Wild harvesting (also known as wildcrafting and foraging), is the harvesting of plant, lichen or fungi material from wild environments. This may be for the purposes of medicine, food, craft or other usage. Wild harvesting is growing in popularity, perhaps in part due to an increased awareness of the need to return to the land we inhabit. Unfortunately, however, it is too easy, even for well-meaning individuals, to capitalize on the gifts of the earth in a way that prioritizes profit over genuine sustainable practice.
Sustainable practice is not a one stop shop, it is an ongoing practice that evolves as one’s knowledge and commitment to environmental stewardship grows. It is far too easy for products and people to claim they are sustainable without having to authentically and transparently substantiate those claims.
Wild harvesting is close to my heart, because it is something I do practice and teach. I believe that wild harvesting can be part of a more conscious and locally-embodied future. However, the global impact humans have on the planet is now at an unprecedented scale, we cannot afford to be romantic about wild harvesting. We also need to all be aware that most of us have been conditioned to exploit all others: cultures, peoples, animals, plants, oceans, rivers, minerals, landscapes etc., for profit. This is so embedded in the way we perceive the world that it often goes unnoticed when we act in this way; more often than not this behaviour is applauded rather than challenged.
Wild harvesting provides a wonderful starting point to observe directly the impact we have on others. Sustainable practice does not begin and end in the forest, it is a process that grows through every area of our lives, like a weed emerging between cracks of concrete. It must culminate in the genuine realization (not mere intellectualization) that we are all connected to and dependent on everything else, and not a single one of us is entitled to anything.
Please stay tuned, I will continue to share my knowledge, thoughts and resources on wild harvesting practice, including: tools; protocols; and legal, social and environmental considerations. Join my newsletter for notifications of upcoming article in this series.
Join me on Sept. 22 2019 at Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC to learn more about Sustainable Wild Harvesting (click for tickets and info).