With Lucy O’Hagan

Follow the path of your ancestors and learn how to gather and process wild foods and medicines from coast to forest, river to field and all the hedgerows along the edges.

Join ethnobotanist and ancestral skills teacher Lucy O’Hagan on this 5 day journey to explore your inner and outer nature. We will rewild our minds and bodies as we explore a new environment from which to harvest nature’s bounty each day. You will learn how to safely identify and sustainably forage from a range of plants, trees, fungi, seaweed & lichens.

Autumn is perhaps one of the most exciting times to be a forager. The abundance is overwhelming as the fruits of the year ripen, the nuts fall to the forest floor, the roots swell with medicine and the fungi burst through the carpeted woodland. Our ancestors surely would have filled their stores in preparation for the long winter ahead. So too you will fill your basket and process plants into salve, syrup, vinegar and pickles to take away with you.

We will also explore ancestral methods of cookery without pots or pans, with the sky as the roof and the earth as the floor; this course will finish with a wild feast with food prepared by you and supplemented with local & organic produce.

This week will be woven together with focus on taking time to relax, unplug and reconnect with our inner and outer landscapes. You will be invited to take part in nature-based meditations and sensory awareness activities to connect you on a deeper level to the earth and our plant allies.

Each day will begin at 10am as we head out to a local area to identify and gather wild produce. Lucy has been foraging in this area for the past 7 years and knows some ideal spots!

Once we have gathered enough, we will return to The Song House to process nature’s gifts into food or medicine to take home with us or use in our feast.

The days will end at 5pm, giving you time to explore the local area and maybe enjoy a pint of Guinness at a local music session.

Food

Wholesome and nutritious breakfasts and lunches will be provided, as well as the wild, foraged feast at the end of the course. Dinner on the night of arrival will also be provided.

You will need to buy (or forage!) food to cook for 3 nights and we recommend that people do this in cooking groups. This is a great way to practically use the plants you have foraged that day and to incorporate the wild cuisine into your life. We love creativity!

Accommodation

The Song House

Nestled in the foothills of Muckish mountain in the wilds of the Donegal Gaeltacht in the north west of Ireland, the Song House is an inspirational retreat centre, a place to reconnect with the essentials in life. Surrounded by elemental nature- the wild Atlantic ocean, expansive sandy beaches, mountains and bogland, it is a place that fosters reconnection to ourselves, rekindling a sense of community, and our place on Mother Earth.

The song house can sleep up to 13 people in shared rooms and there is also space for camping at a reduced fee. There is a huge table around which to share our meals and a large workshop space to process our harvest, overlooking Muckish mountain.

As the name suggests, it’s a song house! So expect to kick start your day with a song to lift your spirit and give thanks to the land.

What’s included?

• Accommodation for 5 nights in The Song House
• Meals- Breakfast 5 mornings & Lunches 4 days, Dinner on 2 nights
• Expert tuition on wild plants and medicine
• Materials to make and bring home some wildcrafted medicine & food
• A poetry reading and inspiration from poet & writer, Cathal Ó Searcaigh

What’s not included?

– Transport to and from the Song House. Guests will be expected to make their own way to the house. Full directions and transport options will be given. We will car share to the other venues.

– Any snack food outside of the three meals provided.

Timetable

Thursday 15th October: Arrival from 5pm, Dinner at 7pm. Induction and brief overview of the week.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: Breakfast from 8am, Leaving at 9.30am for foraging area. Coast/ Forest/ River/ Bog. Return at 2pm to start processing plants.

Monday 19th: Processing plants for Wild feast. Exploring prehistoric cooking methods. Wild Feast at 7pm.

Tuesday: Breakfast, final gratitude and farewell.

Pricing

Cost: €500

To book, contact Lucy via email at phoenixforestschool@gmail.com