Call us on: 07876 794098
Woodland Classroom
0

Tag - foraging

07 Nov

Spring Foraging Walk

, , , ,

Walk the wild food trail & discover foraging

Explore wild plants that you can eat in your local patch. Join us for a guided walk through a range of landscapes on the hunt for the best wild foods that spring has to offer. Gain confidence in foraging and learn how to use these wild plants in your own cooking.

Edible wild plants are often viewed with suspicion and thought to be bitter or tasteless, only to be eaten as a last resort. But to the forager, our woodlands and hedgerows are full of tasty and filling wild food opportunities.

You’ll be taking a half day ramble along the hedgerows on the hunt for “food for free” all set against the backdrop of mixed woodlands, wetlands and open meadows of Park In The Past, with 120 acres of wild space to explore. Don’t forget to bring your own basket or bag to grab some wild edibles to take home.

  • Take a guided foraging walk through the woods, meadows & hedgerows
  • Gain confidence in identifying a variety of edible plants
  • Discover medicinal uses for seasonal wild plants
  • Enjoy a wild tea taster
  • Learn how to forage with a sustainable approach to the habitat
  • Understand the law and your rights when foraging

Event details

Date: Sun 28 April, 2024

Time: 10am – 1pm

Venue: Park in the Past

Cost: £30

spring foraging and wild food walk

Your Tutor: James Kendall

James is the Head Bushcraft Instructor at Woodland Classroom, having worked in outdoor education & conservation for over 10 years. James’ approach to teaching steers students toward fostering a deeper connection with nature through understanding the landscape around us; “Bushcraft skills are an effective way to do this as we learn how to make use of natural materials and live lightly with the land, whilst also connecting with our own ancient past by seeing the land through the eyes of our ancestors.”

In 2017 James received the Bushcraft Competency Certificate awarded through the Institute for Outdoor Learning after 2 years of teaching experience and practical study. He is also a member of the IOL Bushcraft Professional Practise Group. The group aims to promote best practice in the growing industry of bushcraft activity providers.

james kendall - bushcraft & foraging tutor

Skills you will learn

Over the course of the programme you will learn a range of skills, including…

null

Reading the Landscape

null

Hedgerow Medicine

null

Tree & Plant identification

null

Hedgerow Foraging

Book now

This walk costs £30 per person and is open to adult learners aged 16 years and over. You can read our Event Terms & Conditions here.

foraging & wild food walk in wales
07 Nov

Spring Foraging Walk

, , , ,

Walk the wild food trail & discover foraging

Explore wild plants that you can eat in your local patch. Join us for a guided walk through a range of landscapes on the hunt for the best wild foods that spring has to offer. Gain confidence in foraging and learn how to use these wild plants in your own cooking.

Edible wild plants are often viewed with suspicion and thought to be bitter or tasteless, only to be eaten as a last resort. But to the forager, our woodlands and hedgerows are full of tasty and filling wild food opportunities.

You’ll be taking a half day ramble along the hedgerows and forest on the hunt for “food for free” all set against the backdrop of mixed woodlands and open uplands of Longwood Community Woodland, with 325 acres of wild space to explore. Don’t forget to bring your own basket or bag to grab some wild edibles to take home.

  • Take a guided foraging walk through the woods, meadows & hedgerows
  • Gain confidence in identifying a variety of edible plants
  • Discover medicinal uses for seasonal wild plants
  • Get a copy of our Spring Foragers Guide
  • Learn how to forage with a sustainable approach to the habitat
  • Understand the law and your rights when foraging
  • Discover which wild edibles have poisonous lookalikes

Event details

Date: Sat 4 May  2024

Time: 10am – 1pm

Venue: Long Wood Community Woodland

Cost: £25

spring foraging and wild food walk

Your Tutors: Lea & James Kendall

James is the Head Bushcraft Instructor at Woodland Classroom, having worked in environmental education & conservation for over 10 years. James’ approach to teaching  steers his students toward fostering a deeper connection with nature through understanding the landscape around us; “Bushcraft skills are an effective way to do this as we learn how to make use of natural materials and live lightly with the land, whilst also connecting with our own ancient past by seeing the land through the eyes of our ancestors.”

Lea is a qualified Counsellor and Mindfulness in a Woodland Setting practitioner. She is a firm believer in the power of nature to be therapeutic for everyone. Lea is an active forager, passionate about how we can use common plants for both food and medicine. She enjoys making her own tinctures and medicinal remedies for treating common ailments.

james and lea kendall - outdoor education tutors

Skills you will learn

Over the course of the programme you will learn a range of skills, including…

null

Reading the Landscape

null

Hedgerow Medicine

null

Tree & Plant identification

null

Hedgerow Foraging

Book now

This walk costs £25 per person and is open to adult learners aged 16 years and over. You can read our Event Terms & Conditions here.

07 Nov

Spring Foraging Walk

, , , ,

Walk the wild food trail & discover foraging

Explore wild plants that you can eat in your local patch. Join us for a guided walk through a range of landscapes on the hunt for the best wild foods that spring has to offer. Gain confidence in foraging and learn how to use these wild plants in your own cooking.

Edible wild plants are often viewed with suspicion and thought to be bitter or tasteless, only to be eaten as a last resort. But to the forager, our woodlands and hedgerows are full of tasty and filling wild food opportunities.

You’ll be taking a half day ramble along the hedgerows on the hunt for “food for free” all set against the backdrop of mixed ancient woodlands, parkland and open meadows of the National Trust’s Erddig estate & gardens, with over 400 acres of wild space to explore. Don’t forget to bring your own basket or bag to grab some wild edibles to take home.

  • Take a guided foraging walk through the woods, meadows & hedgerows
  • Gain confidence in identifying a variety of edible plants
  • Discover medicinal uses for seasonal wild plants
  • Enjoy a wild tea taster
  • Learn how to forage with a sustainable approach to the habitat
  • Understand the law and your rights when foraging

Event details

Date: Sat 26th April 2025

Time: 10am – 1pm

Venue: Erddig

Cost: £30

spring foraging and wild food walk

Your Tutor: Lea Kendall

Lea is a qualified Counsellor and Mindfulness in a Woodland Setting practitioner. She is also the co-creator of Your Wild Food Year, an extensive online course in foraging for wild foods.

Lea is a firm believer in the power of nature to be therapeutic for everyone. Lea is an active forager, passionate about how we can use common plants for both food and medicine. She enjoys making her own tinctures and medicinal remedies for treating common ailments.

Lea Kendall, Nature Therapist and Mindfulness in Nature Practitioner

Skills you will learn

Over the course of the programme you will learn a range of skills, including…

null

Reading the Landscape

null

Hedgerow Medicine

null

Tree & Plant identification

null

Hedgerow Foraging

Book now

This walk costs £30 per person and is open to adult learners aged 16 years and over. You can read our Event Terms & Conditions here.

07 Nov

Spring Foraging Walk

, , , ,

Walk the wild food trail & discover foraging

Explore wild plants that you can eat in your local patch. Join us for a guided walk through a range of landscapes on the hunt for the best wild foods that spring has to offer. Gain confidence in foraging and learn how to use these wild plants in your own cooking.

Edible wild plants are often viewed with suspicion and thought to be bitter or tasteless, only to be eaten as a last resort. But to the forager, our woodlands and hedgerows are full of tasty and filling wild food opportunities.

You’ll be taking a half day ramble along the hedgerows on the hunt for “food for free” all set against the backdrop of mixed ancient woodlands, parkland and open meadows of the National Trust’s Erddig estate & gardens, with over 400 acres of wild space to explore. Don’t forget to bring your own basket or bag to grab some wild edibles to take home.

  • Take a guided foraging walk through the woods, meadows & hedgerows
  • Gain confidence in identifying a variety of edible plants
  • Discover medicinal uses for seasonal wild plants
  • Enjoy a wild tea taster
  • Learn how to forage with a sustainable approach to the habitat
  • Understand the law and your rights when foraging

Event details

Date: Sat 2nd May 2026

Time: 10am – 1pm

Venue: Erddig

Cost: £30

spring foraging and wild food walk

Your Tutor: Lea Kendall

Lea is a qualified Counsellor and Mindfulness in a Woodland Setting practitioner. She is also the co-creator of Your Wild Food Year, an extensive online course in foraging for wild foods.

Lea is a firm believer in the power of nature to be therapeutic for everyone. Lea is an active forager, passionate about how we can use common plants for both food and medicine. She enjoys making her own tinctures and medicinal remedies for treating common ailments.

Lea Kendall, Nature Therapist and Mindfulness in Nature Practitioner

Skills you will learn

Over the course of the programme you will learn a range of skills, including…

null

Reading the Landscape

null

Hedgerow Medicine

null

Tree & Plant identification

null

Hedgerow Foraging

Book now

This walk costs £30 per person and is open to adult learners aged 16 years and over. Children are welcome to attend if accompanied by an adult, though bear in mind that the course content is not aimed at children – get in touch to find out more. You can read our Event Terms & Conditions here.

toffee apple slices - campfire cooking
29 Nov

Tired of Marshmallows Over the Campfire? Try This!

activities, activity leaders, children, forest school, great winter activities, health , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Are you looking for a simple but tasty treat that could go head-to-head with marshmallows as the number one campfire snack with kids? Well look no further…

We cook A LOT of marshmallows over the campfire with kids when we host our Forest School sessions and Woodland Birthday Parties. We know children love them, but they are not exactly a nutritionists best friend. They also contain gelatine made from pork or beef and we’re getting a lot more requests from parents who want vegetarian or vegan friendly campfire snacks for their kids when they come out to the woods with us. Last but not least, they’re sticky residue is a nightmare to get out of your clothes. Luckily, we have the solution.

Toffee Apple Slices are our alternative to marshmallows and kids love them! Granted they’re still coated in sugar but kids are getting some fruit down them and this recipe is vegan too. Our favourite sugar to use is coconut blossom sugar, as it less refined and less processed than regular sugar but any soft brown sugar will do the trick. They make a great hot campfire snack anytime of the year, especially in the autumn when you can walk out to an apple tree and pick the fruit straight from the branch.

Ingredients

  • Apples
  • Light or Dark Brown Soft Sugar
  • Cinnamon and Nutmeg – add to taste

Cooking Method

  1. To get a fire that really makes the most mouth-watering toffee apple slices it’s best to let your flames die down and roast your apples over the hot coals – just like you would with a bbq. This will save them from burning.
  2. First gently roast your apple slice over the fire until it begins to go soft and the pulp starts to bubble up.
  3. Next, dip your hot apple slice in a tray of soft brown sugar until it is well coated. Be careful it doesn’t fall off the stick.
  4. Roast your coated apple slice over the fire again until the sugar starts to melt.
  5. Now for the final touch… let your apple slice cool for a minute and the sugar will harden up and give your apple a crispy toffee coating – simply delicious.
  6.  Eat and repeat!
  7. For a slightly spiced variant on this snack then try sprinkling some cinnamon and/or nutmeg into the sugar. Ginger would work well too.

cooking toffee apple slices outdoors

Which Wood Should You Use?

For your roasting stick we would recommend using either a hazel, willow or sycamore stick. At Forest School this can be a whole activity in itself, identifying the tree in the woods, cutting a suitable branch responsibly and reducing the damage to the tree, then practising some basic whittling skills by slicing away the bark near the tip and making a sharp point.

We would recommend using green (fresh) sticks from a tree as they are more resistant to the fire than dead twigs, so will last longer.

sycamore tree - leaf and bud

Sycamore – the winter twig and full leaf.

FUN FACT: Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) actually contains it’s own natural antibacterial and antiviral properties, which is one reason why it is very sought after for use in kitchenware. This makes it a really safe wood to use for roasting sticks when out in the woods with kids.

Full disclosure, I personally can’t stand marshmallows, even though I cook so many, so I was very glad to discover this tasty alternative. Thanks to the Forest School Leader who shared this cooking idea with us at a skill share training day in Derbyshire last year, I can’t remember your name but we’re forever grateful 🙂

Happy cooking everyone.

James

 

James and Lea Kendall from Woodland Classroom

James & Lea Kendall are the creators of Woodland Classroom. “Through our passion, enthusiasm and experience we help people connect with nature, feel healthier and have meaningful experiences through positive activity and creative play.”

“We are experienced outdoor educators with a background in bushcraft, forest school and nature therapy, who love what we do.”

  • 1
  • 2
Social Share Buttons and Icons powered by Ultimatelysocial