With over 20,000 species of edible plants in the world.

Humans have always foraged for food since the beginning of time, finding many uses for species collected everything from medicine, clothes, shelter and food.

While some depend on foraging for survival for others, it has been a way to connect more deeply with the land.

But regardless of your reason, foraging can be a fun, rewarding, refreshing escape into nature.

I love the outdoors.

I feel just relaxed and calm, definitely happier.

What does that land taste like?

It's a holistic approach to your food.

Seems like there's nothing out here.

with a foragers mindset, everything's out here.

On this warm summer day.

Refresh Quest sets out with an experienced forager as we prep a wild, crafted picnic.

Unlocking all of our five senses.

Taking in the sight, sound, smell, touch and taste of Ojai, California.

Refresh Quest is the search for refreshing travel experiences that aim to inspire and uplift the mind, body and human spirit.

With a team of like minded friends.

Refresh Quest invites you along the journey as we explore unique destinations, meet inspiring individuals and gain empowering knowledge that will help us to create new realities and refreshing possibilities.

Welcome to Refresh Quest.

Hey, check this out.

I think I found some licorice.

Oh, smells good.

Smells like licorice.

What do you think?

Try it.

Are you nuts?

Just try it.

No way.

I'm going to try this.

Just a little piece.

A little nibble.

No.

Here.

No.

Does it taste like licorice?

There's a hint of sweetness.

Yeah.

Like licorice?

Yeah.

We can survive (laughs) Refresh Quest has gone exploring again, but this time we find ourselves in a high desert oasis.

Surrounded by rippling peaks, rugged canyons, ancient oaks, dry creek beds, thick underbrush and grass baked by the high noon sun till a golden brown.

The Ojai wilderness has a myriad of different trees, plants and flowers.

To the untrained eye, they all might as well be weeds.

But with just a bit of field knowledge, they could also be lunch.

Wow.

That smells so good, man.

It smells like fresh pasta in the morning.

I think I would eat this.

Dude.

I'm not sure, but it's one of the principles of nature that if it smells good, it's probably good to eat.

I think I read that somewhere, but then maybe I didn't.

You know what this is?

It looks like agave.

On you, huh?

I wonder if it is agave.

Try it.

Smells good.

Smell it.

What's really interesting is each plant has a very distinct smell.

And I bet you someone who's very seasoned would know each shrub by just the smell of it.

Nature smells good.

Our wild places offer a smorgasbord of food.

Thousands of edible plants, herbs and shrubs exist naturally in nature.

Even in a water starved a year like this one, the Ojai wilderness is still capable of offering many promising and tantalizing flavors.

Smells like bubble gum.

Rey and I set out on this quest to unlock all of our five senses and to ask the question, What does Ojai, California, really taste like?

We are back in Ventura County.

Yeah.

Huh.

This time we're going away from the ocean Away from the beach, up into the mountains.

Ojai It's a little mountain town up the 33.

Like a little getaway for most people coming from, like, Los Angeles to escape.

Thats where were headed, over there.

Yeah.

That direction.

We are going to an area that's called the Topatopa Mountains, which is part of the Los Padres National Forest.

Los Padres.

Los Padres.

Los Padres.

There's a lot of farmland up here.

And you could tell theyre growing anything and everything from oranges to kale to strawberries, avocados.

The soil must be extremely fertile.

You know what's also interesting?

We've got this contrast between these farmer's fields and these huge rigs, drilling for oil.

After passing through several small towns like Casitas Springs, once home to rock icon Johnny Cash, you finally arrive in a quaint, oak studded valley about 80 miles northwest of L.A..

This is Ojai, California.

Protected by the stunning Topatopa Mountains.

Ojai's mild Mediterranean like climate allows valley farmers to grow a wide variety of vegetables, fruit and flowers any time of the year.

One does not need to go far to reap the benefits of farm to table cultivation.

Hi, guys.

Oh, the big old chompers.

But our quest led us outside of town and into the wild land itself to explore the natural environment.

Thinking to myself that if I run out of food, would I even know what would be okay to eat out here.

Just to survive for an extended period of time?

Probably not.

Me and Rey been discovering plant life today, and we've been looking specifically at what we think we could eat and what we couldn't eat.

Most stuff that we encountered, we determined we couldn't eat.

It was so interesting that in a place like this is you look around and it looks like you can't eat anything.

But that's not necessarily true.

And that's what we're discovering on this journey.

If you were in this place by yourself for an extended period of time, could you survive?

Right now, the answer for me is no.

I wouldn't survive.

I would die.

I would die out here.

But foraging for nourishment is only one aspect of this important practice.

It can also be used as a modality in the form of exercise, meditation or spiritual practice, helping to reduce stress, anxiety and depression.

We can just walk out our door and go hiking every weekend.

It's my sanity, you know?

And I do it every day.

It's my place to go.

And it's nature meditation.

It's the beauty of Ojai.

My name is Julie Soske and I've lived here for 29, almost 30 years.

This is Winslow and he likes to go too.

He was waiting all morning.

My favorite thing to be out in a place like this.

To be in nature.

Relaxing.

Very therapeutic.

It's unwire all the stress throughout the day.

Foraging provides the opportunity.

If you are willing to commune with the plants, to understand the weather and to see the small things that usually go unnoticed.

You don't need much, but a few tools of the trade to keep handy while you're out foraging and exploring in this environment.

A good pair of hiking boots, a hat for sun protection, a water bottle, plenty of extra water bottles, a knife for cutting and digging a basket, and a good identification guide.

Never pick up anything unless you know what it is first.

Wow.

yucca Especially if you're going to put it into your mouth.

Kinda sticky.

The Ojai wilderness has a very diverse landscape with plenty to see and do.

A few of our favorites, the Rose Valley Falls Trail.

This easy 1.1 mile out and back trail follows the creek upstream until you arrive at the 300 foot waterfall, the tallest in its range.

Look at this.

Rey and I were very excited to find the moss covered rocks still raining down a refreshing amount of cool water this far into summer.

The Ojai wilderness is loaded with patches of thick tree covered forests, where you'll find dozens of hiking trails that will lead you miles into the wild.

And each one ends with an amazing vista view overlooking the incredible Topatopa Mountains.

And of course, the Ventura River preserve, where Rey and I had a blast stomping around the valley floor and discovering plants, shrubs and trees like this giant oak that was calling our name to come and play.

We're going to go look at this tree.

Come check this out.

This guy is huge.

It's limbs are reaching out to the sky, stars and back onto earth.

I love this stuff.

This is a climbable tree.

Come on up Jer, come on up.

Yeah!

Okay kids, jungle gym.

Natural.

All natural jungle gym.

Organic.

I'll tell you something right now.

There's nothing like climbing a tree.

If you ever get a chance to climb a tree and it's safe and the tree is sturdy.

Climb a tree.

I don't think I've done this in time as a kid.

Let's continue the journey.

Come on, Rey.

Yah!

That was a superhero.

As much fun we were having exploring this universe, we had very little idea of what we were actually looking at.

But lucky for us, we had a lunch date with a master in this area of expertize.

Jess Starwood is a plant based forager herbalist and chef who has been leading classes and workshops into the wild to help educate and teach people about wild food and herbalism.

Welcome to my adventure van.

Im Jess Starwood.

And this is what takes me where I need to go.

I travel all over the country.

I forage along the way and I have all my necessities dried herbs, dried mushrooms and berries, medicinal herbs.

I have all my foraging books up here.

I just love to explore, see new places, taste new flavors.

This is my hat.

My, my adventure hat.

This is a very, very special hat to me.

So let's go see what we can find today.

Refresh Quest jumped at the opportunity to meet up with Jess and her two daughters Isabella and Sage, as we spent the afternoon walking, talking, collecting and learning that would ultimately culminate into a wild, crafted picnic in the heart of the Ojai wilderness.

What do you find special about Ojai?

It has quite a range of different things here.

Lots of different plants, chaparral and riparian.

There's always a lot to find here.

Nice.

Our first encounter on the trail was a patch of miner's lettuce.

They call it miner's lettuce because back in the day, the miners that came out to California would eat this to prevent scurvy.

It tastes great too.

It's one of the best tasting wild greens that we have.

Kids love it.

One of the ones that I can get my kids to eat.

Another lover of miner's lettuce was this golden crown sparrow.

She couldn't seem to get enough of it.

This is white sage used often for spiritual cleansing.

Highly antibacterial.

So it's nice to put in a couple of leaves in your water bottle.

Really refreshes it.

This is Yerba Santa.

It has a really wonderful smell.

It was used to flavor medicines back in the day and to treat tuberculosis.

This is Black Sage.

It is one of my favorite herbs to use here in Southern California.

It goes really nice with chocolates and desserts, too.

Jess has an intimate knowledge for her passion and craft, and it shows.

Every plant, tree, shrub and flower we passed, Jess was like a walking, breathing encyclopedia, filling our minds with useful bits of information from this world you can only get from hands on experience.

She is someone who will hold an alligator lizard with her bare hands and then turn around and teach you about the 1001 uses of the Yucca plant.

Everything from rope to soap.

Yeah, we all think she's pretty cool, too.

Located in the western Ojai Valley, The Ventura River Preserve protects three miles of the Ventura River and surrounding canyons.

This deep topography creates ideal conditions for a variety of plant communities and animals.

So whether you come by boots, bike or horseback, you'll be sure to have a very enjoyable time being outdoors on this quest.

As we came to the end of our trail loop.

We gather just a few more items to help us accent and add a touch of decoration to our very special wild crafted picnic.

Jess had a store for us.

California 33 is, both a national forest scenic byway and a state scenic highway.

That means it traverses a scenic corridor of outstanding, esthetic, cultural, historic and interpretive values.

Driving through this mountain range will be sure to give you a sense of awe and visual pleasure.

The North Matilija Creek runs along the highway as it breaks off and merges with other waterways into patches of lush oaks and sycamore.

With the Topatopa Mountains adding a dramatic backdrop, it created the perfect place for a picnic in the wild.

My favorite thing is adventuring and exploring and like swimming in like creeks and rivers.

I love the outdoors.

I feel just relaxed and calm and so like rejuvenated.

I definitely feel a lot more definitely happier.

As our hunger grew for food.

Our minds still longed for knowledge on this subject.

So we sat down with Jess for a few more nibbles to whet our appetite before lunch.

So Jess tell me how long have you been foraging in a place like this?

I have to say.

I first got interested in foraging when I was a kid.

I actually didn't even know that there was wild food you could eat.

But I came up with this imaginary world of all these plants that I found.

And I was like, oh this is good for this.

And this plant, you can eat this one.

But it was all made up.

So it's like this natural instinct to look for food and medicine in the world around me.

After my first daughter was born and started to realize more our impact on the earth and how what we eat also affects our health.

And all of a sudden, I had somebody else to look out for, it just had a different meaning to me.

So it just was a natural progression from changing my diet to eating something healthier to looking to wild foods, a more natural, real diet.

So have you felt the benefits yourself from eating wild, crafted food?

Definitely.

And I don't know if it's just eating the food or if the whole lifestyle, whole process of being out in nature and collecting your own food and processing it.

It's the whole thing.

It's the holistic approach to your food.

Jess holds a Masters of Science degree in herbal medicine and holistic nutrition and has over 15 years of experience in this field.

Most recently, she has written her first book entitled Mushroom Wanderland a Foraging Guide to Finding, Identifying and Using 25 Wild Fungi, a true, meditative and rewarding escape, she says.

Jess has led hundreds of trips into the wild.

And when she's not teaching classes, workshops or hosting multi-course wild food dinners and tasting events for the community, you'll find her where she feels most at home, next to a river deep in the forest, along the ocean, on a sandy dune, or possibly in the middle of the desert, sitting beside a community of Mojave Prickly Pear, sipping a cup of well wild herbal tea of course.

The food, the dishes that you've created and photos on your website looks so delicious, so appetizing.

I actually say to myself now I would eat that.

Exactly that.

And that's really what I'm trying to get across, is that if you want somebody to eat a plateful of weeds, make it look good.

Right, right.

It better look pretty tasty.

I mean, I just saw such an opportunity to create something beautiful.

You know nature's already beautiful.

Let's just curate that into something that has not only food value, but also a message too, that you know, this is worth protecting and being part of.

So what are the ethics of foraging?

Talk to me about that.

Foragers have this responsibility to, you know, take from the land, but also do it in a sustainable way, a way that, you know, you're not going to have a detrimental impact on the environment through education, which is kind of my primary focus, is to teach people that there's more than just weeds out nature.

Even studies show that the more a person knows and understands something, the more they're willing to protect it.

Right.

Because if you have the knowledge of what's in your environment and you understand how to use it, you'll appreciate how to take care of it.

That's huge.

Yeah.

Foragers are the ones who are actually interacting with it and, you know, developing a relationship with the food and the medicine that's out there.

Jess mentioned that there are a few basic guidelines that a good forager should always follow know your environment, and have a plan of what you intend to forage.

Identify carefully and safely.

Be conservative following the 10% rule, only taking a little when there is a lot.

Tread lightly, leaving nature better than you found it.

And remember to always check with your local state laws and regulations.

These considerations will help you to have fun, stay safe, and preserve this recreation for generations to come.

Mustard!

Finally got something right!

So what I find that's so amazing is that you can come out to an area like this in the wild and find things that are not only nutritious but delicious.

Yeah.

Kind of one of the challenges I really enjoy is going to an environment where people are like, there's nothing to eat here.

I mean, I haven't gone to the Arctic yet or anything, but I am from the Sonoran Desert and people think you have this idea, this concept, that the desert is desolate, there's nothing there, you know.

But I've led many classes out there, you know, pulling together meals for consecutive days, and it's all right there.

What, you just going to eat cactus out there?

And I'm like, yep, we're going to eat cactus.

And they love it.

It seems like there's nothing out here.

But, you know, with a foragers mindset, everything's out here.

You know?

Yeah, you can go and get the fish tacos.

But to have that experience with a group of people who are all there, just with that same curiosity of like, wow, what are we going to find today?

What are we going to taste today?

By the time they left, they had a true sense of what does that land taste like?

Now, I love that.

What a beautiful way to phrase it.

What does the land taste like?

Let's check it out.

Now that sounds delicious.

So what does Ojai, California really taste like?

It would be cliché to say you must be here to taste it.

But then again, what's wrong with clichés?

Jess has alchemist like magic when it comes to wild food.

She was able to change a plate full of weeds, as she put it, into a feast fit for Robin Hood and his merry men.

And of course, with her two apprentice helpers, Isabella and Sage.

Rey and I were very grateful to share in this five star experience.

What's on the menu, you may ask.

Allow me to go over today's specials.

To drink, Yerba Santa Cold infusion, and an elderberry wine.

Wild food salad with miner's lettuce and pickled yucca flowers with prickly pear vinaigrette & wild tarragon oil, chia and cactus seed crackers with nettle edible flowers, aged and fermented pine nut cheeses with herbs, seeds, mushrooms and pollen.

Wild hyacinth corm roasted with California bay leaf, Japanese sweet potatoes flavored and roasted with cudweed and chervil.

Hen-of-the-woods mushrooms marinated in black sage and chipotle seasoning.

And for dessert, California bay nut truffles.

I just love to bring people together and provide just an incredible, multi sensorial experience.

And that was exactly what transpired.

As we dove in, our palates were immediately excited by tastes sweet, sour, savory and spicy.

Textures smooth, creamy, crunchy, chewy and delicate.

Flavors with hints of watermelon bubblegum, coffee, dark chocolate, clove, artichoke and okra with all having a subtle earthiness to it.

But if I were to put it into one word, it tasted delicious.

Bravo, Jess!

Thanks.

Bravo.

I'll admit Im being a pig.

That was my third one.

And now, with our minds, hearts and stomachs full, we decided to drive up the canyon to a lookout to take it all in.

The most predominant use of the Jacinto Reyes Scenic Byway, is driving for sheer pleasure.

Some of the most picturesque and diverse terrain greet you all along the entire route.

Not only is forging good for the physical body, but it also helps to deepen personal experiences, social connections and family heritage and traditions.

It empowers one to strengthen the relationship with the environment around them, working directly with the ecosystem, and learning to appreciate and protect land conservation.

All of this could not be more apparent as we finished the day with Jess, Isabella and Sage.