BERKELEY, CALIF. — What if you could taste the essence of a place by simply taking a walk? Spending most of her childhood playing in Finland’s forests, author and foraging expert Mia Andler learned to know where she is by nibbling on foliage, fruits, and roots along the way. Her grandmother, who herself possessed a deep knowledge of medicinal and edible plants, showed Mia that even the winteriest places provide an abundance of food when she took Andler foraging in the Finnish woods. Andler learned to pick and cook stinging nettles, chanterelle mushrooms, and bright berries of all kinds. All these years later, Andler brings her own passion and curiosity to the area she now calls home: the Sierra Nevada.

On April 4, 2023, The Sierra Forager, a high-elevation companion guide to Andler’s The Bay Area Forager, puts celebrated regions such as Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, and Mammoth directly onto your plate. This guide acts as a toolkit for readers to safely, ethically, and deliciously forage around California’s most exquisite natural destinations. 

“So what did the food of the High Sierra taste like? The best way to answer that now is to eat from the land—harvest the wild edibles,” says Andler, “The wild plants grow from that very same spotted granite rock, snowmelt, turquoise water next to the Jeffrey pine, and volcanic rock. Those elements are in their plant bodies, and when we consume them they become part of us. I can taste the difference between a Bay Area nettle and a Sierra nettle, and I hope you will too.”

An insightful guide for experienced and beginner foragers alike—this book includes large, detailed photographs for easy identification as well as 44 delicious recipes to enjoy them. Whether enjoying campfire blackberry pie (cooked in an apple!), cattail cookies, or manzanita muffins, you’re sure to delight your taste buds with your next foraged bounty. Infused with Andler’s friendly and deeply knowledgeable voice, The Sierra Forager invites readers who hear the mountains calling to take an adventure into the plants that thrive in California’s heights. 

Mia Andler is a foraging expert, founder and director of Vilda—a nonprofit that connects children to nature in Northern California—and coauthor of The Bay Area Forager. Originally from Finland, she has been foraging since she was a little girl and has studied the regenerative practices of earth-based cultures around the world. Andler has been backpacking and foraging in the Sierra Nevada and the San Francisco Bay Area for over 25 years. She has appeared on television, film, and radio for her work on helping people foster meaningful connection with nature. She lives with her children in Truckee, California.