9 minute read
USEFUL LINKS
Link with a yoga trainer or wellbeing professional to offer forest bathing or relaxation in nature. Many crafts link with foraged materials: basket weaving, batik dyes, art panels, nettle fibres for fabric and branches for whisks. A collage workshop can form the basis of a marvellous foraging experience using mosses and twigs, shells and seed pods Offer a half-day event around any workshop or retreat, with relaxation / foraging yoga /drawing flora / photography - plus lunch. If your venue lends itself to a festival then link with local beers, a botanical gin, local musicians and foragers for a day /night /weekend to rememberartist /photographer and build on your meal experience with another related theme, creating a half-day event around a workshop or retreat, with relaxation / foraging / yoga / drawing flora / photography … plus luncheon. If your venue lends itself to a festival then link with local beers, a botanical gin, local musicians and foragers for a day /night / weekend to remember.
Don’t forget to photograph whatever you decide to host for all that social media coverage. Many of these events can be outdoors in nature and not linked to a venue however remember to get permission if it is not your own land.
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LEGISLATION
Better safe than sorry
If you run a business, you will already be aware of ensuring everyone involved in your event is safe, in accordance with The Health and Safety at Work Act (1974). As the event organiser, this is your responsibility and you will need to have current Public Liability Insurance in place. If any food is being served, you must also have a Food Hygiene Certificate for food handlers and your premises registered with your local Council. Now is also the time to consider whether or not you are planning to allow participants to sample foods in the wild or eat foraged foods you have prepared safely. Guided walks are one thing but for more extensive identification and sampling, it’s advisable to use a professional forager. Please see the Hospitality Toolkit for further information for Food Events.
Risk assessment:
A review of potential hazards is required by law and may already be standard practice in your establishment, however you may need an additional HACCP for a one-off event. Hand-washing facilities or bactericidal wipes should also be part of your planning as participants may be handling soil then food, for example, or clambering over rocks, using gates or styles.
Specific crafts/activities:
Certain crafts or activities may require specific risk assessment to prevent injuries. For example, soap-making may use ingredients that some people are allergic to. Some participants may be at risk of injury from taking part in the exercises included in yoga, so the event organiser will need to risk assess to take account of this.
Alcohol:
Remember to contact your local Council if you are planning an event outwith your normal business hours or usual working practices. If alcohol is involved there are strict regulations and it is wise to check.
Be Aware:
Whilst foraging activities can be exciting to take part in, it is important to remember that your participants and customers will have very differing degrees of knowledge: some may be experts whereas others might not know a nettle from a spruce shoot. You are responsible for them while they are with you so be sure of your identification – be safe.
‘Come Foraging’ and the ‘BSBI Code of Conduct’ are very helpful guides to foraging. Both are available to download on
www.nature.scot If in doubt, don’t touch!
RESPONSIBILITY
Foraging is a great way to spend time in nature, learn about the landscape around you and find free and healthy foraged food to enhance your wellbeing. Following the general principles set out below should help ensure that your foraging is responsible and unobtrusive. These guidelines are aimed at people foraging for their own use, rather than those wishing to forage commercially. The Association of Foragers has an excellent guide for those wishing to supply businesses with foraged materials. Be aware that this guidance and website is not designed to help you identify species. You should always check anything you are unsure of in a good plant identification guide and ideally, crossreference it with a second or third source.
Safety First
If you have any reservations about a species that you are trying to identify, do not harvest or consume that plant. Safety is paramount when you are foraging, some plants and fungi are deadly and can resemble friendly counterparts, so only forage what you are completely confident in your identification of. If you are at all unsure, leave well alone!
Protect and Preserve
Be selective about what you harvest. Please bear in mind that any plants that you gather could be an important food or habitat source for animals and insects. Pick only what you will use, only harvest plentiful species and do not take everything from one plant, tree or area. Be mindful and do not harvest any unusual or rare plant from an area. When gathering, try to spread out over a larger area rather than exhausting one particular spot and if it’s clear that other people have already foraged in the same place then try to move elsewhere. This will allow the area to recover for future harvesting and a healthy eco-system. Try to avoid excessive trampling of plants or soil. Step carefully and enjoy your surroundings.
Woodland, Field and Hill
If you are picking in an area used by livestock, stay well away from animals with young offspring, as they can be very territorial and protective. We advise that you avoid areas that are heavily used by dog walkers.
If you are gathering in an environment with a water supply which is close to livestock, be sure to correctly wash and cook any picked plants. Some plants such as watercress have a risk of liver fluke unless they are boiled. Be sure to research the correct preparation method for foraged foods, depending on the area from where you have harvested.
Coastal
Be aware of changing weather and tidal patterns. You don’t want to be caught out by a rising tide if you are foraging on the seashore. If you are gathering seaweed, cutting rather than pulling the plant will leave the headfast still attached to the rock and able to regrow.
Invasive Species
Certain species such as Japanese knotweed are invasive and it is illegal to cause them to spread. Please ensure that you are familiar with your legal obligations, before foraging any invasive plant species. Do also be aware that invasive species may have been treated (sprayed to eradicate it, for example). This may make them unsuitable and potentially harmful to foragers.
Find out more
We encourage you to read some excellent guides that have been created by other foragers about the craft so that you can enjoy harvesting wild plants fully. Foraging in Scotland for your own use is permitted under responsible access legislation in Scotland. It is important to note that this right also comes with responsibilities, which are further explained with more information at
www.outdooraccess-scotland.scot/
MARKETING & PR
Promoting your event need not incur costs as there are so many opportunities to do so for free:
Announcements at local meetings. Community billboards /corner shop windows . Social media – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook etc. Contact your existing database via email – and this is an opportunity to expand it by approaching other specific target groups /organisations /workplaces. Adults / families / youth groups. Maximise word of mouth – spread the word! Be generous when out on social media – support others and they in turn will tag /retweet your event. Photography and informality are winners on social media. Promote your event along with key information on where, when, how much (where applicable) and contact details / weblink for booking. When using other people’s photographs remember Copyright laws apply or you may receive an unexpected invoice from a photographer if you use someone’s picture without their permission! A digital version of a marketing toolkit for foraging events with detailed guidance on getting the word out is also available. It can be found at www.nature.scot
EVALUATE
After your event, a debriefing with members of the team can be really productive. A report on your event should include challenges that arose, how they were dealt with, and how best to mitigate them in the future For you own benefit and future planning you will also wish to evaluate its success by: • Encouraging tagging of your social media posts on Instagram,
Twitter, Facebook etc. in order to quantify the success of your communication strategy. • Follow up your event with your existing contacts email database, adding new contacts from the event, and invite feedback/include a newsletter reporting on the event. • Google your own event! It is surprising how often you can find interesting blogs or regional mentions when you seek them out Remember to look under ‘images’ too. • If your event does not lend itself to a paper questionnaire then gather information verbally from your guests for noting down afterwards. • Photography and written records can be invaluable for planning future events, either to promote them or as a useful aid to simply recall how you went organising a previous event.
It can sometimes even be used as evidence to assist you source funding for another activity being held in your region.
FORAGING IN SCOTLAND GUIDANCE
Useful documents to assist your planning:
Foraging Fortnight
www.nature.scot/professional-advice/planning-anddevelopment/industries-reliant-nature/food-and-drink/foraging
Outdoor Access Code
www.outdooraccess-scotland.scot
The SSC Code Wild Food
www.jenniemartin.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/ The-SSC-Code-for-Web.pdf
General Foraging Guidance, recipes and information
www.gallowaywildfoods.com/ www.monicawilde.com/category/foraging-recipes/
Legal guidelines
www.hse.gov.uk/legislation/hswa.htm www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/providing-food-at-communityand-charity-events www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/allergen-guidance-forfood-businesses
Food hygiene training and related advice:
www.wendybarrie.co.uk
Foraging in Scotland
In 2019/20 Foraging Fortnight celebrated Scotland’s natural environment and wild food with a series of events across Fife, Moray, Lanarkshire, Orkney and the Forth Valley and Lomond, all funded by LEADER with Nature Scot (formerly Scottish Natural Heritage) support. This project has funded this range of toolkits along with videos as a legacy to encourage you to continue to enjoy Scotland’s rural landscape through responsible foraging.
@foragingfortnight/ /foragingfortnight/ @ForagingF
www.foragingfortnight.co.uk
Photos ©Chris Watt Photography ©Gerardo Jaconelli ©Selena Kuzman Design by Arken Creative
This toolkit was produced using Scottish Government and EU LEADER programme funds with support from NatureScot, as part of Foraging Fortnight. The project encourages you to enjoy Scotland’s rural landscape through responsible foraging and adherence to the Outdoor Access Code.
