5 Reasons To Learn How To Forage

Feather Charm

2 days ago

6 min read

Hello Everyone!

Living in the city, you forget about the vastness of nature that surrounds you. All you see are concrete blocks, tall windowpanes and wind-tunnel alleys that blast you, should a particularly strong wind pass through the buildings. What little piece of nature the cities do have is in the form of a park or two, already mowed to the soil, with quaint flowerbeds lining some of the edges. Or you’re met with tarmac playgrounds for children. There really isn’t any form of nature around you, unless your local community commissioned a conservation space, for the local fauna.

However, should you decide to leave the city, there are endless swathes of land covered in wildlife and flora that may be good to eat. In fact, if you step out of your comfort zone, in your cosy apartment, you might just find yourself going back to those countryside forests to stock up on your weekly shop. After all, why buy food that you can easily find in nature? That’s my reasoning, at least. So, join me as I motivate myself to start foraging in my local conservation parks. Just remember to leave some for the local wildlife, and only “take what you need, but never from greed” (my Barbie girlies will get it).

1. The Food Is Free!

Now that I’ve begun my gardening journey, every time I buy foods from the supermarket (which is pretty frequently), especially fruits and vegetables, I’ve begun to ask myself “could I grow that in my garden?”. More often than not, the answer is yes. I mean, every time I pick up a punnet of strawberries, I’m so tempted to try and grow my own from the seeds that are so obviously on the strawberry itself. Of course, I know that growing plants from seeds can be a little difficult, especially seasonal ones. Sometimes they need encouragement, like being placed in fridges, to activate them, or keeping them in dark places, so their internal clocks are sped up.

Nevertheless, I am still slowly developing my skills to grow my own food. However, that’s not the only way you can grab your fruits, veggies and herbs for free. You can forage for them. It might seem difficult at first, and you might not trust yourself, to know what an edible plant looks like, but once you’ve learned how to forage for food, you’ll be able to grab yourself a healthy snack and cooking ingredients in no time. Plus, there’s no money involved! It’s all free. You don’t need to pay for it. All you need to do is go to your local conservation park or forest area, find those edible plants and take them home. You don’t need to pay for anything (well…unless you need to pay an admin fee or parking fee, but it’s a small price to pay for a banquet).

2. No Pesticides – But Still Wash Your Foraged Goods

One of the best things about growing or foraging for your food is that there are no chemical pesticides involved. Everything is grown natural and free. So, you don’t need to wash off those nasty chemicals that industrial farmers tend to use, to ensure their crops are clean from pests. Sometimes, even while you’re foraging for your cooking ingredients, you can eat what you’ve gathered. Literally, foraging is hungry work, so, you can snack as you look for your “weekly shop”. There’s no danger of you swallowing harsh and nasty chemicals that could be toxic for you.

However, that shouldn’t mean you shouldn’t wash them. While you might not be in danger of ingesting harsh chemicals, you might ingest harmful parasites and bacteria. After all, you’re finding your food in the wild, animals, insects and other humans might have…made their mark…on those precious leaves, fruits and vegetables. So, be sure to wash what you’ve gathered thoroughly, before using them. Of course, if you’re snacking, you might want to pace yourself or eat your harvest occasionally. Don’t stuff your stomach full, unless you know the area you’re foraging in is free from pests.

3. It’s Healthy

This should be no surprise. After all, you’re finding food in nature, as nature intended it. It’s not cooked, fried or baked to the point all the good nutrients are gone. The food you’re foraging is for sure going to be healthy for you, since you’re probably gathering a week’s worth of your “5 a day” (as we say here in the UK), meaning you’re getting a week’s worth of your daily fruit and vegetable intake. Not to mention, you’ll probably cook those fruits, vegetables and herbs in a healthy way, and not by deep frying them, like some of those fast-food chains do. There are also no nasty preservatives or sugars that these restaurants (if they can even be called restaurants) add, to make their meals more "enticing" to eat.

You can be sure that when I wasn’t really conscious about food and the environment, I just ate whatever was available. If I jumped off the bus and a KFC was in front of me, I’d get the Twister Wrap because there was “a little bit of veg in there, so I’m still getting my vegetables”, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Unless I made up for that lack of vegetables in other snacks and meals, I wasn’t really getting my “5 a day”. So, by learning to forage and cook what I forage, I’ll be getting my daily intake, properly. The same should be said for you. If you’re looking to learn how to forage, and you need a reason why, this should be one of those reasons.

4. More Sharing, Less Waste

Now, obviously, when you forage for food, you might end up with more than you need. So, why not share it with your local community. Give your neighbours a share of the food you’ve found and grow your community through your food. After all, sharing is caring, and I’m sure they’ll be grateful for the food you’ve given them. They may even give you something in return. Of course, if you can’t give your neighbours your food, then throw it into your compost bin and use that to help fertilise and grow your own vegetable garden.

I’ve not had the chance to do this yet (mostly because I haven’t started foraging myself and I tend to not use the kitchen, since my mom is always in there cooking), but I’m sure that once I’ve started growing my own fruits, vegetables and herbs, as well as foraging for them, I’ll be sharing my leftovers with my family and neighbours. I’ll also send my waste into my compost bin because then I can use that to fertilise and grow my garden. I mean, there literally is no waste in this cycle, since I don’t have any plastic packaging to throw away. Everything comes from nature and is returned to it.

5. You Learn Survival Skills

I left this one last, because I’m sure you already know that this is a major skill to learn, when you start foraging. Knowing what to eat, where, and when, is something that we’ve all forgotten to do, thanks to the invention of the greenhouse and industrial farming. By learning how to forage for your food, you’re ensuring these survival skills are alive. I mean, it’s highly unlikely that an apocalyptic event will happen, which will cause all forms of farming to fail, but I’m sure that if anything like that were to happen, you’ll be able to survive, because you know what to forage for.

Learning to identify safe and edible plants is a skill, one that only those who actively practice foraging know how to do. I mean, currently (as I’m writing this article), I’ve not started my journey, but by the time this post goes out, I might have begun, and I should know at least 5 edible plants you can find in London (who knows, maybe one of the next posts will be about that!). Essentially, by foraging for your own food, you’re learning vital survival skills that society has forgotten, because we’ve gotten so used to paying for food that’s made for us. That’s why this reason is last. It is one of the most important reasons why you should start learning how to forage for food.

Time To Forage The Forest And Eat!

Ok, it might be daunting, starting your foraging journey alone. If you know someone who can help you with that, then ask them for help. Otherwise, there are plenty of courses and walks that will help you learn what to look for, when you forage for food. In fact, there are plenty in London and the surrounding areas, and many of them take place all year round. So, you’ll be able to learn pretty quickly how to spot those precious edible plants. I know I will.

In fact, I’m going to go and book a spot for myself, now. Hopefully I’ll see you on one of those walks. For now, while I go do that, please don’t forget to like, subscribe, comment, share and follow me, here on Feather’s Charm, on my YouTube channel, on my other social media channels (Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok), and on Patreon. Your support really does help me make more content like this, for you guys.