Sunny Savage | Inviting the Wild Inside

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ALOHA, I’M SUNNY SAVAGE

Internationally recognized wild food forager. I’ve taught thousands of people about wild foods, have traveled to every continent, and enjoy distilling my observations of the natural world into storied solutions.

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Discover six edible invasive species in Hawaii with the Savage Kitchen App. Find wild foods near you, with mapping and recipes for tropical and subtropical locations around the globe. Wild adventures await!

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SUNNY’S WILD WORLD

Blog of all things wild.

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Wild Spring Greens in the Tropics

Cycles Above and Below

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You’ve come so far from your `āina hānau, your

You’ve come so far from your `āina hānau, your birthplace, sitting between what is now known as Brazil & Uruguay. I’m lifting up strawberry guava as an elder (far older than us humans) who has something to share if we listen.

#loveyourwild #wildfoodlove #eattheinvasives #invasivespecies #culture #strawberryguava #psidiumcattleianum #psidiumcattleyanum #waiawi #cherryguava #elders #foraging #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #onewildfoodeveryday #maui #hawaii #hawaiianislands

Strawberry guavas going off on the north shore of

Strawberry guavas going off on the north shore of Maui! Did you know that foods with the USDA Organic label allow 142 synthetic chemicals? Our wild foods are beyond organic, they are tied to liberation ~ this is strawberry guava liberation juice!

#loveyourwild #eattheinvasives #invasivespecies #foraging #wildfruit #eatlocal #strawberryguava #psidiumcattleianum #psidiumcattleyanum #waiawi #juice #pink #aipono #maui #hawaii #hawaiianislands

Love sweet things? Fruit leather is an easy way to

Love sweet things? Fruit leather is an easy way to add wild foraged foods into your diet. As we come into hotter, drier, windier weather here in Hawai`i you don’t necessarily need a dehydrator to make these, just friends with a steady supply of bananas 🍌 and your motivation to learn about, care for, and harvest wild things.
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#loveyourwild #fruitleather #eattheinvasives #foraging #fruitrolls #eattheinvasives #invasivespecies #wildfoodlove #sunnysavage #eatlocal #invasivore #locavore #aipono #hawaii #maui #hawaiianislands

The wind reminded me that summer is coming soon. N

The wind reminded me that summer is coming soon. Nettle-leaved goosefoot (Chenopodium murale) is still producing some greens for eating...look for communities tucked under trees near the beach, they like sand. Adding biodiversity to my diet, these homeopathic doses of information from my ecosystem nourish and connect the dots through stories. Click on my story to see processing recommendations and the 💯% local meal they made it into.

#loveyourwild #gotothebeach #nettleleavedgoosefoot #chenopodiummurale #eatlocal #sand #wildfood #wildfoodlove #foraging #eattheinvasives #onewildfoodeveryday #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #sunnysavage #foragehawaii #maui #hawaii #hawaiianislands

May Day is Lei Day in Hawai`i nei! Crown flower le

May Day is Lei Day in Hawai`i nei! Crown flower lei for a friend and `opiuma seed lei for me. The ‘opiuma (Pithecellobium dulce) has naturalized and I see it spreading further each year around the Hawaiian Islands. This week the plant finally gifted me a sweet whisper of inspiration into preparing its unique edible arils (white fleshy fruit surrounding the seed)...thank goodness I was listening!

#loveyourwild #mayday #leiday #maydayisleiday #maydayisleidayinhawaii #maydayisleidayinhawaiinei #lei #hawaii #maui #hawaiianislands #opiuma #Pithecellobiumdulce #manillatamarind #crownflower #beltane #natureworship #natureworshipper #love

Some people say I have my head in the clouds, that

Some people say I have my head in the clouds, that managing invasive species by eating them won’t work. Makes me chuckle, I’ll keep sipping my strawberry guava infused wild martini (recipe in Savage Kitchen) knowing I’ve prevented at least 100 seeds from spreading, and that every action I take effects my ecosystem. The people will return to the cloud forests, where our most threatened endemics live and where strawberry guava threatens them. Yes, one day we will return to the cloud forests on light feet, loving hearts, and shared purpose.

set + design @wingnutwoman
📸 @cadencia
#loveyourwild #eattheinvasives #invasivespecies #wildfoodlove #savagekitchenapp #wildcocktails #martini #strawberryguava #psidiumcattleianum #psidiumcattleyanum #waiawi #climatechangesolutions #sunnysavage #alohafriday #pink #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #foraging #wildfood #wildfoods #clouds #hawaii #maui #hawaiianislands

Landscaping choices of many new developments in Ha

Landscaping choices of many new developments in Hawai`i have made for increasing amounts of hottentot fig, also known as ice plant, which is a Carpobotus species. A grape-flavored buble-gum-with-fig kind of juicy pulp can be sucked out or cut out from these succulent crab claw fruit fireworks. same-old same-old landscaping companies who get their orders from development companies...how do we remedy this, prevent a future invasive species?

#loveyourwild #invasivespecies #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #hottentotfig #iceplant #fynbosfig #wildfruit #eattheinvasives #invasivore #eatlocal #savagekitchenapp #hawaii #maui #hawaiianislands

pōpolo coming in strong! . . . #loveyourwild #pop

pōpolo coming in strong!
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#loveyourwild #popolo #solanumamericanum #americannightshade #glossynightshade #wildfruit #wildfood #wildfoolove #foraging #eatlocal #maui #hawaii #hawaiianislands

In just 2 hours from now I’m hosting a networkin

In just 2 hours from now I’m hosting a networking session at the IUCN Youth Summit, and nearly everyone will have a Wild Amaranth growing (or seeds in the soil) nearby. Global plant connections powering people connections - I so hope you’ll join us!

In awe that we have youth registered for this session from Lebanon, Canada, India, Peru, Mexico, Cameroon, Portugal, Switzerland, Ireland, Morocco, Chile, Bangladesh, Kenya, Brazil, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States. Register at iucnyouthsummit.org and then download the Whova app...look for “Networking Session with Sunny Savage”.
🌿✌🏽🌿 see you there!

#loveyourwild #foraging #invasivespecies #eattheinvasives #IUCNcongress #iYOUTHcn #iucngys #climateaction #climatechangesolutions #wildfood #conservation #inconversation #biodiversity #lossofbiodiversity #global #changemakers #action #sunnysavage #hawaii #maui #hawaiianislands

Can’t believe it’s been 6 years since my book

Can’t believe it’s been 6 years since my book was published! What do you think, write another one? There are so many other wild foods found throughout Hawai`i nei.

#loveyourwild #books #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #book #nature #wildedibles #foraging #sunnysavage #wildfood #hawaii #hawaiianislands

The look of one very happy forager in Appalachia!

The look of one very happy forager in Appalachia! I’m in West Virginia, dropping my oldest son off to live and apprentice with a blacksmith through the fall. Early spring highs and lows have us finding all kinds of delectable wild greens (like this field garlic), the tail end of maple sugar season, and staying on a farm where I’ve cooked nearly all of our meals from 💯% local foods in the hollar. Yeehaw!

#loveyourwild #appalachia #spring #earlyspring #fieldgarlic #alliumvineale #wildgreens #westvirginia #wildfoodlove #foraging

I am thrilled to announce that I will be hosting a

I am thrilled to announce that I will be hosting a session on “Shifting Narratives in Conservation” at the upcoming #IUCNyouthsummit April 8th from 7-8am HST. Although it is a youth-focused event, all are encouraged to join. Would love to be in conversation with you on this global platform.

Register at iucnyouthsummit.org

#loveyourwild #invasivespecies #eattheinvasives #conversation #invasivespeciesmanagement #IUCNcongress #youth #sunnysavage #savagekitchenapp #global #climatechangesolutions

We ask permissions from our ancestors and the ance

We ask permissions from our ancestors and the ancestors of the land, but what about asking permissions from future generations? I consider my son Zeb here in photo (and Saelyn too 😉 - asking permissions of their future children and others who will live on this beautiful planet.

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” - Wendell Berry, 1971

mahalo @cadencia for the beautiful 📸
#futuregenerations #prayer #askingpermission

My invasives pupu platter spread! Feasting on the

My invasives pupu platter spread! Feasting on the abundance species = invasive species with a probiotic Java plum mac nut spread, kāhili onion jam, spiny amaranth ranch dip, java plum tapenade, spanish needles pesto, some of my pickled burdock, dried spiced pineapple, local smoked trout, and ya my French/Norwegian side loves cheese. Who’s ready to try? All recipes in the Savage Kitchen mobile app, designed as your companion to identifying, locating and preparing our most common invasive species.

#loveyourwild #eattheinvasives #invasivespecies #savagekitchen #hisam #hisam2021 #nisaw #climatechangesolutions #invasivespeciesawarenessweek #foraging #eattheweeds #javaplum #blackplum #syzygiumcumini #spinyamaranth #amaranthusspinosus #spanishneedles #bidenspilosa #kahiliginger #hedychiumgardnerianum #ranchrub #ranchdip #dippingsauce #sunnysavage #maui #hawaii #eatlocal #aipono #eatwhatget #hawaiianislands

Interested in increasing sperm motility? Spiny Ama

Interested in increasing sperm motility? Spiny Amaranth is an invasive species, which hugely impacts the agricultural industry. It is classified as a superweed because it has evolved to become resistant to glyphosate/RoundUp.

I know overpopulation is on everyone’s radar, but within 6 generations all those people will be gone and we are already suffering from major infertility issues. If our species is to evolve in the aftermath of the toxic soup we have created, eating spiny amaranth could become a very real practice of life in the future. If you hope to have kids, become an early adopter and eat the invasives...they are the survivors and transfer the know-how of survival into you.

#loveyourwild #eattheinvasives #invasivespecies #survival #infertility #spinyamaranth #amaranthusspinosus #climatechangesolutions #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #onewildfoodeveryday #eatlocal #savagekitchenapp #hisam #hisam2021 #nisaw #maui #hawaii #hawaiianislands

Did you know the berries of Koster’s Curse (Clid

Did you know the berries of Koster’s Curse (Clidemia hirta), once fully ripened to purple/blue, are edible? This plant is on the hit list of conservation groups, so harvest berries to prevent further seed dispersal of this invasive, then pull it out if you’re ready to replant with an appropriate native (see PlantPono.org for ideas).

It’s both National Invasive Species Awareness Week and the final week of Hawai’i Invasive Species Awareness Month. The Hawaiian Legislature determined invasive species are the #1 threat to the health, economy, environment, and lifeways of people n Hawai’i.

#loveyourwild #eattheinvasives #kosterscurse #clidemiahirta #NISAW #HISAM #HISAM2021 #eattheweeds #savagekitchenapp #abundancespecies #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #onewildfoodeveryday #eatlocal #localfood #sunnysavage #maui #hawaii #hawaiianislands

Foraging has become trendy, it’s tapping into th

Foraging has become trendy, it’s tapping into the collective unconscious desire for people to connect with their wildness, the wildness of the land, the wild of now.

Not everyone had a grandma or grandpa holding their hand and teaching them which plants to eat in the wild, let alone a society that nourishes our wild sides, which is why I built the Savage Kitchen app. edible invasive species are our abundance species and are our learning tools upon reentry to respectful living with the land, to learn about how much you need and can actually process, a practice in returning to our beautiful wild selves. We have certainly eaten species to their extinction before...how powerful if we used our collective mojo to do so in a conscious way that helps us and the planet.

#loveyourwild #eattheinvasives #HISAM2021 #NISAW #savagekitchenapp #invasivespecies #abundancespecies #sunnysavage #maui #hawaii #hawaiianislands

I’m happy because this jar of kāhili dried flow

I’m happy because this jar of kāhili dried flowers are in my hands (and cupboard), where they offer me a unique and nutritious addition to my diet, beauty and self-care practices. I’m happy because each flower I harvest means this invasive species won’t produce seeds and spread further into what remains of our native ecosystems, I’m happy because I feel like I’m doing something that’s good for me and good for the earth, and you know what...it’s not that hard!

Looking for recipes on how to use this plant? Check out Savage Kitchen mobile app, which focuses on locating/identifying/preparing invasive species.

#loveyourwild #eattheinvasives #invasivespecies #HISAM2021 #HISAM #NISAW #kahiliginger #himalayanginger #hedychiumgardnerianum #wildfood #foraging #climatechangesolutions #longlivethenatives #solutionary #evolution #revolution #earthbasedsolutions #getoutside #savagekitchenapp #onewildfoodeveryday #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #maui #hawaii #hawaiianislands

I love talking solutions, like eating a big bowl f

I love talking solutions, like eating a big bowl full of these strawberry guavas to prevent further seed dispersal of this invasive species. But what sits at the root of why we have invasives, why are they here and what are they telling us? Complex sensemaking leads us to historical trauma of the land and it’s people, a loss of ACCESS, a change in management, unchecked human movement and “development”, climate change, biodiversity loss. It’s complex, there’s more to consider, but this is where the root healing begins.

#loveyourwild #HISAM #hisam2021 #invasivespecies #strawberryguava #psidiumcattleianum, #waiawi #wildfruit #eattheinvasives #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #onewildfoodeveryday #hawaii #maui #hawaiianislands

Haole koa leaves. Feathers taking flight. #loveyo

Haole koa leaves. Feathers taking flight.

#loveyourwild #haolekoa #leucaenaleucocephala #savagekitchenapp #foraging #wildfood #whiteleadtree #leucaena #art #modern #botanicalillustration #sunnysavage #modernart #flight #hawaii #invasivespecies #invasivespeciesawarenessmonth