Description
Although I can’t stir any personal enthusiasm for gardening, I still really enjoy listening to Gardener’s Question time on Radio 4. Its a lovely way to explore all sorts of topics around a theme in a relaxed and chatty way, and I’ve often thought a forager’s version of the format could be a lot of fun.
So I’ve assembled an expert panel of foragers from my friends and colleagues in the Association of Foragers, each with great foraging knowledge and distinct perspectives on wild food, to answer your foraging related questions.
Forager’s Question Time will take place on Saturday 17th May at the Scottish Wild Food Festival – time TBC. The event is free to festival ticket holders, but space may be limited, so get there early!
We intend to record the session for radio or podcast, so you’ll be able to listen in even if you can’t make the event in person.
Festival-goers can submit questions in person on the day (look for the questions box on the Association of Forager’s stall, or pop your hand up in the audience), but to help us cover the full breadth of foraging topics, we are also inviting you to submit your questions in advance. Questions can be general or specific, serious or fun, spiritual or scientific – from recipe tips to foraging politics, favourite edibles to poisoning stories! The only sort of question that might not work quite so well for the audience and format is “Can you identify this photo/specimen?!”.
Please email questions for inclusion to me directly on mark@gallowaywildfoods.com. Title the email “Forager’s Question Time” and include your name and the region you hail from.
All of our expert panel are members of The Association of Foragers –
Claire Holohan of West Highland Herbal is a foraging teacher, wild food chef, smallholder and practising medical herbalist based on Scotland’s West coast. She is also co-author of Scotland’s Wild Medicine and has previously cooked the long table feast at the Scottish Wild Food Festival.
Michael White of Rural Courses hails from Kent where he teaches a wide range of rural skills including hedge laying, meat preservation, beekeeping and foraging. He is a veteran of the 2023 Wild Biome Project and will be in the middle of his 2025 wild food only diet during the festival.
Lisa Cutcliffe of
Edulis Wild Foods
is a foraging and wild food educator who is brilliant at communicating the simple joys and complex challenges of foraging to a wide and diverse audience. From fungi to seaweed, wild cocktails to healthy eating, Lisa has ideas and inspiration for all things wild and foragy! She is a veteran of the 2023 Wild Biome Project and will be in the middle of her 2025 wild food only diet during the festival.
Oh…and this is me, Mark Williams of Galloway Wild Foods – I’ll be playing host/chair, reading out your questions and supporting the panel!
Please read the following information before booking a Galloway Wild Foods event.
EVENT LOCATION
The general event location is provided in the event description, and in your booking confirmation. This location is usually an approximate location (eg. “Within 30 minutes drive of XXX”), so that you can consider and plan the area you need to get to prior to booking.
For general information on visiting Galloway for events, including recommended accommodation, see here.
Detailed event information, including exact meeting place, will be sent to the email address you provide on booking in the week prior to the event. This allows me to account for the often fickle nature of wild plants and fungi and select the optimum location for our walk – which can be especially important for fungi forays.
It is important that you add mark@gallowaywildfoods.com and markleewilliams@googlemail.com to your email contacts/whitelist or the information email may get caught in your spam filters. This is extremely important if you have a .hotmail email account as they are notorious for having very sensitive spam filters.
The detailed event information email will be sent in the week before the event – sometimes as little as 3 days prior to the event. There is no need to badger me for it – I will send it! If you haven’t received it by within 3 days of the event, check your spam folders. If it isn’t there drop me an email – mark@gallowaywildfoods.com.
CANCELLATION POLICY
Any cancellation must be sent by email to mark@gallowaywildfoods.com, quoting the event title, date and order number (viewable on your booking confirmation.
Galloway Wild Foods is under no obligation to refund, rebook or reinstate vouchers for no-shows or cancellations within 14 days of the event. If I can refill the place at short notice, I will pay a full refund less 10% to cover admin & PayPal fees, or send a voucher to the full value of the tickets. Please state your preference in your cancellation email.
If you cancel or amend a booking giving 14 days or more notice, you will receive a full refund less 5% to cover Paypal fees, or a Gift Voucher to the full value of your booking.Please state your preference in your cancellation email. Information on using gift vouchers is here.
In the unlikely event that an event is cancelled by GWF you will receive full refund, exchange or voucher.
Galloway Wild Foods is not liable for any travel, accommodation or other costs you might incur if an event has to be cancelled. We recommend that you take out travel insurance if your financial commitment to travel/accommodation is substantial.
The only weather that causes events to be cancelled is dangerous wind. In these instances you will be notified as early as possible.
INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE ON BOOKING
Please provide the following information for all members of your party in the “Additional Information” box on the payment page :
- Relevant medical conditions
- Mobility issues
- Eating restrictions – differentiating between preferences (e.g. vegetarian), intolerances (e.g. gluten intolerance) and serious allergies (e.g. peanut allergy), and clearly stating if an allergy is potentially life-threatening. All requirements can usually be catered for, but these differentiations are required for risk assessments.
It is your responsibility to provide accurate information about all members of your party. If you write “None” in the additional information box, I will assume all attendees are omnivorous and have no relevant medical conditions or mobility issues.
All information is kept private, securely, and in line with GDPR – more information on this here.
WHAT TO BRING ON A WALK
Please ensure that all members of your party come suitably dressed for the weather, season and event.
On all walks, for your comfort and safety, walking boots/wellies, waterproofs and spare clothes are necessary. I always recommend wellies for coastal foraging events – you are likely to get wet feet if you don’t have them!
Please bring your own drinking water.
Your learning and enjoyment may also benefit from bringing a camera, notebook, field guide, small basket/cloth bag. Feel free to bring along any of your own wild food preparations to share and talk about.
DOGS
Most GWF events are suitable for one dog on a lead.
Even on walks that are suitable for dogs on leads, because we tend to move very slowly as we learn and forage, dogs often get bored/agitated/cold by the slow pace. One thing we absolutely can’t have is an unhappy noisy dog on an event.
Where events are suitable for dogs, I restrict it to one per event as there is no way of knowing whether dogs will get on with one another. Dog places are offered on a first-come-first-served basis.
With all this in mind, if you would like to bring a dog, please note this on the booking form in the “Additional Information” box (along with human dietary, mobility, medical info) and I will get contact you to let you know suitability and availability.
If being able to bring your dog is a deal-breaker for you, please email me before you book.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Further information on Galloway Wild Foods Terms and Conditions can be found here.
If you have specific questions that are not answered here, please contact mark on mark@gallowaywildfoods.com, or if you are running late on the day.
