What is more wholesome than feasting on fresh fruits?
Foraging them with an eco-drag king!
Listening to poetry,
Learning in community,
Fostering kinship-based ecology.
Of course.
FORAGING is…
Collecting food from “the wild” (and the urban!).
Knowing about plants, their properties, where to find them and how to eat them.
Yes, and also…
A practice of curiosity and continuous learning.
A practice of looking closely and connecting.
A practice of improvisation and experimentation.
A practice of self-reliance and communal care.
A practice of finding things in the margins and unexpected places.
Foraging is not about extracting resources, it is about being resourceful and resourcing ourselves & fellow beings.
Foraging requires fostering.
Foraging is a queer practice.
This is an interactive, supportive and surprising workshop:
Eyes wide, ears open, hands on, nose active, taste awake. Look at that – all 5 senses! How curious 🤔
Actually, that’s another important sense – curiosity! And we will use it not only to discover plants and their edibility, but what foraging is and how we might foster a connected kinship with nature. One based in respect & responsibility, abundance & community, taking & giving. And how the experience of queerness intersects with the practice of foraging.
What to expect:
🤩 Walking (approx. 1-2km at Mile Oak, 2-3km at Falmer)
🤩 Asking lots of questions and (some) answers
🤩 Finding and learning together
🤩 Resources for self-learning
🤩 Getting close up with nature
🤩 Poetry
🤩 A human in drag
🤩 Playfulness
What you will learn & experience:
🍀 How to ID and research plants
🍀 How to forage sustainably and safely
🍀 Ideas for preserving and eating
🍀 Details on plant lives & their ecosystem (depending on what we find)
🍀 Food for body & mind
🍀 How concepts and approaches to foraging & fostering might apply to life beyond hedgerows
🍀 Silliness & soulfulness
This an educational, yet experimental “how to” and “skills for self-learning” workshop with performance elements, rather than a show-and-tell presentation.
I will not be regaling you with a long list of categories and characteristics about a long list of plants. (Foraging is about finding resources and using them sustainably, not hoarding them.)
I will, however, be regaling you with poetry. And inviting you to play (along) with some silly-seriousness and sense-ationalness.
This event is for anyone and everyone – whether you’ve never foraged before, are a seasoned berry-jam-maker wanting to diversify your basket, or a knowledgeable plant-nut looking for a curious(er) perspective.
Join me on this dragventure into (our) nature – get lost and find something new!
Bring:
🎒 Clothes for the weather + waterproof jacket
🎒 Water
🎒 Snacks (optional)
🎒 Notebook & pen (optional)
🎒 Plant ID apps if you want to try them (optional) - e.g.: Flora Incognita, PlantNet, iNaturalist, PlantSnap, and many more!
Location 2 – Falmer
👉 When: 19 Oct & 26 Oct
15:00 – 16:30 (approx. 1.5hours)
👉 Where: Falmer, Brighton (Uni / Stadium)
👉 Meet: Outside “The Hive” Falmer Cafe, BN1 9PH
👉 Transport:
- Bus 3X, 5B, 23, 25, 28, 29 (A, B)
closest stop: Brighton University & Falmer Station - Train: Falmer
- Parking – several car parks
👉 Facilities:
- Toilets at train station. (The Hive cafe is closed.)
(Location 1 – Mile Oak (see separate event to book))
Welcome & Inclusion:
All are welcome here – queer, trans, LGBTQIA+ or not queer. All shapes & forms of bodies & brains.
Whatever ground you emerged from, whatever ground you call (currently) home.
Enter & engage with: Respect, Consent, Kindness, Open Mind & Heart.
I’m aware that I (myself and on my own) can’t make a space fully safe, but I do my best to make it safer and ask you to help me with that.
Discrimination, intentional ignorance and inappropriate acts will not be tolerated.
Accessibility:
We will be walking and standing for the duration of the workshop. We will cover up to approx. 2 or 3km over approx. 1.5 hours (depending on what we find on the day – nature’s surprise 🤞). The ground may be uneven, wet (autumn weather ☔⛅🍂). Aside from a little incline, fairly level. You are welcome to bring a stool/sit down at various stops.
Some considerations:
- Sensory: : You are invited to touch, smell, taste plants – only if you want to. We are in a public outdoor space.
- Relaxed participation: You can step away any time, you are welcome to move and stim however allows you to be comfortable. While all participation is encouraged, all questions, interactions and activities are invitations and you can engage as much or as little as you want to.
- Visual: This is a big element for foraging, but I can describe the plants we discuss in particular and you can touch them (well, maybe not the prickly or stinging ones, unless you want that experience).
- Hearing: Information will be freely presented and foraging is a form of improvised discovery. Unfortunately, this means I can’t provide written information to follow.
- Support dogs & humans welcome
- Am I overthinking this while also missing things? Yes, welcome to my own neuro-curious brain.
Please contact me directly via email for access requirements and questions before the event so I can prepare, bring materials and adapt – where possible. I want to support you the best I can so you can join in and enjoy the experience. So let’s talk about it! Unfortunately though, I know that not all events will be or can be adapted for all access needs. (Future/other events will provide different options and opportunities.)
About me:
Toulouse Lost-Track is an eco-drag king who follows the signs of nature in an attempt find his own nature, or perhaps escape his nature, maybe become nature, what even is nature… He’s not quite sure at this point. But he invites you to join him on his dragventures and discover a world of queer ecologies and possibilities.
Out of drag, Dagmar is a multi-(ad)venturous, multi-skilled and multi-cultural human who feels most at home roaming from summit to sea and everywhere in between. Their aim is to create spaces of belonging, possibility and empowerment that allow fellow humans to (re)discover nature, (re)connect with their own wild spirit and care for all beings with kindness and kinship. They do this through drag, nature connection, wellbeing workshops and outdoor adventures.
Contact: dragventures.nature@gmail.com
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/toulouse_lost_track/