Foraging is a skill that many of our ancestors relied on. It requires careful and precise observation, as well as understanding how the seasons impact what you can harvest.
But even the most experienced foragers can make a deadly mistake. Learn to identify weeds and edible plants, distinguish between common lookalikes, and be mindful of sustainability and legality. Discover more at Bushcraft courses.
Spring
Learn to harvest a variety of wild botanicals for food, medicine, and beauty! From springtime staples like nettle and violet to summertime showstoppers such as yarrow and mimosa, this course covers a multitude of edible plants, herbs, and shrubs for your foraging adventures.
Foraging can be a fun way to connect with nature, and it may even help you land a job working outside as a gardening or landscaping professional. However, it is important to know what you’re doing so that you can be safe and have the best experience possible.
Join this virtual class and learn all about the wild plants that are most abundant in spring, including stinging nettles, wood nipple, and common milkweed. Plus, learn about a wide range of medicinal mushrooms. And, explore the many species of mint, going beyond just peppermint and lavender!
Summer
Online Foraging classes are a great way to learn foraging skills, especially if you can’t attend an in-person class. They let you participate in the course from the comfort of your own home, which saves you travel time and costs. They also allow you to take the course whenever it is convenient for you.
In this virtual Foraging class, you will learn how to find and identify a variety of wild plants and herbs that are edible and medicinal. You will learn how to add new punchy flavors to your cooking, and to keep yourself healthy with the healing power of wild herbal medicine.
The course is taught by Robin Harford, a renowned plant-based forager, ethnobotanical researcher and wild food educator. He has been featured on BBC Countryfile. Robin encourages foragers to always be sure of their identification, and to leave plenty for wildlife when picking. Never pick protected species, and seek permission from landowners before harvesting on private property.
Fall
Foraging can be a fun hobby that gets you outdoors and familiar with the environment around you. It can also be a way to get healthy, delicious food from the wild and save money on grocery bills. There are foraging classes available in NYC that offer a range of skills from identifying edible plants to using foraged materials for dyeing fabrics. Some people even use their foraging skills professionally, supplying top restaurants or creating a side hustle selling their finds.
Fall is an ideal time for foraging because of the bounty of fruits, nuts, and roots. For example, Live Wild hosts a Fall Foraging Workshop that allows participants to harvest pawpaws, ginkgo nuts, sassafras, and more.
This course provides important guidelines for safely and ethically harvesting wild edibles and herbs. It also offers instructional tutorials for creating soul-soothing, immune-boosting recipes and filling your apothecary with essential herbal preparations. Private group classes are also available and make for a great team-building activity for businesses or organizations.
Winter
The winter landscape may look hushed, but for foragers, the season provides a rich bounty of root vegetables and mushrooms. Learn how to forage in the cold with a course that combines experiences of foraging, animal tracking and shinrin-yoku (forest bathing).
Although the seasons are different, there’s still food to find year-round. This online course for beginners is designed to teach you which wild ingredients can be harvested throughout the year, from Spring greens and nutritious wild veggies to flavoursome hardy winter roots and mushrooms.
Foraging is a fun and productive way to get outside, familiarize yourself with your environment and potentially save money on groceries. There are numerous in-person and online foraging courses available that range from beginner to advanced skill levels. Some foragers even use their skills professionally, supplying top restaurants or using their bounty to build a social media following. Whether you’re a hobbyist or looking to turn your foraging into a business, the knowledge you’ll gain from these classes will help you grow and thrive in the field.