I’m honored to share that I am officially entering my 50th year of leading Herb Walks in Ojai, Santa Barbara, and the surrounding areas! 🌿

 

To celebrate this anniversary, I’m returning to where it all began. On Presidents’ Day (Monday, Feb 16), I’ll be leading a walk on the San Antonio Creek Trail – the very same trail where I attended my first plant walk in the early ’70s with the legendary Chumash expert, the late Juanita Centeno.

 

During this walk, I’ll be focusing on Juanita’s teachings regarding the Chumash ways of respecting nature’s gifts. We’ll look for Black Sage, Hummingbird Sage, Wild Rose, and more. It’s a chance to slow down, identify the food and medicine growing around us, and honor the lineage of this knowledge.

 

Trailside discussion will include sustainable foraging, edible and medicinal plant uses, native plant gardens, and other topics generated by the participants. This slow-paced walk is suitable for all hikers able to walk less than 2 miles round-trip on a level trail and stand for periods of time. Participants will receive an email afterwards with a plant list (including common and scientific names) and other useful notes. No dogs or smoking, please.

 

Walk with me on the first Santa Barbara area walk of 2026 as I celebrate 50 years of leading herb walks! To learn more and sign up, please click here or on the image above.

First Nature Preserve Walk of 2026 at Taft Gardens

Every year I look forward to returning ot Taft Gardens and Nature Preserve. Once Ojai's best kept secret for nature lovers, it's now a popular destination. And yet, how many of you can say you have been there? If you go, you'll be able to take a self-guided tour of their world class South African and Australian gardens. But the only way to walk the Nature Preserve is with me or one of a couple of other designated guides. Read more and sign up here or by clicking the photo above.

Foraging & Firemaking with Christopher Nyerges

It's been 3 years since renowned author-survivalist Christopher Nyerges has been to Ojai and 6 years since he brought this popular workshop to us. Ask anyone who attended in previous years to describe the feeling of igniting a fire for the first time using primitive hand drill or bow drill materials. I guarantee they will describe an excitement and powerful sense of self-reliance, at least for that moment.

 

Come find out for yourself on Saturday, February 28! To learn more, read the article below or go straight to the event listing on the website event by clicking here or on the image above.

March Full Moon Sunset Nature Hike

Please join me and Rondia on Tuesday evening, March 3, from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. for a Full Moon Sunset Nature Hike. The March full moon will rise at approximately 90º due east as the sun sets approximately due west. This phenomenon of opposing moonrise and sunset occurs only near the spring and fall equinoxes.

 

We’ll gradually walk about 1.5 miles on a well-used dirt road with gradual elevation gain to a vista point above the Ojai Valley where we can watch the sunset and moonrise.

Then we’ll walk back by flashlight and partial moonlight, returning to the trailhead around 7:30 p.m.

 

On the way up in remaining daylight, we’ll stop along the trail to meet some valuable edible and medicinal plants, including:

Los Padres ForestWatch's Forest Academy presents:

Native Plant Class with 

Lanny Kaufer and Patrick Tumamait

LPFW's Forest Academy is a four-part, interactive learning series led by ForestWatch and local experts that unfolds annually, with each year exploring a different theme of Los Padres National Forest. In 2026, the focus is Flora & Fauna – inviting participants to deepen their understanding of the plants, wildlife, and ecosystems that shape this landscape. Through guided field experiences, you’ll learn to observe, identify, and better understand the natural world we share.

 

The first class on March 7 about native plants will be co-led by me and Chumash elder and culturalist, Patrick Tumamait. You will learn to identify local species as we explore Indigenous uses and cultural relationships with native plants.

Continuing my 2026 anniversary celebration of 50 years leading Herb Walks (and because I'm too lazy at the moment to change this), I'm extending this offer through February 28. So my laziness is your gain! For every copy of my book Medicinal Herbs of California that you buy for $26.95 in my online shop you will receive a free copy of Milt McAuley's classic 565-page flora of Southern California,  Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains. I normally sell that book for $19.95 but it's really worth much more compared to 2025 prices for similar books. The thing is, no similar book exists! This is the only book of its kind for our region, so there are no comparisons.
 
You can order the book package by visiting the Herb Walks bookshop or by clicking on the book cover montage above and scrolling to either title. Or you can start the order process by clicking on either book's name in the first paragraph above.
 
Then add both books to the shopping cart and enter the following code in the shopping cart where you're prompted to apply a coupon: WildFree2025. The McAuley book ⏤ which includes 496 color photos ⏤ is absolutely free; you just have to pay a little extra for the shipping. This offer is for my newsletter subscribers only and applies only to these two books as a combined order. 
 
To request a simple autograph or have my book signed to you, when you reach "checkout"  use the “Order notes (optional)” field. This personal touch is something not available when purchasing on Amazon or other vendors. 
 
If you already own my book or you're considering buying it, be sure to click on the following link to check out the free hyperlinked bibliography I created to save you the hassle of copying long URLs from the printed page to your browser, enabling you to easily to visit any of the web sources linked to the 350 citations in the book.