Mindful, Ethical & Organic Wildcrafting
Wildcrafting (also called foraging) basically means harvesting plants from the wild, and has been done by humans since time began. It is as simple as going outside to look for the edible and medicinal plants growing in your own bio-region.
Herbs that grow around you are tuned in to you, your cycles, seasons and moons, and often their medicine perfectly corresponds with your own needs. Eating, making herbal teas, tinctures and medicines, flower essences and herbal smudge sticks with the herbs and flowers growing around you connects you to the plants, their medicine and the Earth at an even deeper level.
As simple as this is, modern day wildcrafting has some ethical and ecological considerations. For starters, as wildcrafters we must always act like respectful guests, and not behave like entitled trespassers. Ethical wildcrafting is the practice of harvesting your herbs with awareness, to avoid damaging the health of the plant itself or the plant population, ensuring continuation of the species in the wild, and the overall wellbeing of the ecological system where you are wildcrafting.
Here are some things to consider before your next wildcrafting adventure.
Acknowledge the traditional people of the land you are wildcrafting on. Respectfully acknowledge the Traditional owners of the land you are on. Offer gratitude to the original inhabitants and the Ancestors, the plant gatherers and medicine makers, for their care and sustainable management of the land for the generations to come.
Botanical knowledge and plant ID. When wildcrafting plants for food and medicine, you must carefully study their external forms to correctly identify them. Some species are slightly different looking in different bio-regions. Never harvest a plant without being 100% sure of its identification. Once a plant has been positively identified, it can be consciously harvested and safely eaten and made into medicine. Understanding how to use a Botanical Key (also called a Dichotomous Key) is a must for any wildcrafter. Other useful items for botanical plant identification include a jeweller’s loupe and a scalpel. Source a reference book, for example Botany In A Day by Thomas Elpel.
Determine whether a harvest is ethical and sustainable. Can you buy the herbs from a local organic farmer or herb store, leaving the wild plants for the animals and insects and supporting local businesses? Is there an abundance of this herb/tree/fungus growing wild? Is it in season?
What weeds do you have in abundance? The weeds that commonly grow wild in backyards everywhere can be invasive medicinal herbs. These are the perfect plants to wildcraft. Herbs like wild Cilantro coyote (Eryngium foetidum), Sweetleaf (Sauropus androgynous), Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), Chickweed (Stellaria media), Purslane (Portulacca oleraceae), Gotu kola (Centella asiatica) and Plantain (Plantago major) are some of the most sustainable herbs to harvest, with both medicinal and culinary uses. There are many others particular to specific bio-regions.
Is the plant rare? If so, can it be substituted with a more abundant herb? Is there signs of others harvesting the wild herbs? Do not harvest rare and endangered plants. Here is a link to a list of Australian Native endangered plants..
https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicthreatenedlist.pl
Ask for permission and give thanks. Wildcrafting involves cultivating a relationship with the plants themselves and the ecosystem you exist in. When you establish a relationship with a living ecosystem that involves active awareness, and not just taking, you will develop a much closer bond with the plants and will naturally become more mindful and ethical in your wildcrafting techniques. Before harvesting, take a a moment to centre yourself, and move into a state of gratitude & appreciation for the gathering of your fresh herbs, bark, flowers, fruits, seeds and mushrooms. Ask for permission from the plant to make a small harvest, give thanks to the plants for their presence and abundance in whatever way is meaningful to you, and relevant to and respectful of the local cultural traditions.
Do not over harvest. Take as much as you need for your food and medicine without taking too much. How much of this food or medicine will you realistically eat or process and use? Make sure nothing goes to waste. Will your harvest adversely affect the ecological balance which ensures its continued existence? Are there animals or insects that depend on this plant for food or other uses? When harvesting flowers and fruits, how much needs to be left to produce seeds for the next season? An annual needs a certain amount of the population to go to seed for it to come back the next year. Medicinal mushrooms such as Australian natives, Reishi (Ganoderma Steyaertanumi) and Lion’s Mane (Hericium corraloides) reproduce by spores, so adult fungi must remain to ensure continued reproduction. When harvesting bark, can the bark be harvested from already fallen trees instead of live trees?
Harvest from organic environments Ethical wildcrafting for food and medicine includes ensuring the herbs are organic, and considering what potential pollutants the plant may have been exposed to. Make sure that the land itself is healthy. Land near busy roads and power lines is often exposed to toxic pollutants and pesticides. For organic wildcrafting in Australia, avoid gathering from roadsides, or walk at least 50 metres from well-used roadways where poisonous herbicides (eg Roundup) are used to manage vegetation. Avoid harvesting near mono crop farming, industrial areas, service stations and construction sites. If you’re wildcrafting near a drain, creek or river, make sure that you know the source and any upstream pollutants.
Minimal impact - aim to leave no trace. Pick selectively and minimally from many different spots in a patch, essentially ‘grazing’ with a minimal footprint. Make sure you don’t interfere with any wildlife foraging in the area. Use clean, sharp tools and make clean cuts when harvesting. Every wildcrafter should learn proper plant pruning techniques to cause as little damage to plants as possible, and to enhance new growth.
“I don’t go out picking plants recklessly. I say a prayer to each plant when I pick some of their leaves, to thank the spirit of that plant.” Beatrice Torres Waight, Yucatec Maya midwife and herbal medicine woman.
Wildcrafting is a super fun, healthy and educational way to make herbal medicine and connect more deeply with the plants around you.
Some ideas are to..
make a pesto with foraged greens like nettle, dandelion and wild coriander.
make a ’bush’ tea whilst sitting by the fire, with foraged wild plants growing around you like our native eucalyptus species.
make a salad from foraged weeds and flowers growing wild in your backyard.
make your own herbal smudge stick with wild crafted and home grown fragrant medicinal plants like lemongrass, eucalyptus, cinnamon, rosemary, thyme and lavender.
make your own ‘bano yerba’ (herbal bath) with wild flowers and fragrant leaves.
pick and dry some wild harvested Blue Lotus (Nymphaea cerulea) flowers for a euphoric and dreamy tea.
