Giving back to the American Indian OIC

Ashleigh and Marcus came back to the American Indian OIC (AIOIC) high school to share some of their new found knowledge with students enrolled in summer school. The AIOIC has a native plants area that needed a little tlc, so we helped in identifying which were native plants and which were invasive non-native plants (a.k.a. weeds), helped remove the invasive plants and thinned out some of the native plants. One of the plants that needed thinning was Dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum), this is not only a medicinal plant, but also a plant that is excellent to make cordage. In the picture are Ashleigh, Marcus and other OIC students harvesting and processing the dogbane so that we can dry it to make cordage. Notice that they are all wearing gloves. The milky sap from Dogbane can cause major skin irritation for some people, so you should be careful when handling while it is still green.