Harvested spruce tips sit in waterproof cloth bag(Vivian Faith Prescott / For the Capital City Weekly)

Harvested spruce tips sit in waterproof cloth bag(Vivian Faith Prescott / For the Capital City Weekly)

Planet Alaska: Spruce tip bathing

The perfect spruce tip is tightly bound needles without the brown papery casing.

Vivian Faith Prescott

For the Capital City Weekly

In my hoodie and Xtratufs, I lean into the spruce tree, becoming a living part of its record of this sunny day, the mild spring, and me gently pinching off its spruce tips. “Gunalcheesh, Giitu.”

Across from me, my dad leans against a branch and Oscar, my border collie, is lying down in the grass. We’ve strolled to this grove across a boardwalk built nearly 20 years ago by my dad and his Forest Service crew. The boardwalk still holds the weight of campers, picnickers, hikers and spruce tip foragers. Stepping off the boardwalk, we walk a gravel path leading through a forest of young Sitka spruce trees adorned with spruce tips. Beyond the trees, a mossy alpine campsite opens up to a blue sky. The camping area is complete with a picnic table, outhouse, a fire-pit, and a spectacular view of Anita Bay.

[Planet Alaska: Carrying on our traditions]

I smile and breath in the beauty of lime green buds — spruce tip bathing. The forest air is filled with terpenes, and other aromatic compounds found in the trees. In Indigenous communities, forest bathing is not a new concept or a revolutionary fad. Though the term shinrin-yoku, meaning “taking in the forest atmosphere” or “forest bathing,” was coined in Japan in the 1980s, this way of being is a part of many Indigenous cultures’ traditional ecological knowledge. In the Tlingit culture there are tree ceremonies and stories related to trees like the Woman-Who-Married-a-Tree, wisdom that illustrates relationships to nature — A káx yan aydél wé tl’átgi — We are stewards of the air, land and sea. Being stewards means taking care of the natural world and ourselves, including our families and community. Traditional healers often prescribe walks or ventures into the forest.

Vivian Faith Prescott, author, takes a selfie with spruce tips and cedar berry bucket woven by Faye Khort, Wrangell. (Vivian Faith Prescott / For the Capital City Weekly)

Vivian Faith Prescott, author, takes a selfie with spruce tips and cedar berry bucket woven by Faye Khort, Wrangell. (Vivian Faith Prescott / For the Capital City Weekly)

Harvesting, I reach for the smaller tips. The perfect spruce tip is tightly bound needles without the brown papery casing. The best time to eat them whole is when the casing is still on and the needles are soft and tart. Remove the casing and eat them. I pluck a bright green tip from the tree with my gloved hand and pick another and another. I plop them into my cedar bark bucket, which is half full already. Spruce tip bathing occurs during one of my favorite times of the year, when I’m in need of boosting my immune system and contentment quotient. Spruce tip bathing increases energy level, improves sleep and reduces stress — It’s good medicine.

[Planet Alaska: Eat your trees]

I move to a larger tree. The Forest Service has trimmed the lower branches so I have to reach higher. My plan is to pick enough spruce tips for sharing and eating all year round. I also want to make my favorite spruce tip/fireweed jelly blend to share. Mickey’s Fishcamp, where I live, is all about sharing food, sharing knowledge and traditions. Every spring, we venture out to gather enough spruce tips for our family and gift to the tribe and elders. We make spruce tip naan, spruce tip iced tea, spruce tip brownies, put spruce tips in spring rolls and sauces and baked goods.

This photo shows Mitchell “Mickey” Prescott and Oscar. (Vivian Faith Prescott / For the Capital City Weekly)

This photo shows Mitchell “Mickey” Prescott and Oscar. (Vivian Faith Prescott / For the Capital City Weekly)

My bucket fills to the top with spruce tips and I pour the bucket of tips into a waterproof cloth bag. I slip the bag in my backpack and continue picking. Spending time in the forest, or spruce tip bathing, can boost your immune system. Spruce tip bathing can lower anxiety, depression and stress, lower blood pressure and improve your mood. In my Sámi tradition, being present in the forest calms our thoughts and the noise of life. It often gives us a new perspective. The forest embraces us and there’s a sense of belonging. In Sámi culture it’s called Iellema Gaerdda—The-Circle-of-Life. Nature is at the center of our Sámi spiritual traditions. Our values stress we are nature. Spruce tip bathing provides a mental rest: choose the tip, pick, plunk it into the bucket; choose the tip, pick, plunk it into the bucket, repeat and the whole time inhaling a rich forest scent and maybe thinking about making spruce tip pesto.

Similar to my Sáminess, part of my Finnish identity is to savor silence and calmness. We call it Finn-relaxing, meaning, I’m home among the quiet activity of spruce tip bathing. My Finn-sense gets out of balance if I’m away from a forest for too long. There are terms for the longing you get from not being in nature: ecoanxiety, eco-paralysis, solastagia, etc. Thankfully, living in Southeast Alaska, we’re either living in a forest or surrounded by trees. We can look out our windows at the hillside forest and the neighbor has a big spruce tree in their yard. In the winter, when it’s too cold or nasty to go out and I’m longing for spring, I’ll get out my packaged spruce tips from the freezer and plop a few tips in a glass of water to let them steep. Spruce tip water is good for you and invigorating. When I drink it I can almost hear the thrush singing.

Mitchell “Mickey” Prescott and Oscar walk down a forest path in Wrangell. (Vivian Faith Prescott / For the Capital City Weekly)

Mitchell “Mickey” Prescott and Oscar walk down a forest path in Wrangell. (Vivian Faith Prescott / For the Capital City Weekly)

Now, in the bud burst, I’m surrounded by bright green spruce tips, and there’s a feeling of a life bursting forth around me. A clump of lady ferns and feather moss is beside me, and beyond is skunk cabbage and rusty leaf menziesia. I am part of the forest’s understory today, spruce tip bathing among salmonberry shoots, hemlock seedlings and liverworts.

• Wrangell writer and artist Vivian Faith Prescott writes “Planet Alaska: Sharing our Stories” with her daughter, Vivian Mork Yéilk’. It appears twice per month in the Capital City Weekly.

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of Feb. 1

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

President Donald Trump speaks to a capacity crowd at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage on July 9, 2022. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Here’s what Trump, after 20 days of his second term, has done so far specifically affecting Alaska

Nixing rules that limit oil drilling, renaming Mt. McKinley, shaking up U.S. Coast Guard among actions.

President Donald Trump walks away from the podium after speaking about a plane crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport during a news conference at the White House in Washington, on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. President Trumpճ remarks, suggesting that diversity in hiring and other Biden administration policies somehow caused the disaster, reflected his instinct to immediately frame major events through his political or ideological lens. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
All of the Trump administration’s major moves in the first 20 days

The New York Times is tracking the actions of President Donald Trump… Continue reading

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears boys basketball team pose outside Kodiak High School during their sweep over the Bears this weekend. (Photo courtesy JDHS)
JDHS boys topple Kodiak on the road

Crimson Bears sweep island Bears in two-game series.

Aaron Surma, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Juneau and the Juneau Suicide Prevention Council, gives a solo testimony to the Juneau Board of Education on Feb. 6, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
On top of a flat-funded BSA, Juneau Board of Education considers loss of local funding and grants

Principals and mental health advocate give feedback as the Juneau School District plans FY26 budget.

Cars arrive at Juneau International Airport on Thursday, July 11, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Juneau’s airport asking long-ago manager Dave Palmer to return temporarily amidst leadership changes

Palmer would return in April as longtime manager retires; Assembly removes two airport board members.

Pittman’s Pub, which has a bar tent located next to the Hooter chairlift and Fish Creek Lodge, will not open this season, its co-owners told Eaglecrest Ski Area’s board of directors Thursday. Eaglecrest Ski Area photo)
Pittman’s Pub owners say they won’t open at Eaglecrest this year due to cost, space difficulties

Couple says they would like to take over ski area’s restaurant, continue as a year-round operation.

The Alaska Senate unanimously approves a bill Friday rejecting a recommendation to adjust lawmakers’ salaries for inflation. (Official Alaska State Legislature livestream)
Alaska Senate unanimously rejects automatic salary hikes for top state officials

Commission recommendation for adjustments matching inflation takes effect unless lawmakers say no.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Most Read