humble but magnificent species." — Fiona Hamersley Chambers, ethnobotanist and owner of Metchosin Farm, July 2021

Additional Information
256 pages | 8.00" x 10.00" | 300 photos | Paperback

This portable 8-fold guide is the perfect companion to Phillipa Hudson's easy-to-use Coastal Flowers of the Pacific Northwest, and features 112 spectacular photos of flowers found from the mid to alpine elevations on Vancouver Island and the Coast Mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Organized into a two-sided colour coded chart with a ruler printed on the back cover, this handy guide will aid in the quick identification of almost any flower one is likely to encounter in the higher realms of the Pacific Northwest, from exquisite yellow glacier lilies to elusive alpine pussy-toes. Labelled with both English and Latin names with descriptions of each species' distribution range and average plant height and flower size, this full-colour pamphlet is useful to budding botanists as well as more accomplished flower enthusiasts.

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2 pages | 4.62" x 8.42" | 112+ Colour Photos | Pamphlet 

Nature heals! This compact field guide introduces readers to 26 common Canadian wild plants with extraordinary healing properties. Use arnica blossoms to heal muscle inflammation, improve digestion with chickweed and soothe a toothache with yarrow root--learning to identify and use wild medicinal plants is both fascinating and useful.

Each plant profile includes a colour photograph, identification and habitat information, as well as medicinal, cosmetic and culinary uses. Skilled herbalist Beverley Gray also includes tips on how to sustainably gather and safely use beneficial wild plants.

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2 pages | 4.50" x 8.70" | 30 photographs | Pamphlet

With more species of fungi than any other region in Canada, British Columbia is a rich playground for mushroom hunters. Now there’s Mushrooms of British Columbia, the newest handbook from the Royal BC Museum. It’s perfect for anyone wanting to know more about BC mushrooms—whether for study, harvest, photography or appreciation.

Authors and mushroom experts Andy MacKinnon and Kem Luther bring a practical and playful approach to helping people quickly and confidently identify the mushrooms of British Columbia. Common names trump technical terminology, fungi are grouped by overall shape, and written descriptions of more than 350 common species are reinforced with carefully curated diagnostic images.

This is the go-to guidebook for anyone, amateur or expert, who loves to study, draw, photograph and eat BC mushrooms.

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504 pages | 5.25" x 8.50" | Paperback

There are few more enjoyable ways to spend a relaxing afternoon than at the seashore collecting ornate seashells. But there is no need to fly away to some exotic tropical locale to begin the fun. If you are in the Pacific Northwest, you will find local beaches as rich in fascinating treasures as any place on earth--or at least you will once you have this handy eight-fold guide to show you where to look and how to identify what you find. Those whose interest in shellfish is mainly gastronomic will also find this waterproof guide an essential tool.

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2 pages | 4.54" x 8.90" | 8 fold laminated pamphlet | 2 Pages

Insects are all around us, from the butterflies in our gardens to the mosquitoes in the woods. About 80 percent of the 1.5 million named species of animals on earth are insects. Without flower-loving bees, wasps, flies and beetles, most crops and wild plants would not be pollinated and would disappear.

But insect diversity is largely invisible because most insects are small and difficult to recognize and identify. They are often easy to ignore.

A Field Guide to Insects of the Pacific Northwest is a durable, water-resistant eight-fold field guide that describes more than sixty of the most common species that are likely to be encountered in the many habitats of the Pacific Northwest. Full-colour macro photos of specimens in their natural habitats accompany handy descriptions with information on specific species’ anatomy, identification and importance in the ecosystem. Readers will be fascinated by interesting (and occasionally gruesome) facts about the insect inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest—for instance that the robber fly injects its insect prey with a fluid that dissolves muscles and organs before sucking their prey dry like a milkshake.

The species in A Field Guide to Insects of the Pacific Northwest have been expertly chosen to introduce the diversity of insect life while also being accessible to novice bug enthusiasts. Most species shown are common but not necessarily familiar. The selection represents nineteen major groups, or orders. The largest are Coleoptera (beetles), Diptera (true flies), Hymenoptera (wasps, bees and relatives) and Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). These groups are broken down into smaller families, such as scarab beetles or sphinx moths.

A Field Guide to Insects of the Pacific Northwest showcases the amazing diversity of insects that the region holds, and will encourage curious readers to learn a little about the main groups of insects and the intriguing details about their lives.

Additional Information
2 pages | 37.00" x 9.00" | 65 Colour Photographs | Pamphlet 

This full-colour, laminated field guide is your introduction to the beauty and wonder of the gemstones found in the Pacific Northwest, a region famous for its variety and quality of earth treasures.

From purple amethyst, carnelian, chalcedony, black and white onyx and emeralds to sodalite, sapphire and many more valuable stones--discover what lies in the rich geology just below your feet. This convenient brochure will help you to develop a keen eye for spotting gems in the rough and become more knowledgeable about local gemstones that are the equal of any in the world.

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2 pages | 37.00" x 9.00" | colour photographs | pamphlet 

This laminated guide features twenty-six native trees commonly found from Alaska to Oregon, providing common and Latin names accompanied by colour photographs of identifying features such as bark, leaves or needles, flowers, cones, seeds and fruit. Information on identification, range and an illustration of each tree's silhouette make it a snap to distinguish a shore pine from a western white pine or a trembling aspen from a paper birch. Also included are traditional uses and other interesting tree facts and lore. For example, did you know that yellow cedar can live up to 5,000 years? Or that the bigleaf maple flowers are edible? Next time you go for a hike, pay attention to the forest and the trees with one of these laminated guides slipped into your back pocket or backpack.

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2 pages | 37.00" x 9.00" | color photographs and illustrations | pamphlet 

From dinosaur bones to petrified wood and from primordial seashells to archaic oddballs, this handy field guide makes identification of fossils a cinch. Learn how to identify a fossil and discover the most up-to-date tips on where and when to hunt for them. Featuring gorgeous full-coloured photos and paired with short and informative descriptions, this field guide is suitable for fossil enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels. Lightweight and pocket-sized for convenience, A Field Guide to Fossils is easy to grab and toss into any fossil lover’s backpack on their next adventure.

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2 pages | 37.00" x 9.00" | 65 colour photographs | Pamphlet

Do you know a tanager from a towhee? A goatsucker from a grosbeak? Here, after much demand, is a waterproof, portable 8-fold guide featuring 112 photos of the common birds found in coastal areas of Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alaska. Each species is labelled with common name, size, distribution range and favoured habitat. This full-colour pamphlet is useful to anyone who has an interest in taking up birdwatching, or just wants to figure out what's flitting about the birdfeeder.

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2 pages | 37.00" x 9.00" | field guide with 112 colour photographs

If wild berry foragers followed vague advice such as "berries of red and you'll soon be dead" or "berries of blue will do harm to you" imagine how many of nature's delicacies would be passed by! On the other hand, for anyone who has thought twice before popping that delicious-looking morsel into their mouth, the reality of poisonous berries growing in the wild is reason enough to be berry aware.

With a basketful of information presented on a two-sided, lightweight and pocket-sized pamphlet, A Field Guide to Edible Fruits and Berries of the Pacific Northwest is the perfect resource for wild fruit- and berry-lovers of all ages, whether on a short walk in the woods or a backcountry hiking trip. In addition to more commonly identified specimens such as strawberries, blueberries and blackberries, explore the delicious possibilities of evergreen huckleberries, cloudberries and crowberries, and learn how to tell the edible lingonberry from the poisonous baneberry.

Each entry is illustrated with a colour photograph and accompanied by a brief description and seasonal availability to help identify more than forty kinds of fruits and berries found in the wild, along with information on how best to prepare and preserve the edible ones.

Additional Information
2 pages | 37.00" x 9.00" | field guide with 50 colour photographs

A Field Guide to Edible Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest is a waterproof pocket-sized guide with full-colour photographs of mushrooms from Pacific Northwest trails and roadsides, forests and lawns. With this guide, identify over thirty common and easily-recognized edible mushrooms--and stay away from their not-so-edible look-alikes. Discover boletes, chanterelles, matsutake, shaggy mane, cauliflower, candy cap and many other tasty wild mushrooms. Easy to use and light to carry, this compact text is a must-have for all mushroom lovers who delight in searching for the next macrofungi bonanza.

Additional Information
2 pages | 37.00" x 9.00" | waterproof, pocket-sized guide with 50+ colour photographs

For many thousands of years the lands and waters of Haida Gwaii have been home to the Haida. Plants of Haida Gwaii, written with the cooperation and collaboration of Haida knowledge holders and botanical experts, is a detailed and insightful record of the traditional uses of over 150 species of native plants. Moreover, it explains the systems of knowledge and understanding that enabled the Haida to use the resources of their islands sustainably from one generation to the next over millennia.

The Haida names of these plants indicate their importance, as do the many narratives featuring them. From the ts’uu—massive western red-cedars—of the forests which provide wood used for canoes, house posts, poles and boxes, and bark carefully harvested for weaving mats, baskets and hats, to the ngaal—tough, resilient fronds of giant kelp—used to harvest herring eggs, the botanical species used by the Haida are found from the ocean to the mountain tops, and are as important today as ever before. With over 250 photographs and illustrations, this book is both beautiful and informative.

Additional Information
272 pages | 7.50" x 9.25"

Authenticity Note: As there are contributions from Haida knowledge holders, this work has been labelled as containing authentic Indigenous text.  It is up to readers to determine if this work is authentic for their purposes.

Crabs can be found in abundance along the shorelines from Oregon to BC, burrowed under sand, soil and rocks. Keep this portable field guide handy on trips to the seashore to identify over forty species of crabs and hermit crabs in all shapes and sizes. Discover the differences between the Butterfly Crab and the Puget Sound King Crab and learn how to distinguish between male and female crabs. With full-colour photographs featuring both dorsal and ventral views, and accompanied by descriptive text for easy identification, A Field Guide to Crabs of the Pacific Northwest is an ideal companion for curious beachgoers of all ages.

Additional Information
2 pages | 37.00" x 9.00" 

The Skillful Forager is the ultimate forager’s guide to working with any wild plant in the field, kitchen, or pantry.

From harvesting skills that will allow you to gather from the same plant again and again to highlighting how to get the most out of each and every type of wild edible, trusted expert Leda Meredith explores the most effective ways to harvest, preserve, and prepare all of your foraged foods. Featuring detailed identification information for over forty wild edibles commonly found across North America, the plant profiles in this book focus on sustainable harvesting techniques that can be applied to hundreds of other plants. This indispensable reference also provides simple recipes that can help you make the most of your harvest each season.

Reviews
"This is a book that needed to be written—an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to be more than an armchair forager." —Hank Shaw, author of Hunt, Gather, Cook

"Identification is the first task of the forager, but what comes next? It turns out, almost everything. How does one select the best berries, the tenderest greens, the freshest mushrooms, and gather them in an ecologically responsible manner? What is the most practical way to clean, crack, or pit them? How can they be stored? In The Skillful Forager, Leda Meredith answers just these questions, laying out the basic skills that she has perfected through decades of gathering wild plants and using them in the kitchen. She leaves readers with a set of practical, simple, healthy, and delicious recipes that can be adapted to a variety of ingredients, wild or domestic—just the way that real home cooks cook everyday food. Because to Leda, that’s what foraged food is." —Samuel Thayer, author of The Forager’s Harvest

"In The Skillful Forager, Leda Meredith doesn’t just describe some of her favorite wild edibles, she lays the groundwork for you to become a better forager. Leda covers recommended plants and mushrooms, safe and mindful harvesting, and wraps it all up by describing multiple cooking and preservation techniques we all can use to make the most of our harvests. The Skillful Forager takes you from field to table with excellent information, inspiring ideas, and lots of fabulous flavor." —Ellen Zachos, author of Backyard Foraging

Additional Information
296 pages | 6.51" x 8.98" 

How home gardeners with little time or space can reclaim the joy and independence of seed saving.

Many home gardeners refuse to eat a grocery store tomato, but routinely obtain seeds commercially, sometimes from thousands of miles away. And while seed saving can appear mysterious and intimidating, even home gardeners with limited time and space can experience the joy and independence it brings, freeing them from industry and the annual commercial seed order.

Beginning Seed Saving for the Home Gardener explores how seed saving is not only easier than we think, but that it is essential for vibrant, independent, and bountiful gardens. Coverage includes:

• Why seed saving belongs in the home garden
• Principles of vegetative and sexual reproduction
• Easy inbreeding plants, including legumes, lettuce, tomatoes, and peppers
• Plants with a few more challenges, including squash, spinach, onions, and parsley
• Brief discussion of more difficult crops, including corn, carrots, and cabbage.

Written by a home seed saver for the home seed saver, Beginning Seed Saving for the Home Gardener is a comprehensive guide for those who want to reclaim our seed heritage, highlighting the importance of saving seeds for you, your neighbors, and most importantly, subsequent generations.

Additional Information
96 pages | 7.50" x 9.00" | 58 illustrations

Your go-to guide for everything from cultivation to wine-making with one of humanity's oldest plant friends

Once a staple in homes across the world, and found along every highland, highway, and hedgerow, the forgotten elderberry is making a comeback. Its popularity as medicine is surging, its choice as an edible landscaping plant is growing, and its use for wine-making and crafts is being rediscovered.

Spanning history and geography, The Elderberry Book takes you on an adventure, deepening your appreciation of a plant that has played a crucial role across the world for thousands of years. Through this fun, inspirational, and educational resource, discover:

• Elderberry's amazing history
• Cultivating and foraging, from the balcony to the backyard
• Various traditional food and medicine preparations
• Simple wine-making techniques
• Traditional crafts and tools.

This is the definitive guide to the many uses of elderberry; no matter where you are, one of humankind's oldest plant friends can provide you with anything from syrup to wine to dyes, and more.

This book will be of interest to homesteaders, gardeners, herbalists, and people interested in folk history and crafts.

Educator & Series Information
Elderberries trees are widespread and naturalized in temperate Canadian regions including the Maritimes, British Columbia, and Ontario.

Useful, fun, inspirational and educational book that covers history, cultivation, foraging, traditional use, medicines, herbal remedies and tools from the elderberry tree.

Includes:

• Recipes
• Plans for crafts made from elderberry wood including a flute, a pencil, and even a bug hotel.
• Professional illustrations and full-colour photographs.

This book is part of the Homegrown City Life Series:

You’d like to be self-sufficient, but the space you have available is tighter than your budget. If this sounds familiar, the Homegrown City Life series was created just for you! Authors of this series will help you navigate the wide world of homesteading, regardless of how big (or small!) your space and budget may be. Topics range from cheesemaking to gardening and composting—everything the budding urban homesteader needs to succeed! 

• Increase your self-reliance
• Take back DIY skills
• Work with the space you have, apartment balcony or suburban backyard

Learn about fermenting, crafting, growing, preserving, and other skills for the urban homesteader.

Additional Information
128 pages | 7.50" x 9.00"

Wildflowers are all around us!

Whether on a hike, in the backyard or in the living room, readers will be inspired by the stunning photography and informative text in this new guidebook.

The guide includes more than 130 wildflower species, arranged by family so readers can find and identify similar species nearby. A concise color guide to wildflowers features photos arranged by flower color so readers can quickly find and identify species.

For each floral gem, biologist and photographer Duane Sept provides a striking full-color photograph, along with a clear description. Notes on habitat, natural history and similar species are included, along with a clear glossary of terms.

Attractive enough to keep on your coffee table, and small enough to travel with you on long or short hikes, this guide will enhance your appreciation of the magnificent wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest.

Additional Information
96 pages | 5.50" x 8.50"

“We are all visitors to this land, our land has so much to offer, our land is overflowing with the medicines our bodies need, but we are only passing through. With respect, our purpose is to watch, to learn, to grow, to love, to teach. Then we will return home.” – Caroline Sanoffsky

Muskgege is a written record of traditional knowledge, passed down through the generations. It features descriptions and illustrations of 36 wild plants that can be used to make medicines. It is a beautiful and compelling reminder of the important role nature plays in First Nations culture.

Educator Information
Grades 6 and under.

This introductory field guide is designed for the beach explorer, the boater, the skin diver, and the scuba diver. Rick has limited its contents to the most common species, which can be seen from, or along, the seashore, or in the shallows. It's easy-to-spot features will guide the beginner into the wonderful world of the western seashore.

Additional Information
48 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | coloured photos throughout.

Northwest Coastal Wildflowers will help you identify the most common flowers of the coastal regions of Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. Identification is made easy by arranging the flowers by the colour of the petals, so that even the novice can simply open the book to the appropriate section and watch for the species in question. Northwest Coastal Wildflowers is illustrated with one or more colour photographs and is accompanied by identification tips.

Northwest Coastal Wildflowers is a part of the Northwest Wildflower Series, which also includes Northwest Mountain Flowers and Northwest Dryland Wildflowers. Mountain Flowers will help you identify the most common flowers of the mountain and alpine regions in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia; Dryland Wildflowers will help you identify the most common flowers of the drier areas east of the Pacific Crest in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia; and Coastal Wildflowers, as mentioned above, will help you identify the most common flowers of the coastal regions of Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. As a complete set, Dryland Wildflowers, Coastal Wildflowers and Mountain Wildflowers will enable you to identify over 500 of the wildflowers throughout the varied landscapes of the Northwest, and will thus continually draw your eye to beauty, adding to the enjoyment of any journey through the region.

Additional Information
96 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | 280 photos & colour line drawings

Northwest Mountain Wildflowers will help you identify the most common flowers of the mountain and alpine regions in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. Identification is made easy by arranging the flowers by the colour of the petals, so that even the novice can simply open the book to the appropriate section and watch for the species in question. Northwest Mountain Wildflowers is illustrated with one or more colour photographs and is accompanied by identification tips.

Northwest Mountain Wildflowers is a part of the Northwest Wildflower Series, which also includes Northwest Coastal Flowers and Northwest Dryland Wildflowers. Coastal Wildflowers will help you identify the most common flowers of the coastal regions of Washington, Oregon and British Columbia; Dryland Wildflowers will help you identify the most common flowers of the drier areas east of the Pacific Crest in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia; and Mountain Flowers, as mentioned above, will help you identify the most common flowers of the mountain and alpine regions in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. As a complete set, Dryland Wildflowers, Coastal Wildflowers and Mountain Wildflowers will enable you to identify over 500 of the wildflowers throughout the varied landscapes of the Northwest, and will thus continually draw your eye to beauty, adding to the enjoyment of any journey through the region.

Additional Information
96 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | 280 photos & colour line drawings

This ingenious guide gives beginning stargazers instant access to just what they need to know

At first glance, the ocean shoreline appears as a great expanse of beach, water and sky. Look closer – as the water recedes to low tide, an amazing world of fantastical creatures awaits your discovery. Tidepools are home to an extraordinary diversity of life arising from the need to survive this ever-changing and sometimes harsh environment. Let the Tidepool Twitcher be your guide to exploration and discover of the animals and seaweeds of the Pacific Northwest intertidal zone.

The Tidepool Twitcher is perfect for any beachcomber and includes full colour identification photos of crabs, barnacles, mollusks, chitons, nudibranchs, limpets, kelp, seaweeds, sea stars, urchins, sand dollars and cucumbers, anemones, sponge as well as info on tides and tidepool ettiquette.

This easy-to-use handbook offers information about common mushrooms from Alaska and northwestern Canada to Saskatchewan in the east and south to the US states of the Pacific northwest. Using crisp, colourful images, Duane Sept illustrates more than 130 species of edible, poisonous and other interesting mushrooms. Inside you’ll find:

~ In depth descriptions for 130 species
~ Details on edible, poisonous, hallucinogenic and other fascinating fungi
~ More than 150 fascinating fungi
~ More that 150 spectacular photographs
~ Tips and techniques for freezing, canning and drying mushrooms
~ Additional information about mushroom ecology, making spore prints and more
~ New edition includes updated scientific names and new species

Rich in nutrients, used in products from cosmetics to explosives to fertilizers, and vital to our coastal marine ecosystems, seaweeds can be found on any rocky shore or beach in the Pacific Northwest. The pocket-sized Field Guide to Seaweeds of the Pacifc Northwest is packed with full-colour photos and information on a select variety of the most important and interesting seaweeds commonly encountered on the West Coast. Whether you want to identify seaweeds, better understand their role in the ocean, forage for food, collect for art or you're just plain curious as you poke around the seashore, this educational guide is your ultimate source for casual phycological fun.

A Field Guide to Foraging for Wild Greens and Flowers pinpoints easy-to-find greens and flowers that many don't realize are edible--such as dandelion, clover, chicory, sheep's sorrel and lamb's quarters--and also introduces readers to the delicious leaves of such native plants as goldenrod and fireweed. And readers can also eat their way to conservation by enjoying edible invasive plants in salads, like garlic mustard and fennel. A lightweight pamphlet that will easily fit into a purse or back pocket, this laminated guide will turn every walk from the bus stop, backyard ramble or stroll around the neighbourhood into a fun foraging expedition.

Additional Information
2 pages | 4.60" x 8.80"

Have you ever been walking at the beach and wondered what that pebble or rock is, or do you ever wonder what stories rocks tell? If so, then this is the guide for you.
The Field Guide to the Identification of Pebbles is a full colour, laminated, accordion folded, easy-to-use guide with over 80 beautiful photographs of pebbles from beaches and rivers. Use the photos to identify over 28 different types of rocks and minerals. A great resource for Earth Science curriculum units in schools, the short text deals with how rocks form and how to tell if a rock is igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic. It also provides some fun facts about minerals in our daily lives.

Educator Information
This field guide is available in French: Guide pratique d'identification des cailloux

Additional Information
2 pages | 4.40" x 9.00" | colour photos

The waters of the Pacific Northwest are home to some of the most unique and diverse marine creatures in the world, including rockfishes, greenlings and, of course, salmon. This full-colour brochure is packed with information on seventy-eight "must-have" common fishes of the Pacific Northwest. A Field Guide to Common Fish of the Pacific Northwest provides a succinct rundown on a huge variety of our fishy neighbours, and is an ideal guide for fishermen, divers and anyone interested in the marine life that fills our surrounding waters.

Welcome to the secret world of tracks, sign and the animals that made them. Signs of the who, what and where of wildlife are all around us, even when their makers are too shy to come closer. This new guide is the key to unlocking the natural world that shares our environment, by day and by night. All we have to do is take the time to observe and interpret the signs.

The book features nearly 50 species with photos of tracks, scat and other signs, as well as drawings of tracks, track patterns, distribution maps and interesting details on the appearance, habitat and behavior of each species. Information on 20 additional species is also included, to help identify other species in the area and to distinguish one animal from another. There is even a ruler on the back cover. Tracking is detective work—fun, stimulating and very inspiring for anyone who is ready to “meet” the animals that share our landscape, by studying the fascinating clues they leave behind.

Explore the fascinating world of Nunavut's insects in this richly visual, informative book. Through beautiful photographs and a broad range of information—including traditional knowledge compiled through interviews with Inuit elders—readers will learn about the appearances, adaptations, life cycles, and behaviors of the diverse array of arthropods that live in the North.

This detailed non-fiction book is perfect for middle school and high school students looking to learn about the insects that survive in one of the world's coldest climates.

Additional Information
32 pages | 9.00" x 6.50"

Explore the fascinating world of Nunavut’s diverse rocks and minerals in this richly visual, informative book.

Through beautiful photographs and a broad range of information—with absorbing “Did You Know?” facts to accompany every account—readers will learn about the appearances, traditional and modern uses, and environments of eastern Arctic rocks and minerals. Covered in this book is everything from diamond to granite, from the most precious to the most common stone. 

Readers will learn about rocks and minerals, as well as how their use has been important to the survival of the Inuit.

Far from a barren land of ice and snow, this book will introduce readers to the vibrant natural life of Nunavut through its distinct geology.

Additional Information
242 pages | 6.50" x 9.00"