The Sequoyah Birthplace Museum in Vonore is hosting a free lecture on Sunday, Feb. 24, with interpretive naturalist, storyteller, and wild crafter Ila Hatter and Avi Askey, owner of the Overhill Gardens. The lecture starts at 2 p.m. and will help kick off the fifth annual Tennessee Invasive Plants Awareness Week. The topic of the lecture will be “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Plants”.
Ms. Hatter is an interpretive naturalist, artist, storyteller, and wild crafter with more than 30 years experience teaching the cultural heritage of native plants. Ms. Hatter is publisher of "Roadside Rambles", a wild foods cookbook, and a video series: "wild Edibles and Medicinals of Southern Appalachia and Mountain Kitchen". She hosted three Folkways programs for PBS/UNC-TV, and has appeared on CNN, Turner/South, RFDTV, and A&E.
Organizers said, "There are more plant species here than in the entire North American continent including Canada. The indigenous people knew which plants were "the Good Plants" for food, medicines, and household use. In many cases they shared that knowledge with the incoming settlers. Even today we can enjoy having those plants, trees, shrubs, in our home landscape. There are flavors that cannot be bought, home remedies at hand, and interesting folklore to share."
Also joining Ms. Hatter will be Avi Askey of the Overhill Gardens who will be lecturing on the removal of invasive plants.
This lecture is open to the public. For more information contact the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum at 423 884-6246. Sequoyah Birthplace Museum is at 576 Highway 360 in Vonore.
This lecture is sponsored by the East Tennessee Foundation’s John D. Grubb & Louise G. Sumner Fund for Monroe County Grant.