May 25th - Nell Lane Wild Food Hunt with Jesper Launder

On Tuesday 25th May 2010, local herbalist and wild food expert Jesper Launder led a group of volunteers from The Lost Plot Allomtent Project & local residents of Nell Lane estate on a forage around Chortlon Water Park and the River Mersey. The group learned to identify a range of edible foods as well as the odd medicinal herb and then a feast was prepared within the park from all the foods forgaed.

Jesper, a qualified medicinal herbalist and food forager for over five years, was full of enthusiasm and relentless knowledge about the uses of plants. He was keen and patient with the group and his love of his subject encouraged the paticpants to trial leaves, herbs and roots such as the pungent and fiery horseraddish found directly on the River Mersey. There were a few odd stares from passers by when a few particpants took on the challenge to pick a nettle by hand, roll and eat the stinging leaf. It was an invigorating experience, if not a little nerve racking! Overall it seemed to be the children were most excited during the hunt. They were willing to give anything a go.

The feast included assorted tepura -using a light batter to coat rapseed flowers (which taste like brocoli) and cumphrey leaves - and St. Geroges mushrooms which were actually foraged earlier in the day from Chorlton Ees.