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August 1, 2026
10am-12pm
This outdoor class invites students to learn directly from the landscape while working with cattails. Together, we will explore where cattail grows, how to identify healthy stands, and how to harvest with care using principles of honorable harvest.
Students will learn how to properly prepare cattail leaves in the field, including splitting, drying, and storing techniques that support future weaving projects. We will also spend time making cattail cordage out of instructor brought dried cattail, practicing the twisting technique that transforms individual leaves into strong, useful rope fiber. You will leave with your own harvested material and the ability to create beautiful cord out of natural materials.
Please wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty or wet and boots for walking in and around swampy / pond terrain. Hand dexterity is required for this course.
Tuition: $35
Materials: $5
This course is for students 18+, or 12+ with accompanying adult.
Be sure to check out Twined Cattail Basket in the afternoon. Lunch will be provided to students who take both the morning + afternoon courses.
Your Instructor
DANA GILBERTSON
(she/her)
Dana is an outdoor enthusiast, naturalist, and lifelong learner who finds joy in exploring the outdoors and connecting with the natural world. With more than a decade of experience as both a formal and informal educator, she is passionate about helping people discover new skills and deepen their relationship with the land. In 2020, Dana began her journey into weaving with locally foraged wild materials, combining her love of nature, traditional crafts, and sustainability. Since then she has found a love for working with cattail, dandelion, and birch among others.
Dana lives in Duluth, where she can often be found foraging food and weaving materials along forest trails, shorelines, and even roadside ditches. She loves sharing the idea that many plants we overlook, or even consider nuisances, can be responsibly harvested and transformed into beautiful, functional works of art.