Foraging & Herbal Medicine Course: Wild Things Year 1
Join community herbalist and foraging tutor, Soraya Bishop for this eight month exploration of wild medicinal and edible plants growing abundantly in and around Edinburgh through the seasons.
About Foraging & Herbal Medicine Course: Wild Things Year 1
The Wild Things course is an eight month exploration of British wild food & medicinal plants growing in a variety of habitats through the seasons.
It provides opportunities to gain confidence in low impact foraging, beginners botany & ecology, & to develop a sensory approach to using wild plants both as food & medicine. There will be a combination of theoretical & practical remedy making sessions in the classroom lessons and introductions to many different plant species on the outdoor herb walks.
Increasingly today our food & medicine is flown to us from far regions of the globe. Health food shops are stocked with ‘superfoods’ from rare and diminishing habitats, and we are commonly offered endangered species like Arnica & Echinacea.
We have lost our connection to our local bioregions, & with it all of the history & traditions that our landscape & the plants that grow there can offer us.
This course is about re-connection & about building sustainable, healthful practices through a deepening relationship with our local ecosystems. For this reason the plants that are covered on this course are those that are common & abundant in the Northern British Isles.
Course Outcomes
• Develop an understanding of the ethics and practice of ecological harvesting and gain confidence in low impact foraging
• Try out recipes and learn practical remedy making skills for home use
• Learn about the edible and medicinal properties of some of our common British plants & when to harvest them
• Develop a sensory approach to herbal medicine
• Beginners botany & ecology & the ability to confidently identify common species
• Gain an understanding of how to live more harmoniously with the seasons
• Visit distinct habitats on our herb walks and see how the plant communities that live within them change over the year
Course Contents & Dates
Course Dates - Classroom sessions are 10.30am-1.30pm, Herb Walks are 10.30am-12.30pm all on Fridays
13th March: Classroom 1 - course introduction, basic principles, sensory herbalism introduction & mystery herb 1
27th March: Herb Walk 1 - Blackford Glen, South Edinburgh & mystery herb 2
10th April: Classroom 2 - ecology & plant communities, sustainable foraging practice, spring tonics & mystery herb 3
24th April: Herb Walk 2 - River Almond, North West Edinburgh & mystery herb 4
8th May: Classroom 3 - herbal preparations introduction, harvesting, drying & storing, infusions & decoctions & mystery herb 5
22nd May: Herb walk 3 - Lauriston Farm, North West Edinburgh & mystery herb 6
12th June: Classroom 4 - herbal actions introduction, herbal tinctures & mystery herb 7
(midsummer break)
10th July: Herb walk 4 - River Almond, North West Edinburgh & mystery herb 8
24th July: Classroom 5 - a sensory approach to plant chemistry, infused oils & mystery herb 9
7th August: Herb walk 5 - Roslin Glen, Midlothian & mystery herb 10
21st August: Classroom 6 -seeds, herbal ointments & mystery herb 11
4th September: Herb walk 6 - Lauriston Farm, North West Edinburgh& mystery herb 12
18th September: Classroom 7 -preserving the bountiful autumn, herbal syrups, herbal infused vinegars & mystery herb 13
2nd October: Herb walk 7 - Gullane Beach, East Lothian & mystery herb 14
16th October: Classroom 8 - foraging in the dark months, home medicine chest & mystery herb 15
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