Introduction to Foraging Course, Northallerton

Children under 12 come free. Well-behaved dogs on a lead are also more than welcome.

We will take a 2.5 hour guided foraging walk (covering 1 to 2 miles) around the wild areas of a private farm, stopping regularly to discuss (and where possible, eat!) the many edible goodies we find along the way, whether that be plants, flowers, fruits, nuts or mushrooms! What we’ll find depends on the time of year and the mercy of nature! The route is mainly flat, and we’ll go at a gentle pace.

Although the main focus will be foraging from the perspective of wild food, we will also touch upon what can be foraged for non-food uses, such as medicinal purposes, or "bushcraft" uses like finding a natural plaster in the wild or making your own string!

This course will cover the best ways to start and progress through the early stages of your foraging journey, in order to best maximise your learning and development, and will include:

• A brief introduction to myself and foraging in general.
• Finding and discussing over 15 species common across the UK.
• How to identify the species we come across.
• Information about toxic species to avoid.
• Foraging laws and principles to ensure you forage legally, safely and responsibly.
• Trying a couple of pre-prepared wild food-based samples!
• A follow-up email to participants with a summary of the species we found and other useful information such as my recommended books for further reading.

Foraging is fun and fascinating, with so many benefits it’s unbelievable. It’s as safe as anything when approached with the right level of caution, awareness, and knowledge. It’s important to realise however that foraging can be dangerous IF you approach it with a lack of caution (recklessness), and/or a lack of awareness of the risks and without the respect nature deserves. During the course, I will show you how to approach foraging in a way whereby you don’t just minimise but eliminate all risks, so you are free to enjoy the many benefits that foraging brings into your life – and there are many!

Humans have been foraging as a way to survive for hundreds of thousands of years. Before farming, this was how we survived – finding what nature provided in harmony with the seasons and the land. This period before farming forms over 95 per cent of our existence as a species, so to our brains and bodies, wild food foraging is incredibly natural – this is one of the reasons it feels so good!

Foraging is one of the best ways to disconnect from our busy modern lives of emails, social media and technology, and reconnect with nature and our ancestral roots. During our foraging walk, we will log off from the modern world and log in to nature!

A few days before the course, I will email you with all the details you will require including the exact location and meeting point on the farm. Regardless of our exact meeting point, there will be parking available.

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