Welcome
Over recent years there has been a huge surge of interest in foraging and wild food. This has been part of a movement that has also seen increased popularity in allotments and home-grown produce. For many, these changes are a response to environmental concerns such as food miles and intensive agriculture with wild food being truly sustainable - seasonal, local, organic and free-range! Others, including chefs, see the opportunities that wild food offers - a wealth of nutritious ingredients and a vast range of delicacies to discover - food for free!
	Autumn wild harvest
Foraging is clearly not a new thing - at one time hunting and gathering was how our ancestors lived, the wild "parents" of familiar garden fruits and vegetables forming part of their diets. In more recent eras, our grandparents or parents will have encountered wartime food shortages and turned to the countryside to supplement their diets. Knowledge of what can be picked and how it can be used is part of our history.
	Wild fruit-based drinks and sauces
Hedgerow Harvest offer a range of courses to help you safely enjoy wild food. Please explore our web site to learn more.

Foraging & Wild Food
Foraging is "the act of looking or searching for food or provisions". Wild food is anything edible that has had no management to increase its production. This can include: Plants - leaves (including herbs and seaweed), flowers, berries, nuts, roots or sap Fungi Animals such as rabbits, pigeons and fish / shellfish (of both fresh and salt water). Foraging is not about survival, but using wild and “conventional” food ingredients together.
	Field Blewitts
Warning
A few words of warning and rules: Some plants and fungi are poisonous, so if you are not 100% certain that your identification is correct - DO NOT EAT IT. Avoid foraging where agricultural sprays or vehicle pollution may have contaminated produce. Always stay on Rights of Way unless you have the permission from the landowner to leave them. Picking nuts, berries, leaves etc. is permitted on Rights of Way, but the uprooting of any wild plants is illegal without the landowner's permission.
	Wild fruit jelly

Disclaimer

Before eating any wild food please use expert advice if in any doubt. No liability is accepted for any actions taken or not taken as a result of the advice given on this website.