Wild Edge

29/10/2026

🌿 A LITTLE BLAST FROM THE FORAGING PAST! 🌿🍂

Five years ago, we were filming our Virtual Foraging series here in beautiful Cornwall with The Family Foraging Kitchen, and I thought October was the perfect excuse to dig this little gem out of the archives!

🎬 Virtual Foraging – Autumn in Cornwall, Series 2, Episode 1

Watch here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RIFZGOtVlo

The film might be a few years old, but the wild edibles are still the same, the seasons are still turning, and the message is every bit as relevant today. There’s an extraordinary amount of wonderful wild food growing right under our noses if we know what to look for!

And yes, before anyone says anything, my presenting style is rather ENTHUSIASTIC. 😂

I wave my arms about, get ridiculously excited about plants and generally behave like I’ve just discovered the most extraordinary thing in the world every time I find something edible in a hedgerow.

But here’s the thing. That’s not me putting it on for the camera. That’s actually what I’m like in real life! 🤣

And that’s exactly the energy you’ll get when you come along to one of my Wild Edge foraging walks and courses!

🌿 ALL MY 2027 COURSES ARE NOW ONLINE AND BOOKABLE! 🌿

I’d absolutely love to welcome back some familiar faces who’ve joined me over the years, and equally love to welcome a whole new bunch of curious people into the foraging fold.

Expect plenty of wild food knowledge, cooking, laughter, enthusiasm and quite possibly some wildly exaggerated gesticulating!

🍂 Come and discover the wild with me!

🌐 Book your 2027 adventure at www.wildedgeuk.com

ForagingWalks Cornwall EatTheWild ForagingCourses WildEdibles

29/10/2026

MILLBROOK WATCH | WATER QUALITY SURVEY 001

📅 29 October 2026 | 1pm
📍 Millbrook Lake, Cornwall

Today we completed our first water-quality survey using an Earthwatch FreshWater Watch testing kit purchased with our community donations!

Our sample was collected beside the wooden decking and seating area below the football club, facing Bird Island, with the dam to our left.

Conditions were sunny, dry and settled, with no flooding or rainfall. The last significant rainfall was on 23 October.

🔬 OUR FIRST RESULTS

🟢 Nitrate: 0.5 mg/L — LOW nutrient concentration.

🟠 Phosphate: 0.2 mg/L — MODERATE nutrient concentration.

According to Earthwatch’s freshwater reference chart, nitrate was relatively low while phosphate was moderately elevated.

Phosphorus can contribute to excessive aquatic plant and algal growth, making this particularly interesting given the extensive sea lettuce (Ulva) we’ve observed across Millbrook Lake.

⚠️ IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC NOTE

Millbrook Lake is tidal and brackish. Earthwatch has advised that these freshwater testing kits aren’t reliable in saline or brackish conditions.

Our results are therefore PRELIMINARY, not scientifically validated measurements of pollution or ecological health.

We’ve contacted Dr Laura Bannatyne, Earthwatch’s Freshwater Research Manager, again today for advice on whether to submit these results, test freshwater inflows instead, or use alternative equipment suitable for the lake itself.

🦆 WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

Millbrook Lake supports waterfowl, fish, eels, otters and many other species. With local concerns about pollution, sea lettuce growth and occasional sulphurous odours, we want to build a reliable, long-term picture of its ecological health.

Testing freshwater streams may help identify nutrient sources, but our ultimate goal is to understand the quality of the lake water itself.

This is our first recorded survey, and we’re learning as we go, guided by scientific advice.

Thank you to everyone who has donated to make this community research possible! 💚

Cornwall Biodiversity

29/10/2026

From negative news, with passion and perseverance (and the generosity of community donations) wonderful things can still happen.

MILLBROOK LAKE – OUR FIRST WATER QUALITY TEST! 🌿

Despite disappointing news from all three of our funding applications, Millbrook Watch is moving forward!

Over recent weeks, we’ve contacted the Environment Agency, South West Water, Westcountry Rivers Trust, Earthwatch Europe, Tamara Landscape Partnership, Cornwall Wildlife Trust, the University of Plymouth and Surfers Against Sewage, seeking advice and support in understanding the water quality of our beautiful Millbrook Lake.

One particularly exciting development has been our connection with Earthwatch Europe, and we’ve now taken our first steps towards monitoring the lake’s water quality through their freshwater citizen science programme.

Today, our very first water sample is being tested! 🔬💧

And thanks to the incredible generosity of our community, who donated around £600, we’ve been able to start making things happen even without the grant funding we’d hoped for.

🎬 Watch the video to discover what we’ve already achieved with your donations, and some of the exciting things we’re planning over the next 12 months!

This project has always been about community, curiosity, education and celebrating the extraordinary wildlife right on our doorstep.

We’re not giving up. In fact, we’re only just getting started! 💚

Thank you to everyone who has supported Millbrook Watch so far.

29/10/2026

Give something a little different this Christmas. 🌿

If you’re looking for a gift for someone who loves nature, good food and being outdoors, why not treat them to a Wild Edge experience?

Gift vouchers are now available for our 2027 foraging walks and wild food courses here on the beautiful Rame Peninsula in South East Cornwall.

From exploring the hedgerows and woodlands to discovering the incredible edible seaweeds along our coastline, our walks and courses are an opportunity to slow down, learn something new and discover just how much the natural world has to offer.

A lovely gift for curious minds, nature lovers and food enthusiasts alike.

Gift vouchers are available now through our website:

🌿 www.wildedgeuk.com

16/10/2026

A beautiful visitor to my garden today!

Wildlife friendly gardens are where it’s at! 😊

14/10/2026

14/10/2026

Children across Devon are being invited to raise harvest mice at home before releasing them into the wild 🐭🌿

The project, launched by two 14-year-old friends, is looking for 20 children aged eight to 13 to become young conservation breeders.

Each will be given a pair of harvest mice and equipment after training, with the ambitious goal of releasing 250 mice next September.

09/10/2026

This is an interesting one, as the comments under the post show!

As a professional forager and someone with a strong interest in biodiversity and sustainable wild food harvesting, I’d be interested in some clarification on the legal framework behind this announcement.

Section 4(3) of the Theft Act 1968 specifically exempts the gathering of wild fungi for personal consumption from theft offences, although I appreciate this does not override other statutory protections or land access restrictions.

I’m also aware that the National Trust’s own national policy supports sustainable foraging of abundant species on much of its land.

It would be good for them to clarify National Trust National Trust Dartmoor
Dartmoor National Park exactly which Dartmoor sites are covered by this prohibition, whether all are designated SSSIs, and which statutory provisions, byelaws or site-specific restrictions make the collection of common edible fungi unlawful?

I’m particularly interested in whether this is an enforceable legal prohibition or a conservation policy requesting voluntary compliance.

I fully support protecting rare species and sensitive habitats, but I also believe it’s important to distinguish between sustainable traditional foraging, ecological damage and activities that are genuinely prohibited by law.

I’d welcome some clarity, particularly given the long history of responsible wild food gathering on Dartmoor.