Ethnobotany with the Woodcraft School

Back at the end of July, when the weather was still warm and we had what felt like a little more freedom, I attended a week long ethnobotany course (Plant Identification and Use, Level 3), run by the Woodcraft School near to Midhurst in Sussex. The course was held in private woodland and the surrounding countryside, taking in a variety of habitats, ensuring a wide range species were covered from tiny tormentils to mighty oaks.

The aim of the course was to be able to confidently identify around 50 species and to know their common uses, be it medicinal, food or practical. I have always had an interest in wild flowers and plants but have lacked confidence when it comes to foraging and using them, I hoped that by learning more about their uses and having some practical experience, I would become confident with identification and use and be able to bring some of what I learned to our daily life and also to our woodland based courses.

Most of the course was spent in the field, looking at plants in their habitat, learning the key features for identification, tasting, smelling and getting familiar with each species. We learned how our ancestors would have used plants for medicine, food, bushcraft and everyday living. From using ground ivy as an eye wash, plantain as anti-histamine and meadowsweet as a painkiller to making rope from lime bark and baskets from bramble shoots, many plants whose names I had known for a long time revealed new secrets which I couldn’t wait to start using.

The beginnings of a homemade apothecary

Back at camp, we gathered round the campfire daily to go through what we had learned and had the opportunity to do some practical work with what we had found. One afternoon was spent making cordage, another tinctures. Towards the end of the week we gathered our day’s foraged bounty and cooked up an array of wild foods which included crispy plantain leaves, stir fried bulrush, a sweet bannock bread flavoured with berries and a savoury version with wild oregano and hogweed seeds, pendulous sedge cakes and much more. For me, being given the confidence to collect and cook wild food was deeply empowering and something I had wanted to do for a long time. Coming home each day, Benjj would excitedly ask “Mummy! What did you eat today?!” and being able to then take him into the woods and let him try some of it for himself was wonderful and something that will certainly enhance our daily life here in the woods. Since completing the course I have been making tinctures, balms and teas, drying herbs and gathering barks and berries whenever I can; going for walks in the countryside has taken on a new dimension as I spot new plants to gather and take home to dry or make ‘potions’ as Benji likes to call them. I’m looking forward to sharing some of what I have learned during our woodcarving and nature connection workshops in 2021 and hope one day to go on to do the level 4 qualification that the Woodcraft School also run.

A small group of 8, the course felt safe, well organised but above all, fun. John’s knowledge is vast and he delivers the course in a way that puts everyone at ease, encouraging questions, discussion and practical involvement. I travelled to the site each day but it is also possible to camp in the woodland for the duration of the course. I’d highly recommend it.

Now, I’m off to gather dandelion roots to make coffee…

Emma.