For a very long time, the history of human survival and development relied upon our ability to know which things were safe to eat and which were not; which things were worth the effort to eat and which were not; and which things we could use to heal wounds and cure disease.

It is only in relatively recent times that we’ve forgotten all that knowledge because we can just go to the supermarket or the chemist shop instead.

At Found Food we think that this knowledge should be preserved, shared and re-discovered and there are so many reasons why. You can save money on your food shopping by supplementing it with food you gather; You can experience new tastes that you won’t find in any supermarket or restaurant; You can reduce your carbon footprint by not buying intensively farmed, shipped in from abroad produce; You can improve your personal well-being by spending time in nature, taking advantage of the health benefits of doing so; You can learn to heal minor injuries and cure minor illnesses without having to bother a doctor or pharmacist; You can develop an increased respect for the world around you when you truly understand what a wonderful place it is.

I’m Gavin Ireland and I’m lucky enough to be your host and your guide through your foraging/herbalist journey with Found Food. I cannot and do not claim to know all that there is to know, but I do have about 30 years of learning to share with you, and I’m learning new things all the time too.

I began my journey by foraging for myself and my family. Before long I heard from people how much they would like to be able to do it too, so I embarked on a journey of learning and discovery so I could help other people without making injurious mistakes. And so began a passion. I soon discovered that it’s almost impossible to learn about foraging for trees, plants and fungi without learning about their medicinal properties too – so started my herbalism journey too. Then I began to take groups of people on foraging walks to share my knowledge.

Now here we are, many years later I still run my foraging for food, medicine and booze walks, but now I’m opening up my archives of plant identification and usage information and making my courses available on-line.

It all seems very complicated, and sometimes confusing when you first start out, but it soon comes together, especially when you have a guide to help you along the way.

Gavin.

Director and Founder of Found Food