Salish Seaweed Garden: A Day of Sea Veggie Foraging, Feasting and Ecology 2
Event Details
- When
- Apr 19, 2026 from 09:00 AM to 04:00 PM
- Where
- Instructor
- Jennifer Hahn
- Class Tuition
- Minimum Age
- Add it to your calendar
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Did you know that one of the most nutritious vegetables on Earth grows in the Salish Sea? For thousands of years across the Pacific Rim, seaweeds have been celebrated as superfoods, medicine, fishing line—and even used as tax payments in ancient Japan.
Join us on Whidbey Island for a day exploring the incredible seaweed gardens growing right outside our back door with Jennifer Hahn, naturalist, seaweed scientist, and author of Pacific Feast: A Cook’s Guide to West Coast Foraging and Cuisine. Jennifer, who teaches at Fairhaven College, will guide us through kelp ecology, sustainable harvesting techniques, cuisine and nutrition, potential pollutants, ecological threats, and the growing movement of West Coast kelp restoration and seaweed aquaculture.
This one-day workshop is perfectly timed to coincide with a minus spring tide and the one-month window for public recreational seaweed harvesting at a state park. We’ll beach-walk or wade in our boots to collect fresh sea vegetables, then head to our “Kelp Kitchen”—the park’s covered picnic shelter.
Then it’s time to get your chef’s knife ready. Ever tried chocolate ocean pudding? How about spring-green “fettuccine” sliced from fresh kelp—packed with minerals, naturally gluten-free, and delightfully toothsome?
Together, we’ll prepare a memorable feast of five dishes while learning practical methods for preserving seaweed for future use. Ingredient costs are included in the course fee.
Participants should bring:
• A favorite kitchen knife
• Cutting board
• Net bags (onion sacks work well) or pint- or gallon-size freezer bags
• A cooler with ice for transporting harvested seaweed home
You may purchase a Recreational Seaweed & Shellfish License to harvest for yourself, or simply come to observe, learn, and soak up Salish Seaweed wisdom. A Discovery Pass is required to park at Fort Ebey, or plan to pay $10 for day parking.
Scholarships and Student, Military and Disability discounts are available for most in-person programs.Minors must be accompanied by an adult. Call (360) 854-2599 for more info!
