Mountain Folk, Urban Foraging

Foraging and wild crafting can be a truly rewarding experience and meditational, if you let it be. Intuition plays a large part while keeping an awareness of respect for the land you are taking from and the plants that you are using. In the city, foraging can be difficult to navigate; it can be both intimidating and aimless to forage on a land that feels more metropolis than forest, especially when the latter is what you’re familiar with.My family is from the southwest region of Poland in Krakow, where we lived as Polish mountain folk. Some of my fondest memories come from their remote farm in Jamnica. I remember crafting poppy crowns in wheat fields while my cousin removed hulls from grain, chewing and spitting them like sunflower seeds. My grandfather brought me mushroom foraging with him when I was small. I often have flashes of plants he introduced me to long ago that I think I am meeting for the first time today. I remember being so curious about plantain and how it could be eaten, and that memory makes it a special plant in my heart. My family taught me how there was always an alternative medicine that a plant could provide and I welcomed chamomile compresses and black walnut tinctures made lovingly by my parents.I cultivated this relationship at a young age and in British Columbia I continued to spend time with the plants important to me in the back forests of my home. It was a haven for me where I could explore with my sweet pup. Among the ferns, wherever I was in the world, I could fall back into the mountains around me. I didn’t realize the true privilege of having such direct access to such a sacred space and when I took the plunge to move across the country to Montreal, I didn’t realize that it’d be the strongest thing pulling me back.Now I wonder, how to navigate sustainable urban foraging when all you want to do is find a car and drive to the closest mountain that isn’t Mount Royal? I’ve created a guide, compiled from my experiences of foraging as self-care and connecting with the plants in order to do so. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass helped immensely in appreciating what the city has to offer and how to sustainably forage and wild craft within its limits. It’s important to acknowledge that foraging is an act of taking. The benefits of the plants around us are a gift that we need to use with intention out of respect for them. Ensuring that you’re asking yourself the right questions while foraging, especially in high population areas where people may be foraging irresponsibly, will ultimately help sustain the plant’s future growth and population.

If you’re feeling a hole in your heart that forests and mountains used to fill, pay attention to the smaller parts of the whole.

Next, what are you looking for? If you’re a beginner, explore your area and find somewhere remote enough where you can familiarize yourself with the flora. I often find that the plants I am drawn to end up containing the medicinal properties I need the most, which has drawn me to work with my intuitive sense more often. Take some photos and spend a cozy evening identifying your findings and repeat. It’s important to really get to know the plants you will be using. Identify plants slowly and surely—benefitting from foraging as self-care starts with breaking that capitalist impulse for efficiency. You can never check an ID too many times! Once you have a correct ID, delve deeper into what parts of the plant you need and how you would like to use them. Never harvest or ingest a plant without being certain of its ID. I like to carry a pocket reference with me to make sure I am positive before harvesting.Pay special attention to which plants you are drawn to in that environment and to the environment itself. Is the vegetation sparse there? Is it close to roads and therefore susceptible to fumes and pesticides? Do you feel like you are welcome in the environment? Ask yourself these questions before assuming the plants can be taken.Assess how much of the plant you will need and how much the land can provide you with. It’s important to set an intention for the plants you’re taking beforehand and to take only what you need. Never take more than one third of the plant that you harvest in order to ensure a healthy growth and batch for the next season. Try your best to not take the roots unless it is needed in your intention of the plant, like dandelion or burdock. Some of my early summer favorites are red clover, linden flowers, and elderberry flowers (which I haven’t been lucky enough to find growing anywhere on a public road, but maybe you have one in your yard?) It’s important for me to first ask permission from the plants I intend to harvest, and to give thanks to them as well. This can take many personal forms, a whisper or a thought, a story of its intent—whatever you feel.If you’re feeling a hole in your heart that forests and mountains used to fill, pay attention to the smaller parts of the whole. Realize that if you cultivate a caring and respectful relationship with plants, they will give back to you, wherever you happen to be rooted.

Ola Kado is a self-practicing Polish folk herbalist residing in Montreal, Quebec. You can check out her work on Instagram.