A Day In Kinghurst Forest

Story of the day

Kinghurst Forest

Saturday, June 2016, week 2 – Edible Plants

It was time to meet at Kinghurst to start off our second weekend exploring and navigating our journey of plants. This weekend we were going to explore the edible plants, I was very much looking forward to the weekend teachings and learning. I wondered what mystery plants were in store for us today as we sat down somewhere along the path to initiate our morning opening circle with gratitude and greetings.

Soon began the wonders and tastes laid out within forest. It felt like I was a child in a candy store, whereby all that we learnt about the seasonal plants around us bore seasonal edible treats which were healthy, delightful and wholesome.  We met friends that allowed us to try them, like the sour wood sorrel and the gingery roots of the wild ginger. We stumbled across wild grapes, we nipped and tasted their tendrils and then of course, we stopped to dig up our abundant neighborhood plant – Dandelion. Soon a bunch of dandelion roots were harvested and talks about dandelion coffee were brewing. While walking along an open trail we stopped to learn about the Day Lilly. We learnt that Day Lilly is edible but Tiger Lilly is toxic – be aware! Once aware, we proceeded to harvest the Day Lillies. Right after our lunch we found some spruce trees. We harvested the young spruce tips, we would add vinegar to them later to make some delicious spruce tip vinegar.

There was magic in the woods for sure because soon after we stumbled across friends from last year. Our blood root friends that we had transplanted last year were alive and well, it was such a delight to meet them again in this neck of the woods where we last saw them! After finding some more in the middle of the trail, some of us went ahead and transplanted a few bloodroot plants into safer and secure parts of the woods. Then we fox walked through the forest, I listened to the birds and watched the butterflies, and we transitioned into finding a sit spot and having a moment to ourselves to absorb our surroundings.

In the afternoon the sun quickly drained our energy and we all welcomed a moment of rest together in the shades of coniferous trees. We drank some water and shared some stories. Once re-energized we continued our hike and ended the day harvesting bits and pieces of plants that would nourish us well for that evenings potluck spent together. Some harvested red raspberry leaves, some grape tendrils and of course some dandelions.

I was grateful that I was well nourished by the plant community at Kinghurst. A take away message that we learnt was the ‘Rule of Thumb’ for responsibly harvesting plants in the wild in an ethical way; 1) harvest the right part 2) Harvest in the right season 3) Ensure the right preparation of your harvest. 

Happy Foraging!

-Annie