Elena: "I'm like one of those sharks..."

Name: Elena

Course you’re taking and why: I met Douglas, the founder of PUGS, at a party. He said the word underground and we happened to be in a speakeasy and I like pugs. Shortly thereafter, an ecologically-minded landscape designer I follow on Instagram posted that she was going to be teaching a PUGS plant class [Decoding Plants].

It seemed like destiny. Her course description was super enticing, promising a way to learn a pattern language and framework for plant ID instead of the species-by-species memorization I was accustomed to.

Your instructor was amazing because: Mulysa has a remarkable combination of deep experience, prep, passion, science, soul, approachability and generosity that makes taking her class a delight. Plus it was taught in a mini, permiculture botanical garden (AKA her backyard) and I wasn't able to find a plant she couldn't identify.

Best thing about PUGS: Taking a break from my usual grind and learning from and with other Portlanders who share a similar passion just for the hell of it and not for a degree or work is really, really fun and revitalizing. 

I care about lifelong learning because: I'm like one of those sharks who must keep swimming to live. Substitute me for the shark and learning for swimming.

Dream course you want PUGS to offer: Hmm, perhaps fly fishing small creeks for trout or an edible mushroom hunting field trip.