Yep, sweet chestnuts, most of us have heard of them, or eaten them roasted from brasiers in large cities in November. Castanea sativa…meaning ‘sweet’, this useful tree was brought over here by homesick Romans. Little did they realise how the rainy, cold climate of Blighty would affect the quality of the nuts! Yet the wood…

Have you ever wanted to learn how to make natural containers to store food? Birch Bark has been used for making many objects in times gone by, with its antibacterial properties and breathability helping foods to stay fresh. It can be used to boil water over an open camp fire, yet the natural oils within…

It’s that time of year when the crimson fruits of our native wild Rosa canina, or wild Dog Rose, are starting to soften or ‘blet’ in the colder air. Humans have been scoffing these rose hips since the dawn of civilisation – a 2000 year old English corpse has been discovered with rose hip seeds…

2 hours Introduction to Fungi with Phil Austin. Check out “Fungi Foray (Family Friendly)” on Eventbrite! Date: Fri, 28 Oct, 10:00 Location: Bridgewater Monument, Ashridge Estate

Check out “Fungi Foray” on Eventbrite! Date: Sat, 22 Oct, 10:00 Location: Bridgewater Monument, Ashridge Estate

Check out “Fungi Foray” on Eventbrite! Date: Sun, 16 Oct, 10:00 Location: Bridgewater Monument, Ashridge Estate

If you missed September’s Forages With Tapas, I have two more dates below. Yes, they are on Fridays. I know weekends are better for people, but I’m a single parent and my Mum lives in Surrey, so it is hard to find child care. If you wouldn’t mind paying more (i.e. £35 rather than £25,…

Yes, I mean eating snails. Known as ‘l’escargot’ by our French neighbours, snails are also eaten as a luxury dish in India, Nigeria, Portugal and Asia. Considering how much easier and safer it is to collect them compared to pegging it after a leaping deer Bear Grylls style, you would do well not to turn…

Right, I’m going out on a slightly less than usual limb here for this blog. Readers may not have realised that underpinning much of what I write about foraging is a slow yet powerful current of land activism. My intention is that once we are directly connected to the land by our meals it comes…