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Increasing food costs and a desire for food resilience have seen a steady rise in the popularity of foraging, according to Red Beach naturopath and herbalist Marisia Inger.
She began foraging when her children were young as her own father had introduced her to foraging – picking field mushrooms and berries.
She went on to study naturopathy and herbal medicine and says while that gave her ‘the book knowledge’, she wanted hands-on experiences.
This led to holding retreats for women, that included foraging, and in early 2020, she held her first foraging workshops around the Hibiscus Coast. She also went foraging with her family during lockdown.
“I realised there were a lot more plants out there than I’d realised,” she says. “As well as edible plants, she found plants that she used to make treatments such as herbal balms and creams.”
From the handful that took part in the workshops pre-lockdown, Marisia says numbers have exploded. A recent workshop attracted more than 50 participants, aged from children to 99 years.
“From a trickle, it’s now a tidal wave,” she says. “I asked everyone why they wanted to forage, and it was largely worries about food scarcity,” she says. “The kids just want to know what they can eat and, let’s face it, autumn is the time to take them foraging for all the berries. The adults want to know what they can eat and are super surprised at how many edibles they had been spraying in their backyards. But as we wonder around talking about the plants, they become interested in the healing properties of the native trees, and look at using home remedies in the same way our grandparents would. Wild greens are a nutritional powerhouse.” Marisia says some workshops have led to local groups forming in areas such as Puhoi or Stillwater to go out foraging. She charges a small fee for the workshops, just enough to cover her costs and kids are free.
Info: look for @theforagingcollective on Facebook, or email marisia@bloomwellness.nz
Tips and tricks
• When we forage for food, it can be overwhelming and difficult to isolate a single plant amongst so many. Start with one plant and become familiar with it before moving on to the next. If you are not certain what it is – don’t consume it! • There are hazards when foraging for green leafy vegetables as they have a particular affinity for absorbing the chemicals and minerals, they are growing in. Stay away from roadsides and old houses because of the lead. Forage away from tanalised wood (retaining walls and fences) as they leach arsenic. And be aware of the council’s spray regime. • Wild greens are free, local, fresh, and nutritional dense making them the perfect food as medicine. • Warm sunny places are the best for finding winter greens. At the moment there is plenty of onion weed, cleavers, chickweed, selfheal and dandelions. There is also puha, plantain and yellow dock but they need to be used lightly as they can be bitter. Take a wander around your garden and see what’s growing, or go for a bush walk and see what’s popping up. • My favourite at the moment is chickweed which grows prolifically in our mild winters. It is a most perfect salad herb as it tastes mild, slightly salty, fresh and juicy. It’s also great in a pesto which you can freeze in ice cubes and bring out when fresh green flavour is needed. It can also be cooked in the same way you would baby spinach. Chickweed is high protein, and rich in vitamin A, C and B-complex, calcium and iron. It’s also a herb a Naturopath would say is ‘high in mucilage’, which means it soothes the digestive tract.
