What is foraging?

Foraging is the act of searching, identifying and collecting food resources in the wild. Those include a wide range of plants, mushrooms, herbs, nuts and fruits growing around us uncultivated.  

Where to Forage 

Your own property

A friend’s property

Cemeteries** (trees only, nothing from the ground!)

State Parks (with permission)

Town Forests (with permission)

Community Gardens – no spray zones, compost piles host loads of goodies!

Shopping Mall parking lots – ornamental trees

With a local club or foraging group (American Outdoor School, Boston Mycological Society)

Where NOT to Forage 

High spray areas (roadsides, playing fields, schools)

Conservation Land

Private property

High traffic areas (exhaust, trash, oil/gas)

Directly next to walking trails or sidewalk (dogs)

Within 100 yards of golf courses (chemicals)

Under power lines

Old landfills 

How to Forage Responsibly

Please only ever harvest 1/3 of any wild edible you find**

Leave at least 2/3 for pollinators, animals, insects

This will allow the wild edible to spread seeds, spores, tubers, etc to continue growing in the future

**This rule does NOT apply to invasive species! For those, harvest away!