In a Venice alley behind the home of Rainbeau Mars, there’s a botanical buffet of sorts. As she walks down the street, she points out all the fresh dandelion leaves.

Mars is a self-proclaimed herbalist, healer and actor. Her passion is regenerative agriculture, a concept of framing in harmony with nature, and she relishes showing others the food growing all around us.

“I think it’s because we’re not really spraying in this neighborhood,” she said.

Mars is getting ready to lead a two-hour foraging tour through the streets of Venice on Friday, ahead of Earth Day. The group meets at 3 p.m. in front of the Venice Learning Garden.

“You could spend so much money at the store, or you could pick [edible plants],” she said. “They’re probably growing in your alley. You just want to make sure they’re not sprayed, and they’re fresh and clean.”

Mars said her mom is an herbalist and planted these concepts in her from an early age.

“She’d give me $5 if I could name three plants and another $5 if I could give you three uses, and another $5 if I could topically show you how to use it,” Mars said. “It’s literally like every single house along this whole block to the Venice Learning Garden — there’s something growing.”

While some weeds or plants may not be the prettiest, she said many of them actually have medicinal or nutritional benefits and people should think twice before cutting or spraying them.

“[This is] marshmallow, which is a great alternative to spinach,” she said. “You can eat the cheese wheels, like the little seeds, the nuts, but you can also eat the leaves and harvest them and dehydrate them or sauté them, just like you would spinach or another green.”

She feels it’s important to learn to live with these plants and other weeds, saying that no matter how much we get rid of them, they are going to come back. So why not use them?

Mars hopes more people will start savoring the edible landscape right in their own backyard.