Frequently Asked Questions about Wild in the Woods

There's only one answer to this, YES! I'll make some delicious cake for us to share made with foraged ingredients. 

When foraging, there are generally a lot of wild plants to talk about in a very small area! We'll cover less than 2km over a couple of hours, and we may go up a short hill. 

We'll have a gorgeous woodland base from which to explore, and we'll be spending a large chunk of the day there.

Learning about wild plants is for everyone, and is a brilliant way of engaging with nature. It's great for helping us to slow down, really stop and notice nature, for better wellbeing and to add interest to walks. And who knows, you might even be convinced to start using the occasional wild plant in your diet, which is great for your gut health. 

I think some people think that foraging is a really niche way of life, but it doesn't have to be....learning about foraging could be the start of a lifelong adventure! And yes, you can still feed your children fish fingers!

Yes! We'll enjoy a light foraged lunch, wild teas & foraged cake. Mmmm. 

I encourage people to use their senses when learning about wild plants. We'll crush plants to release their aroma, use high magnification hand lens to really observe the details, and yes where possible and appropriate when out foraging, we taste the wild plants. Of course, that is up to each individual if they want to do that, and depending on individual tolerance and allergies eg anyone with serious allergies may choose to be more cautious. You may wish to bring a bottle of water to wash any plants before you taste them. 

It's important that you don't use taste to ID plants, especially as a beginner forager. You must be 150% certain that you have correctly identified a plant and certain that it's edible, before putting it in your mouth. 

Please come suitably dressed for the weather and consider the following:

• wear outdoor clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty and smoky, ideally wool as that is most safe around the fire, long sleeves and long trousers. Beware of plastic-type clothing around the fire. 
• sturdy closed shoes/boots that you are comfortable walking in, preferably waterproof. There's a stream and a couple of old ponds on site so it’s generally pretty wet and muddy, and the path is uneven in places. There are ducks and geese in a lake on the grounds, so the route into the woods is spattered with guano.
• bring waterproofs even if the forecast is dry, you can leave them in camp but it's better to have and not need them than the other way round.

• A small rucksack for your personal possessions and a water bottle.
• A bowl and spoon for your lunch
• You may want to bring extra snacks & a sandwich to supplement the food provided. 
• Your own drinking water & bottle. 
• A small cloth collecting bag for samples. 
• Any personal medication, antihistamines, epipen etc.
• Loo roll or tissues and dog poo /compost bags to put it in.

I will bring mats for everyone to sit on and small mugs for wild tea tasting. 

There is a toilet in the site car park, and that is a 5 minute walk from camp. Wild weeing in the woods is great, but please take any paper away with you rather than burying as it doesn’t decompose sufficiently. For anything other than wee, please use the car park toilet. 

There will be a hand washing station provided at camp, and hand sanitiser. 

We will go ahead! We have a gorgous woodland site as our base for the day which will provide adequate shelter from rain. Please make sure you bring appropriate clothing for the weather conditions. 

In event of extreme weather conditions ie dangerously strong winds over 30mph, constant torrential rain, thunder/lightening, snow, I will review and provide as much notice as possible in the days leading up to the event. The decision by Joyful Outdoors to cancel an event for safety reasons is final and under these circumstances,m Joyful Outdoors is not liable for any travel, accommodation or other costs you might incur if an event has to be cancelled. 

Please see the full cancellation and refund conditions here. Essentially, no refunds are given with 14 days or less notice from the date of the event. 

As the climate is getting warmer, ticks are becoming more prevalent in the UK. They hang out on the end of fern branches, waiting to jump onto unsuspecting people as they brush past. For prevention, wear long sleeves & long trousers tucked into your socks, and paler colours so that you can see the ticks on your clothing & can brush them off. 

Always check yourself for ticks, and carry a tick remover in your personal first aid kit. Don't worry, we'll remind you to do this and will have tick removers with us, I have extracted many in my time! 

There's really useful advice here and here  from NHS on when to be concerned if you've been bitten by a tick.

Use Smidge or other good insect repellent, or Parakito wrist bands and roll-on have also worked well for me to repel ticks.