The Wymondham Foraging Group emerged organically, and very quickly, as a result of a seed planted last February in a local social media page to gauge interest in starting a group in Wymondham.

The post generated a great response, and the result was a Wymondham Foragers WhatsApp group. The ground was fertile and the conditions were right, almost as if the group was waiting to sprout and come to life! One of the group members, local businessman Neil Platten, offered to use his tech abilities to create a Facebook group page as a way of reaching out to the wider local community.

Following an informal consultation with the WhatsApp group, we outlined some of our guiding principles including a love and respect for nature, social inclusion, collaborative learning, and, of course, responsible foraging.

The interest shot up, with over 130 local members joining our Facebook group. A few highly enjoyable walks have already taken place; we struggled with identification of plants between us, so we applied for a local grant from South Norfolk and Broadlands council to help pay for a foraging teacher for guided walks, which would be accessible to all in the community.

The council’s response was amazingly prompt, we gratefully received the grant on the same day!

The result: Over 30 people attended our first guided plant ID walk at the Lizard conservation area in May, with Norwich-based professional organic gardener and forager, Kasia Puzio, found through local networking. The plant ID walk was diverse, with members from Wymondham, surrounding villages, children and families, and even people travelling from Norwich to share in the experience.

This is an informal community-led initiative, and group members are encouraged to take ownership of the group and the process of shaping it. The aim is for everyone to connect, participate, exchange and share information and experiences, as well as to create a platform for anyone who wants to organise a foraging-themed walk locally.

Following the pandemic and its ongoing ripples, we are learning that smaller communities of like-minded people, coming together with good intentions, working together, having fun, learning and sharing, can have a huge and a positive impact in our world.

We hope that capacity-building initiatives and empowering communities to create, explore, connect through nature will continue to be supported for our own wellbeing and that of our communities.

There are no set plans for the future, the group will shape itself according to its input organically. If there is a philosophy at all, it’s an emphasis on process rather than outcomes – this could be one of the new ways we learn to shape our communities.

We have funding for another couple of guided walks locally; we are hoping to have Jim Christou, experienced forager and mushroom specialist, for an autumn walk and one more from Kasia. In between we will be doing our own amateur walks, learning together and connecting to the cycles of nature and its gifts.

We continue to provide a platform for exchanging, learning, connecting and coming together with a deep love and respect for nature. As to which way it will go, that depends on all the group members; it’s there for everyone, and new ideas and members are always welcome.

Find us on Facebook under Wymondham Foraging Group at: www.facebook.com/groups/3414460946