Off to Lopwell Dam near Dartmoor we ventured for our 'Introduction to Foraging in Winter' workshop....
Most people would be thinking that there wouldn't be anything to forage in Mid Winter! Well, little did we know...
Arriving in the carpark, we admired the view across the Tamar river at high tide, followed by a cup of tea and some delicious flapjacks made by Chris.
Julz certainly enjoyed her cup of tea and the view!
Chris in his new PEA t-shirt! :)
Esther explained a few basics to the group such as making sure you respect wildlife, don't over-pick, and to abide by the countryside code, as well as a few warnings regarding poisonous plants and fungi.
The snowdrops were in full swing - looking beautiful!
Rosehips were gathered for tea (making sure to leave plenty for birds, mammals and insects!) - full of vitamin C!
Ribwort plantain and nettle - both great to eat as greens. Nettle great for tea, soups and stews (high in iron), and plantain also great for squeezing on cuts and grazes (antibacterial properties)
Cow parsley - a great spicy addition to the salad! Watch out - don't confuse with other poisonous umbellifers such as Water Dropwort!
Careful notes were made by the more studious! We loved the drawings!
Dilara with her freshly picked Cow Parsley! :)
Cleavers great in a salad or green vegetable as well! The 'seeds' can be used as a substitute to coffee (dry and then grind like coffee beans)
Primroses nearly ready to flower! Yay nearly Spring!
Gathering hedgerow greens for our soup lunch on the fire!
Arum Lily - NOT Edible (it's poisonous)
Rosebay Willowherb shooting up
Hogweed seeds for seasoning
Jasmine studying the leaf shape carefully
Garden escapeee - spurge - another NOT edible one! Exudes a white sap.
Time for kelly kettle - make a nice cup of Rosehip tea and get the soup on!
Leo learning to light a fire
Wild seasonings being added to the soup!
MMMmmmm - all the green goodness!!!
Robin keeping an eye out for any dropped crumbs. Love him.
Our faithful kelly kettle firing away!
Next, we crossed the dam at low tide to check out the fungi and woodland plants
Dilara took a rare shot of the photographer - usually he's on the other side, snapping away!
Catkins
Wild daffodils
A kind of bracket fungus
More beautiful snowdrops
Kind Alfreds Cakes and Jelly Ear fungus
