Foraging + Reciprocity
Foraging with Respect & Reciprocity
A ritual for connecting with and stewarding natural spaces.
“In some Native languages the term for plants translates to “those who take care of us.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer
The natural world is teeming with gifts for those who know where to look. From edible weeds growing up through cracks in city pavement, to medicinal plants that can be found in wild spaces on the edges of suburban cul-de-sacs, learning to identify wild plants in your area and forage for them responsibly is one way of connecting with the land and forging a reciprocal relationship with nature.
This can be a meaningful way of honoring and learning from the traditions and ancient wisdom found in the history of your region’s culture and geography.
Knowledge of edible and medicinal plants has been historically passed down through oral tradition, typically by a community’s healers and frequently by women. When people migrate across dramatically different ecosystems, whether by the force of slavery, the greed and violence of colonization, or the choice to emigrate in search of a better life, the transference of plant knowledge is often lost as familiar remedies are replaced by unfamiliar native species.
In each of these cases a line of ancestral wisdom is severed, an umbilical cord that connects us to the natural space around us. To reconnect with the plants where you currently reside is to heal one aspect of this ancestral disruption, to commit to being a steward of your adopted homeland in the absence of its first protectors, and to be reminded of the cyclical and inherently sustainable ways in which the earth provides. Though you may not be native to a place, you can live with the intention of becoming naturalized to it.
Connecting with the land via foraging:
Begin to notice.
As you walk, whether in urban or natural spaces, begin to notice the small bursts of life you may have always overlooked. What is in bloom? What is past its seasonal peak? What has dried to crispy red seed pods for the winter? What can you already name?
Ask questions.
Use the resources you have available to identify local plants and their uses: the internet, the library, perhaps an elderly neighbor who has lived on the land for a long time. Where possible, seek knowledge from people who are indigenous to the land or in books written by these folks. Always be 100% sure you have correctly identified a plant before eating it.
Ask permission.
Ask the land for permission to harvest its gifts, and in your own way, listen for an answer. A ‘no’ might look like the presence of an animal or insect that relies on the plant, resistance to being cut, or a sense that taking the plant wouldn’t be good for its long-term survival or the ecological balance of the area. Consider the impact of harvesting this plant. Can you do so without disrupting its environment or ability to sustain itself? How does it change your relationship with this place if you don’t assume you have the right to take anything you want?
Harvest in a way that minimizes harm.
If you do not plan to use the roots of a plant, leave them intact. Be careful not to thrash the neighboring grasses and plants as you harvest. Never take the first or last of a plant or blossom. Be mindful of harvesting such that the plant can continue to thrive in that area. (Unless it is a known invasive species. Then harvest away!) Also be mindful that you are not harvesting from an area that receives significant exhaust pollution from cars or animal urine, such as along heavily trafficked sidewalks or busy streets.
Never take more than what you need. Leave some for others.
Don’t forget that the birds, bees, and other wild creatures also count as ‘others’. Do not take selfishly and forget the needs of all who may be reliant upon this plant. A good rule of thumb is to take not more than 10%-30% of any plant’s offerings, less or none if it is one of few in the area.
Give a gift in return.
Bring some gift or service to return to the land: water to leave where you harvest, a sack to collect trash, compost tea to add nutrients to the soil, a bit of tobacco or cornmeal to lay down in ceremony and as fertilizer… the intention is most important. How does your relationship with the land change if you believe you are responsible for caring for it as it cares for you?
Never waste what you have taken.
Use what you forage respectfully. Use every part of the plant that you harvest, or harvest only what you need. If it cannot be used, return it to the earth, rather than the trash.
Give thanks
Take a moment to thank the space for its gifts. Touch the earth. Savor the silent ways in which it responds.
Share
Share the fruits of your foraging with friends and family. Take them on walks and share the knowledge you have gained. Use the experience to bring your community closer to the land you reside on, with thoughtfulness for its original caretakers. If you are tempted to sell the fruits of your foraging, consider whether this can be done in keeping with the values of protecting and stewarding the land.
Favorite Foraged Recipes:
Yarrow Tincture Insect Repellent
Gumweed (Grindelia) Tincture for cold & cough
St. John’s Wort Tincture for Anxiety
NOTES FROM POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
Nature connectedness
Studies on nature connectedness have shown that the degree of our connection with nature matters more for wellbeing than time or frequency of visits to nature. Nature connectedness has been shown to have a relationship to both hedonic wellbeing (feeling good in the moment and bodily pleasure) and eudaimonic wellbeing (which includes autonomy, meaning, self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and personal growth). Nature connectedness has also been linked to pro-environmental behavior.
Studies on the effects of the Japanese practice of Shinrin Yoku (aka forest bathing) have also shown that spending an extended period of time in a green space (particularly while doing something calming like walking, sitting or yoga) has a calming effect on the nervous system compared to urban environments.
Further reading:
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
A Handbook of Native American Herbs
Historical Review of Medicinal Plants
About this submission
Shared by Mapstone Editor Dana Kiel from Golden, Colorado, who has spent many hours foraging in a territory that was originally inhabited by the Ute tribe, and later the Arapahoe and Cheyenne. Ancestrally of Irish and Germanic descent, she engages in the study of Native American plants as a way to connect with her own pre-colonial European roots and to become a better steward of the land her family now resides on.