29, August 2023
Culture Forager, Vol. 7
It’s time for another edition of Culture Forager, and we’re fully embracing the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. From foraging food to film festivals, there’s loads of wonderful Nature-related stuff to get stuck into this September and beyond…
The Treasure Hunt
This autumn, why not forage for food as well as culture? Right now, hedgerows and woodlands are abundant with edible treasures like mushrooms and berries. It’s obviously essential to forage with an expert, to make sure whatever you gather is safe to eat – and learn lots you didn’t know before. Discover the Wild deliver organised walks in North Wales and Greater Manchester, as well as an online course, whilst Forage London offer courses and events in the capital, Dorset and Hampshire. Search online for foraging forays happening in your area.
The Film Festival
The inaugural Montrose LandXSea Film Fest happens this September at the community-owned Montrose Playhouse, on Scotland’s North East coast. With 20 new films and focused on land and sea, expect ‘a weekend full of inspiring films and thought-provoking conversations designed to spark a deeper connection with our planet.’ Highlights include documentaries about wild swimming, beavers and whales, as well as an eco fair. General admission from` £5, all weekend passes from £25.
The App
Described as ‘a guided nature journal that lives on your phone’, Encounter is the forthcoming app from Nature writer Melissa Harrison, who also hosts The Stubborn Light of Things podcast. The app will let you keep a record of walking routes and seasonal developments in your locale – and notify you about important Nature happenings, like meteor showers and the return of migrating birds. It’s currently in development, and due to launch next summer. Register now at encounter-nature.com to keep posted and receive an invitation to be a beta tester.
The BioBlitz
What on Planet Earth is a Bioblitz? According to the Natural History Consortium, who are running the upcoming #EuroBioBlitz2023, it goes like this: ‘Bio’ means ‘life’ and ‘Blitz’ means ‘to do something quickly and intensively’. Together they make ‘BioBlitz’, a collaborative race against the clock to discover as many species of plants, animals and fungi as possible, within a set location, over a defined time period.’ Join this collective monitoring of Europe’s wildlife on 29th and 30th September, and help inform conservation efforts across the continent. Take part as an individual, or a group. Find out more here.
The Book
Not a new book, but an important (and beautiful) one: The Wild Remedy: How Nature Mends Us – A Diary by Emma Mitchell explores Nature’s power to help with mental health. Illustrated with the author’s own drawings, paintings and photographs, it’s the story of how walks in Nature helped lift her depression, a.k.a. ‘the grey slug’. Her journey begins in October, so it’s a fitting read to start as leaves turn and conkers start to fall.
