It’s a good year for blackberries. But what else could we be foraging? At our August meeting, we heard from Wendy Paton, forager, bushcraft specialist and East Edge Sisters member.
Wendy grew up in Melbourne, Australia, where she grew interested in living off the land. Wendy has foraged wild rhubarb in Mongolia, harvested blueberries in Ecuador, been mud fishing in Vietnam and eaten insects for breakfast in Laos. Wendy started London Bushcraft to reconnect people with nature.
Along with their uses in traditional herbal medicine, here are just a few of the things that we learned from Wendy’s talk: Elderflowers are best picked early on a dry day, nettles before they flower and sloes traditionally after first frosts. Jack-by-the-hedge, nettles, lemon balm and dandelions can all be used in pesto mixes. Sweet violet leaves are a good parsley substitute. Ash seeds can be pickled if picked early when transparent. And a swiss inventor studied how burdock leaves stuck to clothes – which led to the invention of Velcro.
Our members shared stories too: Past President Natasha learned to forage from her French mother, who, if in any doubt, would take mushrooms to the chemist. Chemists in France have to know about poisonous mushrooms. And Annie told how they used to use curly dock seeds as money when they were children.
Some rules for foraging:
• Only eat something if you’re sure what it is
• You can pick unless there are regulations in the area
• You cannot uproot a plant unless you have landowner’s permission
• Test your sensitivity to plants
• Pick in a non polluting environment
• Always double check ingredients before using.
• Avoid during pregnancy and breastfeeding
More from Wendy on foraging, recipes, workshops, courses and wilderness retreats: https://www.londonbushcraft.com and at @londonbushcraft on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
Pictured above: blackberries by the River Lea, herb Robert and lemon balm.
Our next coffee morning will be on Friday 27th August, on Zoom
Our next meeting, on 16th September, will have St Mungo’s talking about women and homelessness. Check back here for details.
