Getting Intimate with Wild Foods

It's been two and a half decades since I started a serious (and fun) relationship with foraging. And it's been well over a decade since I've been teaching foraging (I'm writing this in 2019). Like any relationship, there's ups and downs, boredom, frustration, elation, new experiences, the same old ones and falling in love again.

We all know that long-term relationships thrive on a few basic principles and one of those is cultivating and sustaining intimacy. Not just skating over the surface with 'I know that plant', but having a sense of curiosity, interest, care and taking time. Now, I know I'm straddling between talking about people and plants here, though there are some similarities. The way I see it, all my interactions with the world are relationships; with people, food, the landscape, my work. And the deeper I go, the richer my rewards. Imagine if I'd stopped at making Nettle Soup - which I love. I'd of never been able to enjoy the sensations of Nettle and Honey Cake or discovered Nettle Pakoras. Or shared these with so many of you. I digress... Do check out the Stinging Nettles blog if you'd like to know more.

How to keep Foraging new and Fresh

A couple of years ago I started exploring song-writing as a way to express some of the qualities of plants in new ways. I was attending an outdoor learning conference at Mount Pleasant Eco Park at the time, and thought it might be a useful exercise for the attendees. In my workshops on 'Wild Foods with Children' we explored 5 common weeds as food and I created and sung a foraging song or two as an illustration of memorable and fun directions foraging can go in. The song wasn't great, though I was brave enough to sing it and we learnt and laughed together.

Since then the concept of a Foraging Course with Plant Songs has developed. I realised I wanted to offer songs, fire and tasters. I didn't want to dilute the foraging courses I already ran, but add an additional layer to them. Sometimes the arts express something that words alone cannot do, and I hoped this creative addition had this potential.

Sharing Secrets

Through sharing my foraging songs, I'm giving you a little insight into my relationship with the wild foods that I teach. Offering a doorway into the world of plants and a platform to express something of the plants' character, essence, as well as their practical uses. I open my little black book of foraging songs and sing, I invite you to sing and we sing to the plants, to the hedgerows, to each other. It's fun.

At some point, on every course I lead, I open my bag and offer handmade, wild tasters from one or more of the plants we have sung about. The recipe remains a secret, except to the participants who attend. Does this deepen intimacy with the plants? I like to think so. Tasting, smell and eating the wild foods can deepen our understanding and appreciation of the wild foods surrounding us. And that is good for building positive relationships with the world we reside in.

Sssshhh! Come along to the Foraging Course with Songs to get the secret foraging recipe. A little more insight into the songs and experience is here on the wild singing blog. If you'd like to stay up to date with what I'm up to, consider following my instagram or facebook page.

#singingforager #mindfulwildforager