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“Wild Food Foraging” coming up on Prairie Sportsman

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Wild Food forager Nicole Zempel of Granite Falls
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GRANITE FALLS, Minn. —  Spring foraging for wild ramps and nettles and restoring native mussels in Minnesota rivers will be featured on Prairie Sportsman. “Wild Food Foraging” is  coming up on Pioneer PBS Sunday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. 

Nicole Zempel of Granite Falls caught the mushroom foraging bug 10 years ago when she was identifying prairie and woodland plants near her home and spotted a wild mushroom. “I was captivated and intrigued,” Nicole said. “And then I just went crazy full bore down that rabbit hole of learning about mushrooms.” Nicole forages for a wide variety of fungi - from morels and chanterelles to chicken of the woods and enoki. She also seeks plants like ramps, fiddleheads and wild prairie onions. In this segment, Nicole shares her passion for foraging, cooking with her wild bounty and connecting children with nature. 

In the next segment, Minnesota DNR researchers are restoring native mussel populations in southern Minnesota streams. Native mussels filter bacteria like e coli and keep waters clean, but they were nearly wiped out in settlement times by pollution and harvesters who sold them to button makers. To restore their populations, female mussels are gathered from waterways and baby mussels are propagated in hatcheries then released in rivers and streams where their genetics match the original species. Prairie Sportsman takes viewers on a journey from mussel gathering on the St. Croix River, propagating baby mussels in a Lake City lab and releasing mussels in a Cannon River tributary.

About Prairie Sportsman

Prairie Sportsman an Emmy-awarded series that celebrates our love of the outdoors to hunt, fish and recreate, while promoting environmental stewardship. Prairie Sportsman’s team includes Cindy Dorn, producer/writer; Bret Amundson, host/editor; and Dylan Curfman, editor/videographer. The 2022 season is made possible by funding from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, SafeBasements of Minnesota, Live Wide Open, Western Minnesota Prairie Waters and members of Pioneer PBS.

About Pioneer PBS

Established in 1966, Pioneer PBS is an award-winning, viewer-supported television station dedicated to sharing local stories of the region with the world. For more information visit www.pioneer.org.