This account below came from Kristy, a lovely WWOOFER from Uk who recently attended the Wild Food Master Class along the Cooks river.
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The brochure just handed to me, ‘Stop Mowing Your Lawns Australia, Eat Them!’ says it all – reconfirming I was exactly where I wanted to be on this beautiful sunny Saturday morning; an entertaining adventure delving into the mysteriously forgotten garden that is lying in abundance right under our noses! Taking steps towards a self sustainable dream of foraging fresh free organic produce with knowledge and awareness their amazing benefits – a conscious connection with my surroundings.
Like with anything, I’m soon to remember that delving into new worlds can be quite overwhelming – so much new information – the lack of experience contributing to most of the plants looking a very green leafy similar.
With 19 other keen weed eating wannabes it was an intense day of keeping up; getting time with each plant, to touch, smell and maybe a taste – jotting down names (Latin and common), edibility, cooking methods, health benefits and interesting stories along the way! Diego is a fountain of knowledge and you don’t want to spill a drop!
A picture says a thousand words and getting a snap of the plant with the name in shot was priceless in trying to sift through the sprawling notes afterwards. Ultimately, a desire to become fluent in the language of weeds takes practice – use it or lose it! So now it’s not just remembering to stop and smell the roses, it’s remembering to take time to notice and practice identifying these wonderful plants, to reel off names and benefits if I want to hold on this new knowledge and put it to good use.
It was a priceless day, but no walk in the park!
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Thanks Kristy!
