I grew up in a city, not discovering my interest for foraging until I was an adult. An interest quickly became an obsession and I soon found all my free time being spent learning the names and uses of our local plants and fungi.

I used books, websites and spent time taking things home and not eating them, to build confidence! I searched in urban areas to begin with, city parks and the gardens of neighbours to discover wild food.

When learning a new plant or mushroom I can’t help but dig into science journals and historical texts to see if we can solidify ancient claims of medicine or uncover what our ancestors did with our native species.

Foraging is an innate human skill, we all used to know it but the modern world made us forget. We all know what stinging nettles are we’ve just forgotten how they sit in our culture (they belong in your fridge).

My teaching style is very interactive, getting everyones hands a little dirty is the best way to learn. Digestible snippets of botany, herbalism, ethnobotany and anthropology all permeate my courses.

Being a foraging teacher becomes a way of life, everyday I’m thinking about whats growing, in autumn I’m collecting mushrooms to dry and ferment for spring time walks, in spring I’m packing the freezer with greens for summer.

I still go to supermarkets like everyone else and I still get caught up with addictive foods from time to time. I’m not trying to make my diet purely foraged but we can all live a slightly more natural life.

Foraging hasn’t been the only obsession in my life, music and gigging in original bands was my full time work for many years, that work allowed me to see some of the world!

Meditation, philosophy and spiritual practices have also been a key component of my journey, when running weekend retreats all these passions come together in a wonderful sharing.