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 five 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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Future Generations

Solutions to Invasive Species

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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

White pompom flowers and thornless stems/branches/

White pompom flowers and thornless stems/branches/trunk help differentiate haole koa from other legume trees. Mike Ade of the Maui Invasive Species Committee commented in his presentation for #InvasiveSpeciesAwarenessMonth last week that seeds could stay viable for up to 60 years, wow! To reduce this invasive seed bank we could be eating the seeds and snapping off entire flower heads like this when we see them. If we want to restore our low- and mid-elevation biodiversity we will need to more fully come into relationship with this plant.

This could look like commercial haole koa tempeh production, commercial haole koa seed miso production, and other ways of utilizing this high protein, high beta-carotene (vitamin A) food source. In 4 generations we could radically reduce the seed bank, in another 2 generations removal of trunks for firewood/oyster mushroom farms/fertilizer, and the 7th generation a final monitoring of any regrowth and final cleanup. #7generations #imagine

#loveyourwild #invasivespecies #HISAM #HISAM2021 #onewildfoodeveryday #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #savagekitchenapp #haolekoa #koahaole #leucaena #leucaenaleucocephala #whiteleadtree #leadtree #tantan #ipilipil #guaje #jumbiebeans #vegan #eattheweeds #maui #hawaii #eatlocal #aipono #alohaaina #future #climatechangesolutions #hawaiianislands

I might be small, but I am mighty. Oxalis, wood so

I might be small, but I am mighty. Oxalis, wood sorrel, and sour grass are just a few names by which I am known. My heart-shaped leaflets help differentiate me from clover, and I am awaiting your love and affection in your flower pots, deep forests, yards, urban cityscapes...quite worldly if I do say so myself, spreading my heart magic on every continent except Antarctica (as soon as the snow melts there I’m sure to be there too). Children are always the first to find me, an have the delightful ability to know that my leaves, flowers, seed pods, and underground tubers are all edible.

💚 Happy Valentine’s 💚

#loveyourwild #oxalis #woodsorrel #sourgrass #heart #love #valentines #happyvalentinesday #nature #foraging #wildfood #wildgreens #onewildfoodeveryday #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #maui #hawaii #hawaiianislands

Strawberry guava popsicles, it’s a thing! Did yo

Strawberry guava popsicles, it’s a thing! Did you know strawberry guavas are rich in phenolic compounds? Being so high in antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti microbial activity that they could be marketed as a “functional food” commercially.

#loveyourwild #eattheinvasives #HISAM #HISAM2021 #invasivespecies #onewildfoodeveryday #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #savagekitchenapp #sunnysavage #foraging #NISAW #wildfruits #strawberryguava #psidiumcattleianum #maui #hawaii #eatlocal #hawaiianislands

🌿💎wild bling💎🌿 adorned in 3 of our mos

🌿💎wild bling💎🌿
adorned in 3 of our most ecologically devastating invasive edible plant species - kāhili ginger twisted leaf lei, haole koa green seed choker, strawberry guava leaf buttons -
I felt like 👑Queen of the Invasives 👑 wearing these. We can apply our creativity when dealing with the challenges that invasive species make us face.

Lei @hawaiiflorafauna
📸 @cadencia
set + style @wingnutwoman

#loveyourwild #invasivespecies #eattheinvasives #adornment #HISAM #HISAM2021 #NISAW #adornment #lei #climatechangesolutions #evidenceofhope #creative #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #sunnysavage #foraging #maui #hawaii #hawaiianislands

It’s Hawai`i Invasive Species Awareness Month. A

It’s Hawai`i Invasive Species Awareness Month. As you know, I love eating edible invasive species because as my friend Vince Dodge generously taught me so many years ago...”eat what get”. For those of you not in Hawai`i, this means eat what you have around you, and stems from indigenous knowledge found around the globe. The “resources” in most abundance are the ones you use. It’s why I also call invasive species “abundance species”. When we’re ready to return to the land, the land will provide —> eat what get.

#loveyourwild #invasivespecies #abundancespecies #HISAM2021 #HISAM #savagekitchenapp #NISAW #eattheinvasives #eattheweeds #sunnysavage #onewildfoodeveryday #foraging #maui #aipono #eatlocal #hawaii #hawaiianislands #eatwhatget

Every single kāhili ginger flower (Hedychium gar

Every single kāhili ginger flower (Hedychium gardnerianum) harvested means these invasives won’t form seeds and spread as rapidly! Culling just the flower heads, and fully removing them from the forest, stops further seed dispersal.

Besides eating the flowers, I also distill them for aromatherapy - that’s what is happening in this photo. To this day, my favorite distillation I’ve ever done was the combination of kāhili rhizome/root and ylang ylang flowers. But the flower hydrosol and essential oil is divine as well. I’ve had my hydrosol tested in a lab in France and it is high in linalool = calming and anti-anxiety.

It’s possible to guide the plants, let them know that “you are so beautiful and I’m grateful for your gifts, and there are native brothers and sisters of this land who need you to back off so they can also flourish and I think you would be happier living in a more diverse community and your work isn’t needed like it was before.” Hogwash hippy talk you say? Check out the most current scientific findings into plants and you will see a rich language of vibrational communication, pheromone signaling, a mycorrhizal network, and ways we don’t even know about yet. Blasting plants with herbicide alone is antiquated...we are more creative than that, we know better than to believe we will continue to spray and spray and spray indefinitely.

Who needs some calming and anti-anxiety? Go cull the kāhili herd, being responsible not to spread them further (get tips/guide in the Savage Kitchen app), and get a double-bonus of taking action on something that’s good for you and good for the planet.

#loveyourwild #HISAM2021 #HISAM #kahiliginger #hedychiumgardnerianum #himilayanginger #savagekitchenapp #toiletbrushginger #eattheweeds #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #onewildfoodeveryday #distillation #aromatherapy #sunnysavage #maui #hawaii #hawaiianislands #invasivespecies #eattheinvasives

There are 19 endemic Bidens species found in Hawai

There are 19 endemic Bidens species found in Hawai’i and nowhere else on the planet. This makes awareness around not spreading Spanish Needles (Bidens pilosa) seeds important, as Bidens species are thought to cross. Quickly adopted into la’au lapa’au, kinehī is used in the treatment of over 40 diseases. A wonderful demonstration of making medicine with an invasive species, eating it, and also holding awareness and the practice of pulling their hitchhiker seeds off clothing, pet hair, etc to save the biodiversity of our endemic Bidens.

You can find the recipe for this “Emerald Ecstasy” cocktail, which includes Spanish Needles juice, in the Savage Kitchen app!
p.s. around my wrist is twisted leaf of kāhili ginger!

#loveyourwild #eattheinvasives #invsivespecies #invasivespeciesawarenessmonth #HISAM #HISAM2021 #NISAW #climatechangesolutions #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #onewildfoodeveryday #wilddrinks #spanishneedles #bidenspilosa #bidensalba #kinehi #sunnysavage #foraging #craftcocktails #hawaii #maui #aipono #hawaiianislands #savagekitchenapp

Using interactive GPS mapping of edible invasive p

Using interactive GPS mapping of edible invasive plant species...this is a tool of citizen science! Have you dropped a pin in the Savage Kitchen app yet? I built the Savage Kitchen app as a way to empower people to take action on an issue the Hawaiian legislature calls the “single largest threat to the health, economy, and life ways” of the people. I haven’t made a dime off the creation of this app, it’s called —-> a labor of love. Seeking fiscal sponsors, or 501(c)3 partners to build the next round of educational work for our now over 3,000 users in 44 countries!

#loveyourwild #HISAM #HISAM2021 #climatechangesolutions #NISAW #eattheinvasives #savagekitchenapp #invasivespecies #education #tech #citizenscience #sunnysavage #maui #hawaii #hawaiianislands #invasivespeciesawarenessmonth

Have you seen all the infographs in the Savage Kit

Have you seen all the infographs in the Savage Kitchen app? Each one guides you on how to harvest without spreading seed, rhizome, or other reproductive material. This is such an important piece of the puzzle in dealing with #invasivespecies - it’s Hawaii #invasivespeciesawarenessmonth ...people are still finding strawberry guava fruits out there...be sure you don’t spit the seeds on the ground or dump uneaten fruits in lazy composting (like stand on your lanai and throw as far as you can kine).

#loveyourwild #HISAM #HISAM2021 #savagekitchenapp #strawberryguava #psidiumcattleianum #education #infograph #sunnysavage #waiawi #waiawī #NISAW #hawaii #onewildfoodeveryday #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #maui #hawaiianislands #foraging #eattheweeds #eattheinvasives

Some people put a feather in their cap, but me a J

Some people put a feather in their cap, but me a Java Plum leaf. Why? Because these invasive habitat-modifying trees are here, especially in our riparian environments. I pick and eat as many of the fruits as I possibly can, preventing further seed dispersal, and use the leaves to flavor my water and control blood sugar levels. #eattheinvasives

#loveyourwild #HISAM2021 #HISAM #NISAW #invasivespecies #javaplum #syzygiumcumini #blackplum #climatechangesolutions #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #savagekitchenapp #onewildfoodeveryday #eattheinvasives #sunnysavage #maui #hawaii #hawaiianislands #invasivespeciesawarenessmonth #wildfoodlove

Any guesses? It’s an edible invasive on the lis

Any guesses?
It’s an edible invasive on the list of “Top 100 Most Invasive Species on the Planet” - this list has viruses and mosquitos and rats, etc - yet this photo shows one on the list that has an over 7,000 year documented history of being eaten by humans. #eattheinvasives

#loveyourwild #HISAM #HISAM2021 #invasivespeciesawarenessmonth #NISAW #eattheweeds #sprouts #climatechangesolutions #invasivespecies #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #global #tropical #subtropical #sunnysavage #maui #hawaii #hawaiianislands #savagekitchanapp #hawaiinvasivespeciesawarenessmonth

The ability to hold more than one story. It’s Ha

The ability to hold more than one story. It’s Hawai’i Invasive Species Awareness Month...we move away from polarity to hold both sides in the center, not clinging to the way things were or the way we wish them to be, but how they are now in the present.

I’ve had an intimate relationship with haole koa (Leucaena leucocephala) for years, but the last two have been especially poignant as I work daily to restore biodiverse food production mixed with native and endemic species on 3 giant terraces with a previously monotypic stand of haole koa. I made this mandala just after the trees were chainsawed back, an honoring of my commitment to work with the land and not against it. I have pulled thousands of haole koa sprouts, eaten its green seeds, eaten its brown seeds, eaten its greens, used it for green mulch, cursed it, celebrated it, made multiple style of lei with it, jewelry, stick walls, and otherwise walked the path of life alongside it.

If there is any chance of restoring our lowland biodiversity, we must build our relationship with this plant. How to utilize it, to eat it, how to check and double check no seeds are unknowingly spread and carried to new locations. There’s no easy fix, other than to put in #work in #service to the #aina

#loveyourwild #eattheinvasives #HISAM #HISAM2021 #invasivespecies #NISAW #earthmandala #wildediblewednesday #turningofthewheel #climatechangesolutions #eattheweeds #haolekoa #leucaenaleucocephala #whiteleadtree #sunnysavage #hawaii #maui #hawaiianislands #alohaaina #savagekitchenapp

An adventure in storied eating ~ Upon greeting the

An adventure in storied eating ~ Upon greeting the sun this morning as it rose over the majestic Haleakalā, the unique first light danced upon the wild amaranth (Amaranthus spp), Chinese violet (Asystasia gangetica), wild lettuce (Lactuca sativa), and sow thistle (Sonchus oleraceus) greens as they were lovingly harvested by my hands and a golden bee hummed a morning tune. Cooked and spun to a new life by the magic of my solar powered food processor, along with cassava from my garden and local butter for a delectable green mash. Maui onion was sautéed in local olive oil, where every time I reach for its bottle I see the farmer standing in my minds eye and the rainbow present nearly every time I visit his farm. The venison gifted from a Kamehameha School teacher in trade for help with curriculum planning, a sharing and making right for the keiki.

This 💯 local meal is a continuation of our #eatlocalmauichallenge - in perpetuity on Tuesday’s. I hope you’ll join us for #aipono #eatlocal ...this meal includes 3 invasives!

As we move through Hawaii Invasive Species Awareness Month I would love to hear how you are eating invasives, how you are utilizing them, how they are adding beauty to your life, and how you are working to stop their spread. Do you check your shoes, cuffs of pants etc after interacting with them? Do you know who they are?

#loveyourwild #eattheinvasives #eattheweeds #climatechangesolutions #HISAM2021 #invasivespecies #NISAW #venison #wildgreens

It’s Hawai’i Invasive Species Awareness Month!

It’s Hawai’i Invasive Species Awareness Month! As we journey through the month I will be sharing stories about my relationships with “abundance species”, a journey of staying informed of their impacts within our ecosystems while never losing sight of respect for their life and the divine intelligence of nature. You can follow along here, and in my newsletter, for more.

The tides are turning, a new message is being proffered by organizations in conservation that have been spewing a message of hate of invasives for years. I cried watching the opening ceremony today, it gave me incredible hope. Yes, I witnessed change today and it felt so good.

#HISAM2021 #invasivespecies #abundancespecies #eattheinvasives #drinktheinvasives #love #acceptance #alohaaina #climatechangesolutions #stopsprayingpesticides #loveyourwild #hawaii #maui #hawaiianislands #nisaw

My Leo moon commanded I dye this fabric today with

My Leo moon commanded I dye this fabric today with turmeric from the garden, and pick the gleeful hibiscus, anthuriums, and asparagus ferns to celebrate her fullness.

I’ve been reclaiming 3 large terraces from a mon

I’ve been reclaiming 3 large terraces from a monocrop of haole koa at my place in Wailuku. The soil needs some love, it needs to be fed - and in turn for your help I will feed you. Under the tutelage of @biotemple.hawaii who looked at all my soil samples under the microscope, I’m having a work party to hand till in biochar from @joewouldgo that has local microorganisms and fish isolate, coconut coir from @dakinedrupes and sawdust and wood shavings from a local wood shop that will be inoculated with microorganisms. If you’ve been wanting to learn about soil health, are ready to get some skin in the game of carbon sequestration, I would be so grateful for your help. I’ll have some kāhili ginger onion jam with cheese on crackers, venison, pumpkin soup wth haole koa, kiawe tea and more.

Monday, January 25th
9am - til we’re done
*byo shovel & gloves if can*

DM for directions!

New plant to be featured in the Savage Kitchen App

New plant to be featured in the Savage Kitchen App...haole koa (Leucaena leucocephala)! Over 1 billion people around the planet have access to this abundance species, which is high in protein and beta-carotene, and who produces it’s edible seeds and leaves year-round. Snubbed by the colonizing Conquistadores, haole koa has an over 7000 year history of being eaten by the indigenous peoples of Central America (specifically the Mayans).

You will learn how to identify and then eat this plant safely, which has a mild toxin that needs to be removed before eating. If you’ve learned how to safely eat taro, ackee fruit arils, cassava, or potatoes, I believe you can learn how to safely eat haole koa.

Listed in the Top 100 Most Invasive Species on the planet, you will now be a solutionary eating your way towards better health for yourself and for the planet.

🇧🇷 thanks to the new app user in Brazil for

🇧🇷 thanks to the new app user in Brazil for bringing us up to 43 countries!

#savagekitchenapp #eattheinvasives #invasivespecies #foraging #wildfood #brazil #brasil #tech #loveyourwild #global #hawaii #hawaiianislands

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