Forager and wild food educator Mike has been running Forage Brighton since 2017, inspired by his passion for the great outdoors and desire to connect people to the land - both as a source of food abundance and for wellbeing.
He grew up spending lots of time outdoors although his journey into foraging came later in life, interweaving various passions along the way such as food, landscaping, plants and bushcraft.
Mike’s goal is to educate and inspire people to use more of what they have close to home. Once you know what’s out there, a whole new world awaits! His foraging and fermentation workshops will take you on a guided tour into the wild parks of Sussex to sample delicious produce, learn about plants, and discover hidden foodie treasures in your local area.
We spoke to Mike to find out more.
Tell us a bit about your story and what led you to where you are now.
I've always enjoyed spending time outdoors, right from when I was a child, but I was never really taught about plants or where food came from.
Then I went to Brighton Uni to study literature. We had optional modules we could do and one of these was ecotherapy and ecopsychology, so I got introduced to this idea of using nature as a therapeutic tool, and that really resonated with me,
After I got my degree I realised I wanted to work outside. I went to horticultural college and got a qualification in horticulture and started doing garden design.
I was becoming more aware of climate change at that point too. I wanted to learn more about how to live off the land so I’d go on week-long survival skills and bushcraft courses in West Sussex, learning how to light fires and build shelters. A big part of that was also foraging - we were taught how to use it for food and medicine.
Another passion of mine is cooking so foraging, for me, ticked all the boxes. I had a good understanding about it from horticulture, learning about wild plants, spending time outside, and cooking – it brought it all together.
What can people expect from your experiences? Who would you recommend these to?
I’d describe them as introductory level so there’s something for everyone. People with more knowledge will still get something out of these. The groups are between 15-20 people and we’ll be out for around a 2 ½ - 3 hour walk around Stanmore Country Park or Wild Park in Brighton
Foraging wild food walk – I’ll introduce people to lots of species of plants, fungi, and trees. We examine them individually by looking at the key identifying features, and people will eat as they go. It’s not just about the edibles. It's useful to show people the medicinal aspects so they know what to avoid too.
I like to give examples of what people can do with edibles in the kitchen, whether that’s to use in things like salads or for something more advanced like ferments, pickles, alcohol and cheeses.
A major part of this is that I always have pre-made food for people to try. Some might be tasters, canape style, and at the end of the walk I’ll lay on a spread of wild preserves, homemade bits and produce to give people a taste.
What do you think is the most unique part about your offering?
I like to think I bring a realistic and grounded approach to foraging. These are edible ingredients so there shouldn’t be a barrier to entry. There can be an elitism that comes with foraging but this is our birthright. It’s just information that takes a bit of time to learn and apply. I try to make it accessible and bring a little humor!
People will get to try things they’ve never tried before. These experiences can then give you extra purpose and enrichment when you’re out and about - that’s the ecotherapy side, helping people to enjoy nature more and connect them to it. You can use this in your leisure time to examine more things in your local area.
What’s something people are surprised to learn?
A lot of people are really surprised at how much stuff out there is edible. You can be in the park and identify 10-15 edible species that are usable before you’ve even gone anywhere. You see how much is underused or ignored completely.
I think people would be surprised how much they enjoy it even if they don’t think of themselves as a ‘plant person’. I say this to anyone: at the very worst it’s a nice walk in the countryside learning interesting things. At best, it could change your life and take it in a totally different direction. Once it gets into you it's like a bug that’s hard to shake.
Anything unusual you’ve eaten along the way?
It depends on what you consider unusual! I've eaten slime molds. I've eaten sea urchins. Wood ants - I like to eat these as I go. They taste like lemon because of the acid they release when they have to defend themselves. So there’s a real zingy pop to them. These have become popular to use in dishes in restaurants.
What do you love most about Brighton and its community? And what do you hope your experiences can offer these communities?
I've always felt lucky that I chose to live in Brighton, and Sussex more generally. We have so many nice habitats close to the sea and in nature. Brighton’s unique – there aren’t many places like it in the UK. It's always been a quirky, bohemian, accepting kind of place.
It has an absolutely excellent food scene with so many great producers and breweries. Even if I can just be a small part of feeding into that, I’m happy.
What I can offer communities here is another string in the bow of lots of people doing amazing things, and to keep adding to that rich tapestry.
