Tom grew up with three older brothers and a pack of neighbor kids that loved to forage wild berries and build tree houses on the 20+ acres of forest and meadow behind our homes.

Growing up, Tom studied foraging, herbalism, and wilderness skills with mentors Jim Meuninck, the author of more than a dozen books on oraging in the Midwest, and Patsy Clark, an elder in the Potawatomi tribe.

Tom has been leading the Indianapolis Foraging and Medicinal Plants group since 2021 and enjoys sharing his love of nature, plants, mushrooms, and more with everyone he meets.

He cultivates “The Yarden” at his home on the north side of Indianapolis with more than forty fruit and nut trees. His property is a Certified Wildlife Habitat that teems with life even in the winter when birds come to feed on seeds from the abundant native plants there.

Tom’s specialties include foraging for plants and mushrooms, herbalism, gardening, cooking, landscape design, wildlife habitat restoration, natural pest control, martial arts, woodcarving, and play.

In his free time, Tom loves making salves and tinctures and sharing plants and seeds with friends in the community.