A season of foraging with GFiG

The final foraging walk of the year took place recently at Eltham Pleasaunce on a bright, sunny day, with a mixture of previous attendees and some new ones too. The emphasis was not on gathering mountains of food, indeed it is expressly forbidden to pick anything from Greenwich Parks, but more about showing the wide variety of edible plants that grow in urban settings such as parks, gardens and open spaces, of which Royal Borough of Greenwich has a generous array. Although the route covered a small area, there was a wide range of plants to look at, with several less-often encountered species such as pomegranate, kiwi fruit, medlar and strawberry tree. 

Since the first outing of the year on May 29th, our gardeners Kevin Godby and Surjit Power have welcomed 90 people on our foraging expeditions. There is always plenty of opportunity for learners to share their own knowledge and experience, as well as a chance to pick up some cultural history.

Our gardener Kevin leading the latest walk

The foraging walks have been running for several years now, and encourage people to socialise outdoors and visit areas of the borough they might not go to on their own. For everyone, it is an invitation to experience the landscape in a different way, just as our hunter-gatherer ancestors did, moving around on foot and foraging plants for food before the agricultural revolution changed how people lived forever.  We may only travel a few thousand metres in distance but thousands of years in imagination.

Thankyou for sharing all your knowledge on the walk yesterday, it was so informative and enjoyable. Food for the soul. Janine

I just want to say thank you on behalf of my friend and I for the foraging session earlier this year. We both really enjoyed it and learnt a lot about all edible plants around us! It was a really informative and interesting session. Yuka

Thank you very much indeed for the recent walk. It was excellent and I enjoyed every minute of it. I’d love to go on another in a different location if it ever comes up. Margaret

We look forward to another season of foraging walks next spring. In the meantime, here is a list of just SOME of the things spotted over the last few months. Crab apple, ornamental quince, fennel/dill hybrid, kiwi fruit, fig, pomegranate, medlar, grape, cornflower, pot marigold, jack-by-the-hedge, blackberry, rosemary, sage and marjoram. What a rich bounty!