The History of Foraging in the UK

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the privilege of speaking with Monica Wilde. Monica is a forager, research herbalist and ethnobotanist. She lives in Scotland in a self-built wooden house on 4 organic acres where she is encouraging the growth of medicinal and foraging species to create a wild, teaching garden. She is also a Research Herbalist specializing in Lyme disease & co-infections, and a Fellow of the Linnean Society. Monica holds a Master’s degree in Herbal Medicine, she is a Member of the Association of Forager and a Member of the British Mycological Society. I’m excited to learn from someone who embodies such deep natural wisdom on how to nourish both our bodies and Gaia through wild food and wild medicine.   

TOPICS COVERED:    

• Childhood in Kenya & Connection to the Wild  
• Disconnection in Post-WWII Western Society  
• The Wisdom of Plants  
• The Language & Biosemiotics of Plants  
• Tenets of Herbalism   
• Ancient Roots of Herbalism  
• Herbalism and Pharmaceuticals   
• Money as a Religion  
• The Body as a Collection of Microbiomes  
• Understanding Lyme Disease  
• Shepherding Wild Plants & Mushrooms  
• Traditional Ecological Knowledge  
• Reciprocity with the Natural World  
• Lessons Learned from a Wild Food Diet  

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Monica Wilde Website: https://monicawilde.com/  
• Monica Wilde Twitter: https://twitter.com/monicawilde  
• Monica Wilde IG: https://www.instagram.com/monicawilde/  
• Wild Medicine Substack: https://wildmedicine.substack.com/  
• Napiers Herbalists: https://napiers.net/  
• Monascus purpureus (Red Rice Yeast): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monascus_purpureus  
• Heracleum sphondylium (Common Hogweed): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heracleum_sphondylium  
• Heracleum mantegazzianum (Giant Hogweed): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heracleum_mantegazzianum  
• Zach Bush: https://zachbushmd.com/  
• Lyme Disease: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease  
• Łukasz Łuczaj: http://thewildfood.org/  
• Pilosella officinarum (Mouse Ear Hawkweed): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilosella_officinarum  
• Association of Foragers: https://foragers-association.org/  
• Ganoderma applanatum (Artist Conk): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganoderma_applanatum