KD: How can people participate in ethical wildcrafting?
MMS: We’ve seen many plant species become endangered and even go extinct because of poor stewardship and land management. It’s important to be mindful of not only what plants you’re wildcrafting, but how and where.
We could say wild plants come in four general categories: volunteers, weeds, invasives, and natives. I focus on eating the first three, which is most supportive of ethical wildcrafting.
A general rule of thumb is to only harvest something if you know there’s a healthy population and you aren’t putting a dent in it. On the flip side, if it’s an aggressive plant that’s overtaking an area and you want to remove it, or there’s no way you’re ever going to get rid of it, harvest a lot.
It’s always important to note what parts of the plant we’re wildcrafting. If we wildcraft the roots or seeds, the plant may die or not be able to reproduce. If you’re harvesting leaves, don’t strip them. Take a little from here and there.
Another guiding rule is to take only what you can eat that day. Storing wild plants in the refrigerator for later usually ends up being wasteful.
With natives, always be respectful if local Indigenous communities wildcraft particular plants by not harvesting those from the wild without their consent.
Wildcrafting takes a level of knowledge with plants that not everyone has. Identification books are OK, but learning from an experienced plant guide is essential. There are some plants almost everyone knows — like dandelion, plantain, violet, pine, wood sorrel, and nettles — that a beginner can at least nibble on regularly and still get the benefit of eating wild.
