The Oak Gatherer, foraging courses, walks and workshops
Learn to work with nature
Foraging walks, talks and workshops in Somerset, Wiltshire and South Wales.
Guided foraging walks, talks, workshops and retreats.
Come and join me in the beautiful countryside of the South West, or in the rolling hills and valleys of Wales.
Supporting local woodlands, conservation and community projects
Hi, I'm Matt
I'm a professional foraging guide, mead maker and (very part-time) outdoorsman, with interests spanning natural food, medicine, mycology, ethnobotany, brewing and homesteading. For over a decade I have been taking people into the woods on guided walks.
I am a big believer in helping nature, instead of just seeing it as a resource. For that reason most of my sites are conservation or community projects I have selected to work with, funds from my courses go directly to these good causes! I also cover a lot about how to invite nature into your own green spaces, so you can not only rewild yourself, but your garden too.
Contact meAsk not what nature can do for us, ask instead how we can work together for the betterment of all
Long and Short Reads
Welcome to my weird blog. It'll give you a taste of the topics we may explore during courses! Recipes, writings on nature, ethnobotany, explorations of folklore and more.
Rat Cake, Psychedelic Substances and Carl Jung: Why Bruce Parry’s Tribe is an Anthropological Treasure
In 2005, British explorer and TV presenter Bruce Parry became (to my knowledge) the first Westerner to partake in Ayahua…
Brew Mead Like a Wild-Man: A Pictish Recipe
In this recipe, you will learn how to make "Pictish mead", a brew based on ancient highlands folklore and quite a lot of…
A short and easy guide to growing Garden Giants (and other wood-rotting fungi) at Home
Wine Cap Mushrooms, or Garden Giants. Let’s say you are the sort of lazy forager that doesn’t like to walk far to obtain…
What people say
Matt was very knowledgeable and fantastic throughout.
What a fab day with so much learnt.
We learnt lots and probably ate far too much of our foraged foods :)
Out in the field
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