Eatweeds Podcast: For People Who Love Plants
51 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 months ago - ★★★★ - 38 ratingsAn audio journey through the wonderful wild world of plants. Episodes cover modern and ancient ways wild plants have been used in human culture as food, medicine and other uses.
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Episodes
EP50: The Sound of Trees
January 29, 2024 16:31 - 46 minutes - 42.6 MBWelcome to Episode 50 of the Eatweeds podcast, where host Robin Harford takes us on an auditory journey into the world of sound art and ecoacoustics with guest Jez riley French. In this episode, titled 'The Sound of Trees', we dive into the fascinating world of listening to plants and the hidden layers of sound that surround us. Jez, a leading British sound artist, shares the behind-the-scenes details of his latest exhibition in the Forest of Dean, revealing the actual internal so...
EP49: So You Want To Be A Herbalist
November 07, 2023 14:47 - 55 minutes - 51.2 MBIn this episode, #49 of the Eatweeds podcast, I sit down with Helen Kearney at the Betonica herb school on a lazy Summer day in the Devon countryside. We dive into the added value herbalists bring to the strained National Health Service (NHS) and discuss Helen's path from being inspired by her grandmother to becoming a medical herbalist and educator. We tackle the evolution of medicine since World War II, highlighting the crucial role of self-care and the struggle for herbal medic...
EP48: The Car Free Forager - An Interview With Andy Hamilton
September 29, 2023 15:55 - 32 minutes - 30 MBIn this episode of the Eatweeds podcast, Robin Harford invites the seasoned forager, Andy Hamilton, for a deep and meaningful conversation about the evolving world of foraging, wild food, and wildcrafting. They take listeners on a journey, reflecting on their first meeting years ago and exploring the transformation of the foraging community's online presence over the years. Connect With Andy Hamilton Facebook Andy's website Andy's Youtube channel Back Matter Follow me (Robin ...
EP47: Foraging, Sustainability and Culinary Exploration with Matthew Pennington
September 07, 2023 21:54 - 38 minutes - 35.4 MBIn this episode of Eatweeds, host Robin Harford interviews Matthew Pennington, co-owner of The Ethicurean restaurant. Matthew discusses the restaurant's philosophy of using 80-90% of its ingredients from its own Victorian walled garden and orchard, as well as from local suppliers. He also talks about the importance of foraging for wild food, and how it can help to connect us to the natural world. Other topics covered in the episode include: The challenges of running a sustainabl...
EP46: Foraging In Italy
July 12, 2023 12:48 - 34 minutes - 47.8 MBThis week on the Eatweeds podcast, we travel to the remote, idyllic region of Abruzzo, Italy, a haven for foragers, to meet our special guest, Marta Udalowa. Originally hailing from Poland, Marta has turned her passion for wild foods into a lifestyle, immersed in the bounty of nature. Join host Robin Harford as he engages in a fascinating conversation with Marta, a master pickler, about life in the Italian countryside, the art of foraging, and the delightful practice of pickling an...
EP45: Hawthorn Harmony- A Tale of Foraging, Wildcrafting, and Connection
May 19, 2023 13:48 - 2 minutes - 2.65 MBJoin us for a breath of fresh air with episode 45 of 'Eatweeds,' a podcast dedicated to celebrating the joy and richness of wild food. Our host, Robin Harford, transports us away from the bustle of daily life, inviting us to pause, reflect, and savor the exquisite moments of being at one with nature. In this special episode, Robin trades his traditional role as host to become our storyteller, bringing to life his personal essay on the pure, simple beauty of gathering Hawthorn flowe...
EP45: Hawthorn Harmony - A Tale of Foraging, Wildcrafting, and Connection
May 19, 2023 13:48 - 2 minutes - 2.65 MBJoin us for a breath of fresh air with episode 45 of 'Eatweeds,' a podcast dedicated to celebrating the joy and richness of wild food. Our host, Robin Harford, transports us away from the bustle of daily life, inviting us to pause, reflect, and savor the exquisite moments of being at one with nature. In this special episode, Robin trades his traditional role as host to become our storyteller, bringing to life his personal essay on the pure, simple beauty of gathering Hawthorn flowe...
EP44: A Year on Wild Food
May 09, 2023 14:51 - 59 minutes - 54.1 MBMy guest for this episode of the Eatweeds podcast is the remarkable Mo' Wilde. An author and experienced foraging teacher, Mo' has done something few could even contemplate: she lived for a full year completely sustained by wild food. Her fascinating journey and profound insights will have you rethinking your daily meals and your connection to the world around you. Key topics for this episode include: The incredible diversity of the microbiome and its importance for gut health. T...
EP43: Plants, Enchantment and Wild Words
November 04, 2022 15:56 - 1 hour - 61.2 MBIn Episode 43, "Plants, Enchantment and Wild Words," Robin and Zoe delve into the enthralling world of plant lore and explore how enchantment and folklore have shaped our connection with the natural world. Zoe shares her unique insights into the role of plants in mythology and how anthropomorphism and gender have influenced our understanding and stories of the plant world. This episode also uncovers the magic of wordsmithing and the art of storytelling, revealing how the power of l...
EP42: Medicinal Forest Gardens
September 16, 2022 13:22 - 41 minutes - 38.3 MBOnline: Course: Medicinal Trees and Their Healing Properties https://www.eatweeds.co.uk/medicinal-trees Website: Medicinal Forest Garden Trust https://medicinalforestgardentrust.org/ Twitter: @herbaid Instagram: @medicinalforest Facebook: @medicinalforest About Anne Stobart Anne Stobart is a medical herbalist, herb grower and historical researcher. Previously, she directed the professional programme for clinical herbal practitioners at Middlesex University, UK. Her research ...
EP41: It’s Not Just For You Human
May 09, 2022 12:55 - 2 minutes - 2.87 MBA short audio essay on sustainable harvesting and ethical wildcrafting. Spoken by Robin Harford from Eatweeds. Receive more audio essays, articles and wild food recipes by email. Sign up at https://www.eatweeds.co.uk/subscribe Related articles Archive of shows of the Eatweeds Podcast Botanical Society Code of Conduct Sustainable foraging guidelines Foraging safety guidelines Careful with that plant ID app
EP40: Plants & Colour with Flora Arbuthnott
November 05, 2021 15:55 - 38 minutes - 35.8 MBFlora's website: Plants and Colour Find Flora on Instagram: @plants_and_colour About Flora Arbuthnott Flora Arbuthnott. Flora came to this practice through a desire to connect with the land. Working with plants such as camellia and buddleia flowers, oak galls, and dock roots, or growing dye plants in her garden such as madder, woad, and coreopsis. Creating drawings, paintings, and prints as one-off explorations of plant-based surface application bringing together natural dyeing, ...
EP39: What's That Plant
May 20, 2021 12:33 - 1 hour - 38.4 MBMark Duffell is one of Britain's foremost botanists and ecologists. We discuss... The best way for beginners to learn plant identification. Why the ecology of a plant is important to know before harvesting. Forager or pillager? Which one are you? How to overcome your fear of botany and science jargon. Why learning plant families is important. Sustainability and commercial wild food harvesting. Is there a problem? How ecology can guide us to live harmoniously with the Earth. ...
EP38: Let's Talk Trespass
April 15, 2021 16:18 - 1 hour - 50.5 MBNick Hayes author of the 'Book of Trespass' discusses the reason why Right to Roam is so important to the nation's mental health and wellbeing. Why access to the countryside helps people deepen their connection to nature so they become better stewards of the planet. We discuss the concerns landowners have over littering and damage to their property including fences, gates, livestock etc. Also covered is the criminalising of trespass and its potential impact on already marginalised ...
EP37: Sound Walks
April 09, 2021 14:12 - 1 hour - 89.8 MBEmma Welton, a musician who lives locally to me discusses listening as a nature connection practice. How active listening can develop a deep empathic relationship with the natural world. The section on using sound to identify trees is very revealing. As well as creating soundscapes of botanical gardens and different habitats where plants grow. If you have followed my work for any length of time, you will know that I teach sensory engagement with plants, yet the practices I teach can...
EP36: Nettle Eater
March 18, 2021 16:39 - 46 minutes - 63.4 MBTom Hirons is a nature based poet and storyteller. In this interview we discuss his work and how as creative humans we can all express our inherent wildness through creative and magical acts. Show notes at eatweeds.co.uk/podcast
EP35 Plant Talk: Silver Wattle, Darwin's Barberry and Catkins
March 08, 2021 13:43 - 7 minutes - 13.6 MBA quick plant talk on silver wattle, Darwin's barberry and catkins which I found a few hundred metres from my house.
EP34: Prison Plants
February 18, 2021 13:58 - 41 minutes - 31 MBNicole Rose runs Solidarity Apothecary which materially supports revolutionary struggles and communities with plant medicines to strengthen collective autonomy, self-defence and resilience to climate change, capitalism and state violence. Show notes at eatweeds.co.uk/podcast
EP33: Foraging, Rewilding and Nature Connection
November 12, 2020 16:41 - 40 minutes - 30.6 MBLucy O'Hagan takes us on a journey exploring ancestral ways and rewilding, foraging and nature connection. Why do it and how relevant is it in a hyper connected digital world. Show notes at eatweeds.co.uk
EP32: The Fantastical Delights of Fly Agaric As Food and Medicine
October 16, 2020 13:04 - 39 minutes - 72.7 MBFergus Drennan and Courtney Tyler discuss their pioneering work exploring the cutting-edge of food and medicine using the fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria). Show notes at eatweeds.co.uk
EP31: The Importance of Ethnobotany - An Interview with Mark Nesbitt
August 21, 2020 13:57 - 28 minutes - 22.5 MBEthnobotany is the study of the interrelationship between people and plants, historically and cross-culturally, particularly the role of plants in human culture and practices, how humans have used and modified plants, and how they represent them in their systems of knowledge.
EP30: Edible City - Urban Foraging During Lockdown
April 13, 2020 16:11 - 1 hour - 146 MBJohn Rensten (author of Edible City) discusses how to keep foraging in a city during the coronavirus lockdown. How to stay safe, keep your distance and why foraging is vitally important for mental and physical wellbeing.
EP29: Calm Ease
March 20, 2020 13:57 - 11 minutes - 11.1 MBA discussion on foraging, stillness and mindfulness as a way to work with difficult feelings during the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.
EP28: Introducing Plant Talk
March 04, 2020 06:35 - 4 minutes - 3.88 MBIntroducing Plant Talk, a new supplement to the regular Eatweeds podcast show that encourages and prompts you to deepen your relationship with plants.
EP27: Be Your Own Authority - A Forager's Perspective
December 13, 2019 17:23 - 35 minutes - 66.6 MBChris Holland (Talks With Tellers) interviews wild food author and forager Robin Harford. They discuss the importance of restoring vital connection to the ecosystem. Teaching plants through the power of story. Empowering self and community through sensory-based nature connection practices and more.
EP26: Herbalism With Attitude
December 03, 2019 13:44 - 50 minutes - 48 MBIt’s round two with the Seed Sistas. Britain’s most irreverent herbalists. For the past few years, they have been making waves in the plant community. Overthrowing the colonialism that has turned herbalism from something we all used to do, into a profession where you’d think you need a PhD just to touch a plant! Colourful, fun and full of vim (No, not the cleaning product), they discuss: why plant medicine is for the people. how they got threatened with jail time for selling a ...
EP25: Edible Acorns - The Forgotten Food
September 17, 2019 21:52 - 56 minutes - 104 MBAcorns are a massive, under-utilised and forgotten food source. Join Robin Harford (your host) and Marcie Mayer (Europe's foremost acorn food producer), as they explore the edible uses of acorns as a food and in cooking. How to properly process acorns to remove tannins. Long term food storage. Acorns nutritional content, as well as establishing community acorn festivals around the country, plus much more.
EP24: Nutritional Cultural Identity
August 12, 2019 14:23 - 40 minutes - 32.3 MBMasanobu Fukuoka's one-straw revolution inspired Krishna McKenzie to start his own organic farm in Auroville, Tamil Nadu, India. In this interview he talks about the importance of nutritional cultural identity, wild food volunteer plants, soil fertility, and collective wellbeing.
EP23: Wild Tea Ceremonies & Celebrations
June 17, 2019 15:08 - 21 minutes - 40.2 MBHow to create your own local wild tea ceremonies and celebrations for community building and wild wellbeing.
EP22: Foraging The Future, Sustainability & Vital Connection
November 12, 2018 17:56 - 49 minutes - 67.9 MBAn interview with Miles Irving, author of the Forager Handbook and creator of The Wildbox, on why we must include humans in our conservation models in order to look after wild spaces. Why foraging is sustainable. How foraging can help feed an ever growing population, and how we can restore our vital connection to Land.
EP21: From 19th Century Famine Potherb to 21st Century Hipster Food
November 05, 2018 08:35 - 1 hour - 86.2 MBLukasz Luczaj presents Kew’s 19th Annual Distinguished Ethnobotanist Lecture.
EP20: Discovering New Wild Edible Plants With Łukasz Łuczaj
October 26, 2018 15:33 - 24 minutes - 33.8 MBA poisonous plant in one culture can be a food plant in another. In this rare interview, one of Europe’s leading ethnobotanists, Łukasz Łuczaj shares his passion for wild food plants. Prolific in his research, Łukasz reveals some surprising facts about what is considered ‘food’.
EP19: The Future of Farming is Foraging
October 05, 2018 10:43 - 41 minutes - 58 MBHilltown Organics are revolutionising how we farm. Incorporating wild edible plants into their polyculture farming systems, they grow high-nutrient food plants that are sold at farmer’s markets. According to soil scientists, their revolutionary farming practices have produced some of the richest soil found anywhere in the UK.
EP18: The Wild Art of Fermentation
May 31, 2018 08:42 - 44 minutes - 63.3 MBFermented foods are a delicious and rich source of nourishment. The fermentation process can transform the flavour of food from the plain and mundane in to delicious flavours enlivened by colonies of beneficial bacteria and enhanced micronutrients. In this episode I talk with former plant biochemist Viola Sampson turned "fermentation passionista" on the benefits of wild fermented foods.
EP17: New York's Notorious Vegan Forager
February 26, 2018 20:03 - 35 minutes - 51.2 MBNotorious New York vegan forager Steve Brill was busted by the cops for picking a dandelion. In this interview the father and daughter double-act discuss their foraging antics around New York. While revealing how to craft delicious vegan cuisine from their foraged finds. Including some truly unique ways to use wild edible plants.
EW16: Herbalists Without Borders
November 09, 2017 07:17 - 41 minutes - 59.4 MBAn interview with Becs Griffiths and Annwen Jones from Herbalists Without Borders (Bristol) - talking about social justice, radical herbalism and providing free healthcare to people fleeing conflict, persecution, and intolerable living conditions.
EP15: The Handmade Apothecary
October 24, 2017 10:58 - 24 minutes - 35.7 MBIn this episode I talk with two amazing herbalists about why we need to build ‘health resilience’ using herbal medicine, in an age of NHS cuts and a national health crisis. When is the best time to self-medicate, and when should you visit the doctor? Why modern medicine isn’t always evil, and what our grandparents could have taught us about how plants, herbs and other foods can empower us.
EP14: Why The Balsam Bashers Might Be Wrong: A New Way Of Looking At Invasive Plants
July 11, 2017 16:43 - 43 minutes - 41.8 MBIn this engaging episode of the Eatweeds podcast, Robin Harford sits down with Pete Yeo from Future Flora to delve deep into the debate surrounding invasive plants and their role in our environment. The hot topic? Whether balsam bashing holds up from a scientific standpoint. Key Topics Discussed: Foraging: How understanding invasive species can enhance our wild food adventures. Wild Food: Why invasive plants might just be an unexpected culinary delight. Invasive Species: Are the...
EP13: Absinthe Alchemy: The Forgotten Story of an Outcast Spirit
July 05, 2017 08:04 - 41 minutes - 78.6 MBT.A. Breaux, one of the world leading experts on the distillation of absinthe, reveals its forgotten history, sings its praises and dispels the common myths of this much maligned liquor.
EP12: Passion Potions: Herbalism and the Radical Heart Revolution
May 10, 2017 11:55 - 52 minutes - 74 MBThe Seed Sistas (radical herbalists extraordinaire) discuss passion potions, wild herbalism, wellbeing, resilience, anarchy, connection, community and activism.
EP11: Nathaniel Hughes On Intuitive Herbalism
November 29, 2016 11:03 - 45 minutes - 63.6 MBNathaniel Hughes discusses intuitive herbalism. How to develop deep relationship with the healing plants that live around us. How to know plants beyond the intellect, and meeting plants as friends. Lay-herbalism; the controversy of regulation, and certification. Do you actually need them in order to practice herbalism in your community?
EP10: The Wild & Wonderful World of Fungi
September 13, 2016 21:22 - 40 minutes - 20.2 MBA walk in the woods fungi foraging with the wild and wonderful Craig Worrall from Edible Leeds. I recently visited Craig at his home in Leeds, and he kindly took me out to one of his favourite fungi patches to talk all things fungi. In this walk in the wilds we discovered Penny Bun, The Miller, Amethyst Deceiver and Hedgehog Fungi.
EP09: Foraging With Europe’s Grand Master
August 25, 2016 17:45 - 33 minutes - 17.2 MBA very special interview with foraging grand-master Francois Couplan. In this podcast Francois talks about his early influencers, animism, human and non-human relationships, plus the new wave of using wild edible plants in gastronomy.
EP08: Emma Kidd on First Steps to Seeing
April 18, 2016 13:02 - 38 minutes - 18.5 MBPractical ways to deepen your relationship with plants, by enhancing your ability to 'see' plants more fully, in a way that no mainstream botany class can ever teach you.
EP07: Miles Irving on Foraging & Sustainability
December 18, 2015 19:22 - 49 minutes - 23.4 MBMiles Irving from Forager Ltd, talks about commercial foraging and sustainability, and why the old conservation paradigm is now obsolete.
EP06: How To Make Nettle Leaf Protein
September 08, 2015 17:05 - 32 minutes - 15.6 MBMichael Cole the creator of Leafu a commercially available leaf protein product, discusses why it is so beneficial to humans and the planet.
EP05: Remembering Frank Cook
August 19, 2015 14:34 - 46 minutes - 43.8 MBOn the anniversary of Frank Cook's passing, friends remember him and how his work continues through the organisation Plants & Healers International. Includes interviews with Sandor Katz, Mary Morgaine & Marc Williams.
EP04: Plant Observation & Goethean Science
June 10, 2015 10:32 - 13 minutes - 6.93 MBAn interview with Craig Holdrege from the Nature Institute on "Plant Observation & Goethean Science". How to truly know a plant beyond the traditional classification & pattern methods of plant identification.
EP03: Revisioning Herbal Medicine For The People
April 28, 2015 14:03 - 13 minutes - 19.8 MBAn interview with Simon Mills, herbal practitioner and author of Principles & Practice of Phytotherapy, The Essential Guide to Herbal Safety, Dictionary of Modern Herbalism. In this interview Simon's talks about : Why plants are not pills. Taking back control our health from experts, and much more.
EP02: Beyond Botany & Other Ways Of Knowing Plants
February 11, 2015 08:21 - 13 minutes - 6.51 MBBeyond Botany: How to discover the edible and medicinal uses of plants without books, herbalists or teachers.