09/05/2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKksi0HqOVE
Join me and Max the forager's dog on a foraging & nature walk on the West Wales Coast Path - filmed at Thorning Farm
A Walk On The Wild Side - Marros to Pendine
Take a wildlife and foraging walk with Fred the Forager and forager's dog Max, along part of the Wales Coast Path - Marros to Pendine. Join us as we experie...
19/04/2024
Anyone fancy a Medicinal Mushrooms Masterclass in Avebury (May 18th & 19th)? I have space for you so get in touch!
2 Day Medicinal Mushrooms Masterclass | The Wild Side of Life
2 Day Medicinal Mushrooms Masterclass A practical 2 Day Masterclass in mushroom medicine making, backed up with supporting theory tuition and a trip into the forest to see some of the medicinal fungi in-situ. Avebury World Heritage Site, Wiltshire, UK – 18th & 19th May 2024 COST: £220.00 – Cont...
14/04/2024
Been sorting out the front end of the dispensary today and stock taking (lots more behind the scenes). Somehow - my mind feels a lot clearer too! :-)
02/04/2024
Little clusters of Dragon's eggs appearing on the downs... The St. George's are up!!
23/03/2024
With spring on the way, our minds tend to shift away from the insular reflectivity of winter into a more outward focus, and we become acutely aware of the beauty and bounty of the natural world around us... with that in mind, here are my latest foraging course offerings for the Spring. Do get in touch with me... [email protected]... about these if you want to come!
1) 28th March - SEASHORE FORAGING - North Devon
https://thewildsideoflife.co.uk/courses/seashore-foraging-days/
2) 6th April - WILD GARLIC, SPRING CURE SOUPS AND REFERSHING HERBAL WATERS &
3) 4th May - SPRING FUNGI, SAUTES, SALADS & HERB TEAS
https://thewildsideoflife.co.uk/courses/mushrooms-and-plants/spring-shoots-mushrooms-discovery-day/
4) 11th of May - The start of our SPRING & SUMMER FORAGER'S CLUB that takes you foraging throughout the Spring & Summer months. https://thewildsideoflife.co.uk/courses/seashore-foraging-days/
Join me for confidence in how to safely and sustainably forage for a wide variety of tasty and useful ingredients, and meals will never be the same again! [email protected]
23/03/2024
https://thewildsideoflife.co.uk/foraging/the-seven-herb-spring-cure-soup/
It's that time of year again - time to blend wild garlic, young nettle tops, chickweed, cleavers and a host of other young shoots to make this mineralising, vitamin C packed, pre-biotic soup that our forebears knew as the 'Spring Cure'. Just like horses, humans often were in need of something to bring them back into condition after the winter... living on dried rations and preserves can take a toll on health and unlike today, there was no out of season fruit or veg from the other side of the world available... so enjoy the bounty of the new season as it comes in - your very own Spring Cure!
25/02/2024
A very good read, it's that time of the year again when delicious ingredients start popping out of the ground...
10 plants to forage for in the city
Think dandelions are weeds? Think again! There’s a bumper crop of edible plants ripe for urban foraging in parks and gardens this winter and spring.
15/12/2023
We got a nice write-up in The Guardian - recycled again in last week's news feed... I never knew I was going to be quoted... they clearly came on one of my courses under cover, but it is nice to see that they reported accurately and fairly. I think that foraging for common fungi for personal consumption is sustainable, especially as disturbing mushrooms actually facilitates their spread - if any mushroom kickers or mushroom mowers read this - you are responsible! There is good research out there to substantiate this. Commercial picking, though rare in the UK compared to most European countries, has a far different scale of impact. Those who accuse people with mushrooms in carrier bags in the woods as being commercial foragers though, or suggest that "they just take everything", clearly haven't thought through what commercial foraging would actually look like. There are very few commercially viable species that pickers could sell in the UK, against a backdrop of literally thousands, because there is no market for the rest and most chefs don't even know what they are.
The desired species are all easy to identify and all common, with the exception of lion's mane - which 10 years ago commercial pickers had never heard of - but which is justifiably protected by law. Chefs only want chanterelles (girolle), porcini (cep), black trumpet, winter chanterelle... maybe a few more adventurous ones may put chicken of the woods, hen of the woods or blewits on the menu occasionally, or black morels in spring. All of these are common in the right habitats - and there is the key. Habitat loss and destruction are the real enemy when it comes to fungi conservation. All of these are also available at competitive rates from north eastern and south eastern Europe, via companies like Eurofresh. There is not really much call for sweaty broken mushrooms in carrier bags over here - and no-one would want them!
If you go down to the woods today … don't come back with mushrooms
As the desire for wild fungi has grown in Britain so too have concerns about illegal commercial foraging in protected woodlands
10/11/2023
are just 2 of the main ingredients in a tradional tonic for immunity and one that has been made around the 🌍for centuries.
Supporting the innate immune system is how we keep well, recover quickly and prevent problems.
It's all about being prepared and working at it, health isn't handed on golden platter, it's worked at every day and often the older we get the harder we have to work as function declines.
Recent years saw a American company try to trademark Fire Cider, thankfully commonsense prevailed when Herbalists went to court to plead the case of tradition over trademark.
👏🙌 Well done and her colleagues who and ensured control didn't over power.
We often have to all stand up, be counted and speak out for what we know and believe to be right, our truth and justice.
01/07/2023
Thought you might all enjoy this little hiking / foraging video of our recent trip to the Peak District
Kinder Ridge Edale, Nether Tor & Grindsbrook Clough
Our little video of me (Fred the Forager), Tasch and Max forager dog climbing the slopes around Edale up onto the Kinder Scout ridge and back down again via ...
01/05/2023
https://mailchi.mp/cfd0ee6d64b8/medicinal-mushrooms-workshops-are-back Medicinal Mushrooms 2 Day Workshops are back! After a 2.5 year pause over the pandemic we are now teaching these workshops in person again. Come and learn medicine making and mushroom ID skills on the 17th & 18th of June, and learn how to make mushroom medicines that are both safe and potent, in your own kitchen at home. Take home what you make and the knowledge to make more!
Location: Avebury World Heritage Site, Wiltshire, UK
Contact [email protected] for details
27/04/2023
https://thewildsideoflife.co.uk/foraging/a-tale-of-st-george-st-georges-mushroom-morels/
A Tale of St. George, St. George's Mushroom & Morels....
A little seasonal writing for you... as foragers it is time to celebrate the bounty of spring!
A Tale of St. George, St. George’s Mushroom & Morels | The Wild Side of Life
A Tale of St. George, St. George’s Mushroom & Morels Posted on 27/04/2023 by FredTheForager With St. George’s day in England just passed, and the festival of beltane / May day almost upon us, we turn our thoughts to the rapidly emerging vegetation all around and the appearance of spring mushroom...
25/04/2023
Yesterday... a day spent teaching and sharing with Marlborough Downs Space for Nature, a local partnership of farmers working together to make nature conservation a reality... we finished the day with creamy goat's cheese from The Gourmet Goat Farmer and St. George's mushroom, fairy ring champignon, hogweed shoot, spring beauty and wild garlic canapes. A memorable and enjoyable day!
https://www.spacefornature.net
19/04/2023
7 Herb Spring Cure Soup - Recipe & Newsletter - https://mailchi.mp/209ea7a303f9/7-herb-spring-cure-soup-recipe-newsletter
Get the latest newsletter with all our events and the fabulous 7 Herb Spring Cure Soup recipe... right here... right now!
19/02/2021
Having fun! Filming making medicines from mushrooms for "Exploring the Healing Potential of Medicinal Mushrooms" Stage 2 with the National Institute of Medical Herbalists. This part of the course would normally be a practical workshop but this year it has to be carried out by Zoom in the middle of Avebury - at the Wonderful Elements of Avebury! Loving it and feeling really blessed!
31/01/2021
Wild Food
Provided to YouTube by IDOLWild Food · Peter BroderickBlackberry℗ Erased Tapes Records Ltd.Released on: 2020-08-28Drums: Peter BroderickGuitar: Peter Broderi...
22/12/2020
The 'Exploring the Healing Potential of Medicinal Mushrooms' practitioner course is well under way. The 5 webinar series which is part 1 of the 3 part practitioner course can still be booked as a standalone option from the bookings page (link below). They have been very well received so far and will be available to view as recorded sessions for the next 6 weeks. There is more than 12 hours of fresh content for those interested in medicinal mushrooms.
Qualified health practitioners can then go on to complete stage 2 (a day of practical medicine making workshops by Zoom) and stage 3 (a series of 5 online learning modules) before applying for professional registration. Health practitioner / medical students can also take this option and apply for registration when they have qualified. Take a look via this eventbrite page for more details...
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-healing-potential-of-medicinal-mushrooms-practitioner-course-tickets-133353356479
The Healing Potential of Medicinal Mushrooms - Practitioner Course
Webinar Series, Practitioner Course and Practical Workshop with Fred Gillam
14/12/2020
Here's a guide to Winter Mushroom Foraging in the UK... have fun on those crisp winter days and maybe bring home something for a tasty hot supper!!
Ten Mushrooms of Winter | The Wild Side of Life
Ten Mushrooms of Winter TEN MUSHROOMS OF WINTER (from November to February in the UK) Fred Gillam Field Blewit Lepista personata For a long time this mushroom has been in my top 5 and was my grandfather’s favourite! They have an exquisite depth of flavour but must be well cooked, as like many wild...
20/10/2020
There is still time to sign up for this. Webinar 1 about the world of the fungi has been recorded, allowing you to catch up. Webinar 2 in the series will go live at 7:30 PM this Thursday (22nd October). It is about the mycobiome, which is the fungal component of the microbiome. Notes will be available to those who attend.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/exploring-the-healing-potential-of-medicinal-mushrooms-tickets-120508798059?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=escb&utm-source=cp&utm-term=listing&fbclid=IwAR3ogNtTbKxz57GGm5_Mmg9PLeg0ZUDtiuaTVMnpk3OTLMumtt4YFHf-3zo
Exploring the Healing Potential of Medicinal Mushrooms
Webinar Series, Practitioner Course and Practical Workshop with Fred Gillam
14/09/2020
New dates for Mushroom Discovery Days available here...
(New Forest & Henley areas)
Mushroom Discovery Days | The Wild Side of Life
Mushroom Discovery Days Exciting Saturdays in stunning locations for the gourmet, photographer or naturalist alike… discover the world of wild mushrooms, how to identify them and harvest them sustainably! A nice firm cep or porcini, Boletus edulis The Wild Side of Life was voted Food & Drink Award...
07/09/2020
I met National Trust Ranger Kate Martin a couple of weeks ago for a stroll and a spot of wild food cookery on a sunny day down by the river Avon... it was a LOT of fun! Hear what we got up to in Nature's Tasty Secrets... you might even get some wild food cookery tips... https://audioboom.com/posts/7674609-nature-s-tasty-secrets
Nature's Tasty Secrets
An episode by National Trust Podcast
01/09/2020
The mushroom season's getting started here in southern England. I hope you enjoy my video about making nutritious and delicious mushroom jerky after a relaxing walk among the ancient trees.
If you ❤️ it, feel free to SHARE it!
Beefsteak & Other Forest Delights in Late Summer
Late summer in the south of England is when the fungi start putting in a more significant appearance. The mushroom season just beginning to warm up. Here, wi...
22/05/2020
TREE HUGGING CHILLOUT: I've been talking with Sue Kinnear about the magic of hugging trees and what the power of empathy can do for you too... listen on BBC Wiltshire... (at 2:18 to 2:25 in the program)...
(Click the link to listen)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08cfqp5