More than foraging in our Cornish hedgerows

Mar 19

We joined CREST ‘Cornwall Rural Education and Skills Trust’ and Forager, Walk Leader, Award-Winning Author, Recipe Creator, Facilitator and Coach Rachel Lambert, to learn how to become a hedgerow forager last week. Why? I hear you ask. Well, in transitioning into this new space for growtogether to also reside in, we want to be able to enrich the way we consume, cook and eat. And now that we have somewhere for you to visit us in, we want to be able to also show examples of how we can introduce very local seasonal flavours into our cooking at home, alongside the what some might say a limited choice of British or continental varieties. Just because we choose to minimize using the more exotic far travelled fruits and vegetables, it does not mean that we have to say goodbye to exciting flavours. In fact instead of focusing on what could be seen as lack of, we do now recognise that we gain far more abundance by way of rich nutritional food that’s grown closer to our own homes and holds a deep sense of

provenance and enables us to retrace a rich cultural historic connection and understanding. A day of learning how to identify Sorrel, Wood Sorrel, Cleavers (Sticky Willy’s), Pennywort/Naval Wort and 3 Cornered Leeks to name a few - foraging we learnt how to avoid unnecessary runs to the corner shop for the more commonly used garlic bulb, onions and salad leaves. Until Friday, we had no idea so many of these that we could use as substitutes were growing right outside of our front door.

We touched on last week how we are led consciously, and unconsciously, by our morals, our connections to the past, concerns for the future and our beliefs in the importance of culture and community. Food has such a massive part to play in all of this, how we eat, what we eat. Food is central to so much of all our lives, so naturally learning how to make use of what’s around in our local hedgerows and how to incorporate this into our cooking alongside our growtogether produce really does tick all the boxes! Crest are a pioneering organization advocating the many ancient rural crafts that work with the natural landscape materials of Cornwall, embracing other craftspeople who celebrate a connection to the land and feel drawn to pass their skills into new hands. Their diverse collective of people who come to CREST with different stories, find unity in the love of craft and the Cornish landscape. Through craft and nature, we find a connection to our community and to the place in which we live – creating intelligent hands, working with the seasons, nurturing a sense of belonging in the landscape and fostering a love of the land and its incredible natural resources.Crests mission is “to protect, promote and preserve rural crafts, countryside skills and land-based education to support the heritage of our Cornish landscape and the people living, working and caring for this land.”