Green University® LLC Presents... A Botany and Foraging Extravaganza!
Botany and Foraging Intensive
With Thomas Elpel and special guest instructors Montana - Idaho | July 5 - 18, 2026
Would you like to polish your plant identification skills and feast on wild edibles? Join Thomas J. Elpel and special guest instructors for an intensive two weeks of botanizing, wild food foraging, camping, and adventure!
This year we are exploring southwestern Montana and central Idaho, including the Magruder Corridor, a backcountry gravel road that passes between the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness and the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. (See this Google Route Map.)Throughout the journey, we will practice plant identification, forage for wild foods, and celebrate this green world.
Please note that the Magruder Corridor (PDF) is designated for "high clearance vehicles," which includes most Subarus (~8 to 9 inches). For vehicles with less clearance, the road is said to be mostly good, with some risk of bottoming out on rolling dips and bumps. Road integrity could change dramatically due to weather events. Cell service will be scarce or probably absent for most of the second half of the course as we pass through the Magruder Corridor. Please look up your vehicle clearance online before registering.
We will explore ecosystems ranging from sagebrush rangelands to cattail swamps, coniferous forests, and alpine meadows, with five different campsites along the way. We will visit the traditional lands of the indigenous Bannock, Newe (Shoshone), and Niimiipuu (Nez Perce), peoples, whose connection to the landscape dates back thousands of years.
This intensive is geared toward developing proficiency in plant identification using the patterns method of plant identification outlined in Tom's book Botany in a Day. Related plants have similar characteristics for identification, and they often have similar uses. Learn these patterns in the class and apply them anywhere in the world. Learn how to instantly recognize thousands of plants according to the proper families.
In addition, learn to identify those plants to the correct species, and learn how to key out new and unfamiliar plants that don't match previously memorized patterns. Botany in a Day is a required text for this adventure. Tom will have all of his books available for sale during the class.
More than just a plant class, the Botany & Foraging Intensive is a traveling tribe where participants meet like-minded folks from all walks of life and forge common bonds and friendships that extend far beyond the class itself.
2026 Montana - Idaho Outline
First Camp: Pony, Montana
We will begin our journey by gathering together at Tom's house overlooking Pony, Montana. Participants are asked to arrive on the evening of Saturday July 4th, to be ready for the Opening Circle on Sunday morning. The campsite at Tom's house provides a front-row seat to community fireworks throughout the town.
Our first few days will be spent getting to know each other, exploring the unique habitats of this ecoregion, and diving into the basics of botany. We will enjoy a profusion of local wildflowers through nearby grasslands, aspen woodlands, and along local riparian areas. We will forage for wild greens and herbal teas and go on a short field trip to harvest cattails from a local wetlands area.
Tom will give a tour of his passive solar stone and log home, grid-tied photovoltaic system, and permaculture projects. We expect to tour additional alternative building projects or organic farms in the area, including an opportunity to buy farm fresh milk, bread, and cheese. We may process a roadkill deer either here, or at our next camp, if the highway provides, to provide meat for the two-week journey.
Second Camp: Magpie Springs Permaculture Center, Dillon Montana
Leaving Pony, we will make a stop at River Camp, the official campus for Green University. Our tour here will include alternative architecture projects, such as the earthlodge, plywood yurt, and tire palace, plus the River Camp garden and permaculture projects.
We will spend the majority of the day at Sage Mountain Center, which will include a tour of cordwood construction, passive solar design, and off-grid solar and wind generation. We will practice plant identification skills in the garden and forest trails.
Our primary grocery stop of the two-week journey will be in Dillon, on the way to Magpie Springs Permaculture Center. Plant identification practice will continue at Magpie Springs, along with a homestead permaculture tour, hands-on earthship construction experience, building a lasagna bed garden, dyeing fabric with natural plant dyes, and a bumble bee survey.
Free Day
Leaving Magpie Springs, we will have a free day en route to our next campsite. For a regular grocery store, students may want to backtrack to Dillon first thing in the morning. Otherwise, we will pass by a smaller market in Wisdom mid-day. There will be opportunities to soak at Jackson Hot Springs and/or Lost Trail Hot Springs along the route.
Participants are encouraged to tour Bannack State Park and Big Hole National Battlefield. (For non-residents, there is an $8 per vehicle fee for day use to visit the state park, but no fee to visit the national battlefield.) Officially, this is an off-day from class, however, Tom plans to visit both parks, and he will be informally available to answer plant questions.
We will reconvene at our new campsite in the evening.
Third Camp: Magruder Corridor / Bitterroot National Forest
We will enter the Magruder Corridor and likely camp at Fales Flat Group Campground on Bitterroot National Forest, pending site reservation. Here we will continue to practice plant identification skills in a more montane environment under the cool shade of ponderosa pines. Bear-proof food storage is required. Details will be provided ahead of the class.
Most days here, and throughout the two-week program, will include a half-day of plant identification paired with a half-day of other activities, including beginning herbalism, ecology, and primitive skills, such as bow & drill friction fire-starting.
Fourth Camp: Magruder Corridor / Nez Perce National Forest
Continuing our journey across the Montana-Idaho border, the Magruder Road Corridor is sandwiched between the 1.3-million-acre Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness to the north and the 2.3-million-acre Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness to the south. The Frank Church is the largest contiguous federally managed wilderness area in the United States outside of Alaska. Together, these two wilderness areas comprise an immense block of rugged wildlands, bisected by only this one gravel road. To repeat: This road is recommended for "high clearance" vehicles only, such as Subarus or better, not town cars..
We will stop at Nez Perce Pass and other sites along the way to practice our plant identification skills. Tom will increasingly test group knowledge with plant games, field quizzes, and treasure hunts as the class progresses. Depending on availability, we will camp at Paradise Campground, Horse Heaven Saddle, or other dispersed campsites, as available along the way.
Fifth Camp: Red River Hot Springs
We will continue practicing and polishing the skill of identifying plants and plant families with Botany in a Day, stopping at sites with suitable parking and gentle hiking for the class. For our final night, we will stay in the Lodge Rooms (group cabins) at Red River Hot Springs. The cost for the rooms and hot springs is included in the course cost. Participants may pay extra to rent a private cabin, if desired. We will enjoy our last plant walk in this area, followed by a closing circle mid-morning on Saturday.
All camp details are tentative and subject to change as we solidify plans for this year's class!
Afterwards, any and all participants are invited to gather in Hells Canyon on the Oregon-Idaho border for the informal and free Wild Fruits Rendezvous July 19-22, 2026.
CLASS DETAILS
Ongoing throughout the class, learn primary and secondary patterns for identifying plant families, and learn special skills that cannot be taught in a book, such as how to identify plants by smell or taste. We will forage for wild greens, harvest any seasonal wild fruits, and forage for edible wild mushrooms as we encounter them.
We will identify plants and forage for wild foods in diverse habitats ranging from valley bottoms to mountain passes. Along the way, we will explore basic geology, observing how the underlying strata affects soil quality and influences which plants grow there and how vigorously they develop.
Please come self-sufficient for breakfast and lunch each day. We will enjoy communal potluck meals each evening. Everyone may prepare dishes independently to bring to dinner, or at times we may inquire as to the available ingredients and collectively craft a meal based on what we have and what needs to be consumed right away. Please bring any garden veggies or wild game you can to contribute to the community pot. You will be able to purchase supplementary groceries as needed, and we may pick up and butcher a roadkill deer along the way.
Please come prepared to cover grocery and travel expenses with a little extra cash for contingencies.
COST: $1,100/person or $1,000/each for two people registering together. Special discount for repeat students: $950 (Save $150).
Whether you are a novice or experienced botanist and forager, this is a unique opportunity to spend one-on-one time with Tom Elpel and friends to improve your plant identification and wild food foraging skills! To register, please fill out and mail in the Medical History (PDF) and Liability Waiver and Release (PDF) forms, along with a check for $400 to reserve your spot ($800 for two people). The balance may be paid upon arrival. Or register online through the shopping cart system and send the paperwork separately.No Dogs, Please!
No Drugs, Alcohol, or Tobacco
Green University®: LLC is a drug, alcohol and tobacco-free learning establishment. Our staff maintains a sober environment for individuals who are excited about nurturing a deeper nature connection. Anyone distracted with alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, or other drugs is not focused on learning or optimizing their experience at Green University® LLC. Therefore, we have a zero tolerance policy for drugs, alcohol, and tobacco in any form. Anyone violating this rule will be asked to leave. This is not a joke. Please read this paragraph again before signing up. Thank you.
Thank you for an absolutely amazing trip! I catalogued 36 hours of botanizing, and I learned so much. I had no idea Clematis was in the Buttercup family or Borage was a family all on its own, let alone so many other things we picked up.
Between picking, canning, and baking all different kinds of wild berries, I am feeling more inspired than ever to go berry picking. There really isn't anything like a gooseberry pie!
You also changed my perspective on food, especially roadkill animal and dumpster diving. I overcame some psychological barriers in order to eat the meals, but once I was over it, I truly enjoyed and deeply appreciated the food.
I am so happy we visited the remote and mystical Pryor Mountains and saw all those green gentians and Big Ice Cave. It was almost incredulous if we hadn't been there ourselves. My sincerest thanks for bringing me on the adventure and deepening my connection to the natural world.
Boletes in the forest,
Dixie
Looking for life-changing resources? Check out these books by Thomas J. Elpel:
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Leaving Pony, we will make a stop at River Camp, the official campus for Green University. Our tour here will include alternative architecture projects, such as the 
Fourth Camp: Magruder Corridor / Nez Perce National Forest
Please come prepared to cover grocery and travel expenses with a little extra cash for contingencies. 
