Foraging Fortnight at the Festival

Orkney International Science Festival has an added outdoor dimension through collaborating with a new Foraging Fortnight established in Scotland.

Foraging food from the wild, once standard for older generations, is now reviving, with its benefits for nutrition and exercise and the opportunity to connect to the natural world.

Foraging Fortnight came about through a LEADER-funded initiative covering five Scottish regions – Lanarkshire, Fife, Moray; Forth Valley and Lomond, and Orkney.

Through it, the Festival’s programme has been enhanced by a number of new events, including shore outings and papermaking from natural materials. In 2019 there were talks on wild food in Scandinavia, a look at the potential of seaweed for health and nutrition, and an evening of foraged food from the Neolithic.

We were also outdoors with ethnobotanical researcher Anna Canning and Orkney wildlife guide Megan Taylor, on outings on parts of the St Magnus Way, including an expedition by the shores of Scapa Flow – along the sand of Waulkmill Bay and the RSPB’s Hobbister bird reserve, by the shore of Scapa Flow. It rained but everyone was well prepared, and there was a picnic lunch of local fare – and also some wild plants to identify and sample.

In 2020 and 2021 we went online, with a range of talks and filmed outings, and for 2022 we hope to have in addition a number of walks and outings in various parts of Orkney.

Foraging events 2021

WORKSHOP: A WEALTH OF WEEDS – REMEDIES FROM WILD PLACES

September 3, 2021 → 6:30 pm7:30 pm

Wild plants – including many we think of as ‘weeds’ – are not only wonderful for wildlife but have been used by humans for thousands of years in a multitude of ways. In this workshop you can explore with Anna Canning some common weeds and their medicinal properties – and learn to make ...

WORKSHOP: PAPERMAKING FROM NATURAL MATERIALS

September 4, 2021 → 10:30 am12:00 pm

An opportunity to learn the basic elements of the art, as artist Lin Chau leads you through the process of mould and deckle making, preparing plant pulp fibre, pulling a sheet and couching it, then pressing the paper. The core ...

JOIN US FOR LUNCH …

September 4, 2021 → 12:45 pm1:15 pm

... where Dr Martin Braddock will tell us about the extreme conditions under which living creatures can flourish – and why that means we should expect to find life elsewhere in the universe. We’ll also be joined by mountaineer and photographer Tristan Cameron-Harper to tell about his Orkney travels.

THE CURES OF HUDSON’S BAY

September 4, 2021 → 5:00 pm5:45 pm

The Atlantic voyage from Stromness, plus the harsh environment, could cause serious health problems, such as scurvy, for Hudson’s Bay Company workers. They had doctors and apothecary chests but, as Dr Winona Wheeler of the University of Saskatchewan ...

Foraging events 2020

THE ROAD TO THE NORTH

August 29, 2020 → 2:00 pm2:45 pm

A professional ice hockey player turned mountaineer and photographer – Tristan Cameron-Harper’s love of the outdoors is bringing him north for Foraging Fortnight. He’ll be travelling over the Cairngorms, past the broch of Carn Luath, by the harbour and river of Dunbeath and on to Orkney, and sending stories and images along the way. He describes in conversation the call of the outdoors.

HEDGEROWS TO COASTLINE: A MORAY OUTING

August 29, 2020 → 3:30 pm4:15 pm

From the hedgerows of Marcassie to the Moray coast, Dan Puplett shows some common plants with a long history of uses – from rowan berries and hazelnuts to scurvy grass by the shore. After the film, there’s an opportunity for live questions. Dan, with degrees in environmental studies and environmental forestry, is involved in numerous projects in outdoor education and conservation across the north. He is also the author of the FSC Guide to British Bird Tracks and Signs.

OUTING: FORAGING THE OLD ROAD

August 30, 2020 → 2:00 pm2:45 pm

Walk through Binscarth Woods and over the hill to the Loch of Wasdale, on a section of the St Magnus Way. Orkney wildlife guide Megan Taylor looks out for wild plants while ethnobotanical researcher Anna Canning discusses their traditional uses for sustenance and health with foraging experts from Scotland and Poland. After the film there’s an opportunity for live questions to them both on aspects of wildlife and foraging.

FORAGING, FISH AND FIFE COAST TALES

August 30, 2020 → 3:30 pm4:15 pm

Our host is chef and food writer Wendy Barrie, leader of Slow Food Scotland’s Ark of Taste, and founder and director of the Scottish Food Guide. In a Nordic kitchen in Aberdour, with herbs and berries from cliff and shore, she creates three fish dishes, in the company of friends.

SHEEP ON THE SHORE

September 3, 2020 → 1:00 pm2:00 pm

North Ronaldsay’s native sheep forage seaweed. It’s now been discovered that seaweed in the diet can reduce greenhouse gas emission which helping weight gain. Siân Tarrant, warden of the 13-mile-long stone dyke confining the island sheep to the shore, introduces researchers. Dr Katerina Theodoridou of Queen’s University Belfast shows how dietary seaweed can cut methane and ammonia pollution and reduce soya usage. Dr Jessica Adams of Aberystwyth University describes how micro-organisms from the gut of North Ronaldsay sheep may assist macroalgae degradation for biofuel production. The enzymes involved may have potential for novel technologies and enzymatic cocktails, says Dr Luisa Ciano of Nottingham University.

RESOURCES ON THE SHORE

September 3, 2020 → 3:00 pm4:00 pm

This second part of the presentation from North Ronaldsay looks at resources from the shore. Siân Tarrant describes how the wool from the island’s seaweed-eating sheep is spun into much-valued yarn at the North Ronaldsay woolmill. Dr Katharina Vones of Dundee University and Dr Ian Lambert of Detroit’s College for Creative Studies describe their work in turning ocean plastic into filament for 3D printers.

Foraging events 2019

FIRESIDE AFTERNOON

August 31, 2019 → 2:30 pm4:30 pm

An afternoon of island stories and Orkney legends, with tea with beremeal biscuits and scones, organised specially for Foraging Fortnight by Orkney Folklore and Storytelling Centre in Sandwick. An opportunity to hear about the folklore, social customs and work traditions of families working the land and fishing the sea. Orkney Folklore and Storytelling Centre is in Sandwick on the A967 overlooking the Loch of Clumly at the end of the Ring of Brodgar road. Cost £6. Booking essential: e-mail peatfire@orkneyattractions.com or phone Lynn on 01856 841207.

TO HOY AND THE EAGLES

September 1, 2019

Join local wildlife guide Megan Taylor for a leisurely walk amongst superb scenery and wildlife, starting with the ferry crossing from Stromness. The outing includes a visit to Eaglewatch to see how the resident family of White Tailed Eagles are getting on. Walking boots and suitable clothing are recommended. Booking essential: contact wildorkneywalks@outlook.com.  

FIRESIDE AFTERNOON

September 1, 2019 → 2:30 pm4:30 pm

An afternoon of island stories and Orkney legends, with tea with beremeal biscuits and scones, organised specially for Foraging Fortnight by Orkney Folklore and Storytelling Centre in Sandwick. An opportunity to hear about the folklore, social customs and work traditions of families working the land and fishing the sea. Orkney Folklore and Storytelling Centre is in Sandwick on the A967 overlooking the Loch of Clumly at the end of the Ring of Brodgar road. Cost £6. Booking essential: e-mail peatfire@orkneyattractions.com or phone Lynn on 01856 841207.

OLD WAYS AND NEW JOURNEYS

September 5, 2019 → 11:30 am12:30 pm

Zeki Basan, who opens the Festival, grew up in a remote part of the Cairngorms. Depending on the seasons, he is a glacier guide in Iceland and a wilderness instructor in Scotland. He describes the skills of survival used in the past in Scotland and by indigenous peoples today and shows short films of his solo adventures.

FLAVOURS OF THE WILD

September 5, 2019 → 5:15 pm6:15 pm

Some of the most appetising dishes can come from food we find at our feet, says chef Ben Reade of Edinburgh Food Studio. He’s former head of culinary research and development at the Nordic Food Lab established by the founders of Copenhagen’s world-renowned Noma restaurant. He describes the possibilities of seaweeds, shellfish and common garden weeds, and fermented foods with simple ingredients transformed by wild microorganisms.

SAVING OUR BUMBLEBEES

September 5, 2019 → 9:00 pm10:00 pm

Many wildflowers would not set seed without them, and they’re major crop pollinators, but many bumblebees are in decline. It’s part of a pattern for insects as a whole, symptomatic of broader environmental damage that threatens our future wellbeing; the fate of humans and insects is inextricably linked. Prof. Dave Goulson of Sussex University discusses the causes of insect declines – and the many things we can do to halt and reverse them.

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!