Feast and Forage Fall 2022
Tyson Lewis | October 6, 2022
On Sept. 25, several members of the Warren Wilson College (WWC) community gathered for a feast and forage event. That afternoon the Garden Crew cabin was inviting members of varying skill levels to collectively gather plants and seeds to be compiled in the end for the purposes of a feast.
Forest Fulford photographed by Willow Solomon
Ethnobiologist and Warren Wilson alum, Mark Williams, led the activity starting in and around the campus garden.
“The idea with foraging for me is largely to have these easily accessible resources that are all around us and kind of bring awareness to those from people that might not be familiar with them,” Williams said. “Something I really picked up from one of my teachers and mentors and friends, Frank Cook is this idea of ‘eat something wild every day.’ At a minimum that's something that I’ve tried to and have done for over a decade.”
Feast and forage started with a circle of participants introducing themselves on the Garden Crew cabin porch. Here they shared their experience level as well as their goals or particular interests in foraging such as the regions that they were interested in foraging in.
Junior Ian Ibarra, who had previously foraged, joined in on the event. He is interested in both foraging in the region that WWC inhabits and the ways in which people foraged in the area.
“I’m really interested to expand into the Appalachian specific native plants,” Ibarra said. “I’m really excited to get more into the Appalachian culture and the history of the people who lived here.”
Senior Freya Bairdsen was similarly interested in foraging broadly but also as it pertains to the region she lives in.
Willow Solomon
“I really like knowing plants when I encounter them,” she said. “I try to make it my business when something is edible. I think I already know some of the plants around here and which ones are edible, but I don’t know what I don't know. I’m excited to learn some new guys.”
From there the group of foragers went into the garden and its edges picking through a variety of things. Each zone of the garden was prefaced with a detailed and hands on description of the plants in the vicinity.
As well as food taken purely for its value in eating, Williams also pointed out what he called “botanical bling” to garnish the food. He noted several flowers with both colorful and edible petals could be used as a substitute for sprinkles with their food dyes for example.
Following the forage, the crew all went up to the garden cabin to put together the meal. A group of foods including hummus, blackberry cobbler and salad was the end goal for the foraged goods.
Sophomore Catherine Tsarouhtsis shared her highlights from the forage.
“I learned a lot,” she said. “Eating the peppermint down there was really cool. Learning about nettles and how much protein they have. I’m a vegan and so I think I’m actually going to collect a bunch and try it out. You know, vegan protein. I’m really looking forward to this meal, I think it’s going to be good.”
With that, the group ate the food. Over an abundant dinner, they reflected on their experience foraging alongside complimenting the various things they ate.
Willow Solomon
Few had left the garden after the forage, but with the cooked food it was not hard to fill those slots as a few people had come down to the cabin and joined in on the feast. The feast had been completed and a line formed to clean the dishes.