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Wildcrafting is the practice of harvesting and using wild materials
for food, construction and craft. The kinds of things people might
find are mushrooms, driftwood, flowers, feathers, rocks, shells,
grains, saps, quills, clay, wicker, burls, seaweed, weeds, nuts,
food, herbs, berries, seeds, cones, roots, bark, dye, antlers,
fur, bones, leather, teeth, mosses and ferns. And, that list is
just a good start. Wildcrafting is the art of using 'found' materials.
Wildcrafting does not always have to be done in the wild. There
are opportunities for wildcrafting in urban and suburban areas
as well. There are many 'wild' patches in the city that may have
useful items growing in them. But, a more productive approach
might be to see what people have growing in their yards. For example,
we have noticed that folks plant crab apple or cherry trees for
their flowers and almost never harvest the fruit. This is an opportunity
to offer to harvest for a share of the crop or a return of a portion
of jelly that might be made.
In wildcrafting we are gleaning the bounty of the earth and doing
so with humility and thankfulness. Some guidelines might temper
our approach:
Wildcrafting does not have to wait for something useful to grow in an area. We can add elements that will become productive over time. Herbs can be introduced to grow in right-of-ways; fruit or nut trees may be planted in wild areas. Any area of derelict or marginal land has the potential to grow things that are suitable for wildcrafting. While we do not necessarily wish to cultivate and farm these areas, scattering seeds of things we might wish to harvest to see if they will take advantage of a location is certainly permissible.
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