Eats Leaves Shoots & Weeds

Guided year-round foraging walks in the Sussex countryside

What is foraging?

Foraging is all about finding and collecting wild edible food - everything from plants and fruits, to seaweed and fungi Humans have been foraging for food for most of their existence, a practice that began at least 2 million years ago with the earliest hominins. It remained the universal human subsistence strategy until the advent of agriculture some 12,000 years ago and continues to provide a deep connection with nature.

However foraging also requires significant caution and knowledge to ensure the food you find is safe to eat and gathered sustainably. It's vital that you can confidently identify every plant you find before eating it. This is particularly important when it comes to fungi - there are over 15,000 species of mushroom in the UK alone, meaning that extreme care must be taken when gathering!

I lead foraging courses throughout the year in Sussex - in woodland, on the Downs and/or along the coast. My aim is to demonstrate the bountiful wild ingredients that can be found on our doorstep and help you to develop your own foraging skills and knowledge.

What does a foraging walk involve?

At our agreed meeting point, I will give a brief introduction to foraging before we embark on a gentle two-hour stroll around the local environment - whether that's woodland, downland or the coast. We will be on the look out for edible plants and fungi - but I'll also point out any toxic varieties we come across. You'll have time to take notes or photos and - of course - ask as many questions as you like!

Our walks are friendly, fun and affordable and - at the end - we'll celebrate by sampling a few soft drinks made from foraged ingredients along with some taster foods I'll prepare in advance.

If doesn't matter if you're a beginner or already have some foraging experience, I will help you learn new skills and increase your foraging knowledge and expertise.

What do I need to bring?

Good outdoor wear suitable for the weather/time of year and whatever terrains we will be walking on. A sunhat, sunscreen, walking boots .. it all depends.
A notebook, a camera or phone.
A magnifying glass if you have one and a container to take specimens back home in!
An eye for detail is helpful, and definitely a sense of curiosity about the natural world.

What can you forage?

The Sussex countryside and coastline abounds with wild edible food! Below are just a few examples of what we might look out for on a guided foraging walk according to the seasons. The list is really quite endless!

Plants: Hedge garlic, ground elder, nettles, common hogweed, Alexanders, dandelion, sorrel, yarrow, bedstraw, plantain.
Fungi: St George’s, Hedgehog, boletes (hopefully Porcini), parasol, horse mushrooms, deceivers.
Fruits & Nuts: Blackberries, elder, hawthorn, rowan berries, sloes/bullace, hazelnuts, and wild plums/damsons, rosehips.
Flowers: Gorse, Rosa, elder, chamomile, hogweed, mugwort, feverfew, meadowsweet, wild garlic.
Coast: rock samphire, sea beet, sea Aster, sea purslane, Orache, sea kale, marsh samphire, seaweeds.

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