I'm John, proud daddy to a little boy called Arthur-Felix and a little girl called Sybbie-Nimue, and we love nothing more than exploring the wilds of Northumberland and the surrounding areas in search of adventure, fun and most importantly, edible wild food! Our journey with foraging started just a few short years ago and has since burgeoned into a true and very meaningful passion. Arthur is just five, but already has a wonderful understanding of many wild foods, and watching him grow and develop so successfully into this truly fulfilling hobby has inspired me, alongside my wife, Christina, to create this website so that other parents can experience and share with their kids the many wonders and amazing bounties that nature has to offer.
Many parents would love to forage with their kids, but are reluctant to do so because they feel that it's simply too dangerous. Whilst there are some risks, they are easily managed with just a few simple precautions that are covered in detail on this website. In contrast to what you may think, you really don't have to be an expert to start foraging. With a few basic and easy to identify wild edibles in your knowledge base, you can get out and enjoy the outdoors with your kids, and bring home some amazing wild ingredients to make something magical for dinner. But it isn't all about the food! Spending time out in nature has an amazing effect on your physical and mental wellbeing, creates dedicated and meaningful family time, and gives your children one of the best natural educations they could ever hope for - one filled with adventure, fun, and wonderful childhood memories.
We've created this site with newby, novice, and intermediate foragers in mind, and everything you need to know to get started and more can be found here, from learning how to forage safely with your kids, identifying and gathering child-friendly wild edibles, to creating some delicious dishes that you'll all enjoy. Please feel free to have a look around, take a look at some of the plants and mushrooms we regularly forage, browse recipes, read about when and where to forage and the benefits of foraging with your kids, before going out and actually doing it yourselves! If you're feeling a bit clueless about where to begin, the best place to start your Foraging Journey, is here, at The Art of Foraging section of the website.
If there's anything you'd like to know, please do get in touch with your questions and share your experiences of foraging with your kids using the contact us page - we read every message and would absolutely love to hear from you!
Learn to Forage
The Art of Foraging section looks at why foraging is awesome for kids, what equipment you'll need, and the best locations to forage. It also looks at the Golden Rules that you need to follow, as well other safety considerations that you may need to think about.
Wild Food Finds
There are so many wild edibles out there that are just waiting for you and your kids to try! This section looks at common types of plants and mushrooms that you can find and where and when to look for them - all are child-friendly, easy to ID, with few or no dangerous lookalikes.
Wild Recipes
With wild food, the proof is quite literally in the pudding, because the best part about foraging is eating what you find! This section contains recipes for numerous dishes you can prepare with your foraged wild food - from teas and cordials, to condiments, mains and desserts.
Meet The Bear Cubs
Arthur-felix and Sybbie-Nimuë are two little kids with a very big love of foraging and their adventures in and around Northumberland are the focus and inspiration for this website. Here you can read their stories, and how a move to the countryside sparked a love of wild food and the outdoors for the whole family.
For Bear Cubs
If, like Arthur, you love foraging, then you'll love these fun activities that you can do with your parents, or other responsible adult! From making sugared primroses and creating mushroom spore prints, to painting pictures in ink made from Mushrooms, there's loads of fun and exciting things for kids to do, here!
Top Tens
Not sure where to start? See our Top Ten lists for some quick-fire foraging inspiration! From our Top Ten Easiest Finds, to our Top Ten Tastiest, there's plenty of information here to keep you busy throughout the year, including the Top Ten things to forage during each of the four seasons.
Forager's Calendar
Although Summer and Autumn tend to be the most fruitful times for wild food, foraging can be a fun year-round activity, with plenty of edibles available in Winter and Spring if you know where to look. This section acts as a quick reference guide to what's available during each of the four seasons, with direct links to those items in the Finds section of the website.
Buy Foraging Threads
We recently launched a clothing line aimed specifically at foraging families full of fun, quirky, and colourful designs. With a full range of child and adult sizes, and designs inspired by our foraging adventures and real wild food finds, there's something for everyone over at Foraging Threads, our brand new foraging clothes store!
Buy us a Book
Do you love the Grizzly forager website? Would you consider supporting our work? If so, then please consider buying Arthur and Sybbie a Book! Buying a book will help with the running costs of the site and keep The Grizzly Forager as a FREE resource for parents everywhere. As always, your support is greatly appreciated! You can buy Arthur a book by clicking here.
“... Passion is lifted from the earth itself by the muddy hands of the young; it travels along grass-stained sleeves to the heart. If we are going to save environmentalism and the environment, we must also save an endangered indicator species: the child in nature ...”
fOLLOW aLONG
Contact Us
john@thegrizzlyforager.co.uk