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An in-depth course on foraging
Facilitator: Jos Fletcher
Join an immersive course on foraging that will inform and delight you, leaving you confident and inspired to explore wild food. This course will go a lot further than nettles and pesto and many unexpected plants will be covered. This course aims to envelop you in the wilderness while learning about it in order to fully understand the importance and joy of foraging and eating wild food. Lunch and refreshments included.
Event time: Sat 20th Jul 2024 at 9:30am - Sat 20th Jul 2024 at 4:00pm
Foraging and Wild Food is much more than just eating; it's a relationship with nature that brings joy, contentment, and an attachment and relationship to your surroundings.
- Learn to identify edible and poisonous wild plants and fungi
- Preserve and process your bounty in a variety of ways
- Immerse yourself in the wild
- Nourishing two-course lunch included
Participants Will Gain
- A scientific understanding of edible and poisonous plants and fungi
- Confidence on gathering on your own
- A holistic appreciation of the importance of foraging and how it can connect us to our surroundings
- Foraged goodies to take home
You will discover traditional and indigenous methods of preparation, in addition to modern discoveries and approaches, with identification, folklore, medicinal uses and poisonous plants and fungi discussed along the way. Hawkwood offers a plethora of plants and fungi in an area easy enough to cover in a day. These will then be prepared around a fire in the outdoor classroom.
The Pace of The Day
The morning will be spent walking through the grounds of Hawkwood; a wonderful opportunity in itself as this controlled, yet wild area, involves many micro-climates giving the opportunity to discover a much bigger variety of plants and fungi than is normally possible in a day. In addition, we have the landowners permission to forage more intensively! We will also be able to explore the kitchen garden, giving another opportunity to learn about wild plants that are not normally found in the Cotswolds. The possibility of learning about such a variety of flora and fungi in a day is quite uncommon!
The afternoon will be spent with more identification and learning processing, including preserving techniques from all around the world. Familiar ingredients will be shown in a new light and you will become confident with unfamiliar ones.
We will make wild teas, salads, ferments (alcohol, vinegars, kombucha), tonics, boozy infusions, preserves, all according to the time of year and what we find. Lunch and refreshments will be supplied by Hawkwood with contributions from ourselves of what we have made during the course.
All of this will happen around the firepit in Hawkwood’s beautiful outdoor classroom with the aim to fully envelop you in what you’ve learnt by being surrounded in the wilderness. There will be a course each month throughout the summer, giving you an opportunity to see how the seasons and plants develop and how one plant can offer many different bounties: shoots, buds, pollen, seeds, roots, depending on what season it is.
Hawkwood
Hawkwood is a stunning Grade II listed 19th Century country house, surrounded by 42 acres of sustainably managed woodland, farmland, and gardens. Set in the heart of the Cotswolds – an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – it is a sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of modern life. With a diverse selection of nearly 150 courses, there’s plenty to choose from, including courses in transformative leadership, future thinking, inner life, music and the arts. Our programme of courses is led by experienced tutors and leaders in their fields.
What Is Included
A non-residential day-course; B&B may be available – please email info@hawkwoodcollege.co.uk or call Cathy on 01453 759 034
Your Stay
Although this is a non-residential day course, if you would like to extend your stay, please contact us about B&B options.
Contact us: info@hawkwoodcollege.co.uk or 01453 759 034
Additional Activities
Mindful walking through our woodland trails
Meditate in our Woodland Sanctuary
Go on a hike and explore the Cotswolds AONB
Discover surrounding charming market towns
Price Options
£105 Day Ticket + Two-Course Lunch
Practical Information
As the course will be held outside and involve walking, please wear suitable outdoor clothing. You may also wish to bring a notebook and pen. Arrival and registration from 9.00 am. The course begins at 9.30 am and ends with afternoon tea at 4.00 pm.
The price includes a delicious two-course lunch, and refreshments.
Registration from 9.00am-9:30am. Please arrive promptly to go through safety talk. This course will be held in the outdoor classroom.
Jos Fletcher
Jos Fletcher is a professional chef working in catering for over 12 years and a professional forager. Jos learnt foraging initially from his father, his knowledge has progressed purely from obsessive enthusiasm.
Jos is based in Stroud in the Cotswolds, and leads foraging walks and utilises wild food in his cooking. His particular interests in wild food lie in how what are considered inedible foods are processed to make them edible, indigenous preserving techniques, ferments and getting a free meal that benefits your mental health! Jos believes that nature has provided a bounty we have lost connection with our and intuition needs to be tapped into again.
Upcoming Courses & Events
Hawkwood is an educational charity providing courses, facilitating training and offering venue hire, set in a stunning location in the Cotswolds.
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