Diego Bonetto

Weeds advocate and forager. Promoting wild food and celebrating undiscovered -or forgotten- resources. Cultural practitioner living and working in Sydney.

[diegobonetto]

Seaside foraging workshop, March 11

Learn the what, where and how of beach wild food.

SEASIDE FORAGING WORKSHOP WITH DIEGO BONETTO AND OLIVER BROWN.

Ever walked along the coastline and wondered about all of those plants, seaweed and seafood? Are they edible? How do you harvest them? How do you positively identify them? Are you allowed to collect them?

Join Sydney forager Diego Bonetto and wild food expert Oliver Brown on a 3 hour workshop learning the what, where and how of collecting a meal from the seashore. This is a rare opportunity to learn from two of Sydney’s most knowledgeable people when it comes to sourcing food from the land and sea.

Oliver is an archaeologist with an obsession with where food comes from and how it gets to the table. This has made him enough of a forager, fisher, hunter, gardener, beekeeper and cook to take on the challenge of going for a year living on wild and homegrown food with just ten other ingredients allowed into the kitchen. All while keeping up the office day job and family life in suburban Sydney.

Check the work of Oliver on his website Fat of the Land and Sea and this article about his work on ABC online. 

Diego is an edible weed advocate renown for his offering of urban foraging workshops. Building on the knowledge acquired while growing up on a farm in Italy, Diego introduces people to the ever-present food and medicine plants that surround us. He collaborates extensively with chefs, herbalists, environmentalists and cultural workers promoting a new understanding of what the environment has to offer. Check a media review of Diego's works here>

WHAT WILL WE DO? We will take a walk from Gordons Bay to Clovelly's northern headland (Shark Point) and learn about the most common edible seaweeds, coastal wild food, littoral plants and their uses from an indigenous and cosmopolitan perspective. We will touch on issues of legal restrictions, ecology and fragility of ecosystems, stewardship and care for the land and sea.

This is an informative workshop designed to empower people with identification skills. Participants will receive material on the day and follow up links so to progress with their own research. The knowledge is widespread and old and this learning experience will empower participants by giving the possibility to meet, touch, smell and even taste the plants.  Always eat in small amounts as a start.

This is a family and pet-friendly stroll by the sea. Dress for the weather and bring camera and notebook if you wish to retain the information. Venturing onto the rock platform will depend on wave conditions.

As part of the workshop, you will be issued a booklet detailing the most common edibles of the Sydney Basin and notes on edible seaweeds. You will also receive follow up information about the plants we actually talk about in the workshop.

 Cancellation policy: This is an all-weather event and we will cancel only in the case of heavy rain or strong wind, in which case we would issue a full refund or offer an alternative date for your bookings.

WHEN: Sunday March 11, 9:00am to 12:00pm

WHERE: Meet at the bus stop at the end of Clovelly Road.  

[diegobonetto]

Seaside Foraging Workshop March 10

Learn the what, where and how of beach wild food.  

SEASIDE FORAGING WORKSHOP WITH DIEGO BONETTO AND OLIVER BROWN.

EVER WALKED ALONG THE COASTLINE AND WONDERED ABOUT ALL OF THOSE PLANTS, SEAWEED AND SEAFOOD? ARE THEY EDIBLE? HOW DO YOU HARVEST THEM? HOW DO YOU POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THEM? ARE YOU ALLOWED TO COLLECT THEM?

Join Sydney forager Diego Bonetto and wild food expert Oliver Brown on a 3 hour workshop learning the what, where and how of collecting a meal from the seashore. This is a rare opportunity to learn from two of Sydney’s most knowledgeable people when it comes to sourcing food from the land and sea.

Oliver is an archaeologist with an obsession about where food comes from and how it gets to the table. This has made him enough of a forager, fisher, hunter, gardener, beekeeper and cook to take on the challenge of going for a year living on wild and homegrown food with just ten other ingredients allowed into the kitchen. All while keeping up the office day job and family life in suburban Sydney.

Check the work of Oliver on his website Fat of the Land and Sea

Diego is an edible weeds advocate renown for his offering of urban foraging workshops. Building on the knowledge acquired while growing up on a farm in Italy, Diego introduce people to the ever-present food and medicine plants that surround us. He collaborates extensively with chefs, herbalists, environmentalists and cultural workers promoting new understanding of what the environment has to offer. Check a media review of Diego's works here>

WHAT WILL WE DO? We will take a walk from Gordons Bay to Clovelly's northern headland (Shark Point) and learn about the most common edible seaweeds, coastal wild food, littoral plants and their uses from an indigenous and cosmopolitan perspective. We will touch on issues of legal restrictions, ecology and fragility of ecosystems, stewardship and care for the land and sea.

This is an informative workshop designed to empower people with identification skills. Participants will receive material on the day and follow up links so to progress with their own research. The knowledge is widespread and old and this learning experience will empower participants by giving the possibility to meet, touch, smell and even taste the plants.  Always eat in small amounts as a start.

This is a family and pet friendly stroll by the sea. Dress for the weather and bring camera and notebook if you wish to retain the information. Venturing onto the rock platform will depend on wave conditions.

 Cancellation policy: This is an all weather event and we will cancel only in the case of heavy rain or strong wind, in which case we would issue a full refund or offer an alternative date for your bookings.

WHEN: Saturday March 10 - 9:00am to 12:00pm

WHERE: Meet at bus stop at the end of Clovelly Road.

[diegobonetto]

Storytelling as Art – foraging for change

I wrote this article below for the Finders Sharers publication by Open Space Contemporary Arts. I was asked to provide an account about my art, how is it that what I do as a story teller could be read in terms of contemporary art. I decided to share it here too>>

It’s raining in Sydney. It’s good. It hasn’t been raining properly for about three months. Parks, grassy verges and playing fields that are not profusely irrigated have by now dried out. Bare soil, remnants of plants and tough weeds amongst the trees are all that remains. But now it is raining.

My name is Diego. I live in Sydney and I do my best to care for and take notice of the environment around me. I try to educate people and encourage their awareness of urban ecologies and cycles. I teach foraging workshops to open people’s eyes to what is right in front of them and always hope they will pass on this knowledge. This is my art, my leisure, my job and the great majority of my conversation.

So how is it that taking people out for a walk is art? How do I frame my workshops as contemporary storytelling and above all, why do I think it is important to lend the skills acquired as a cultural producer to propagate very old stories of belonging and connection? How is what I do contemporary art?  By giving people the ability to name and therefore recognise and identify plants in the landscape, I enable them new eyes for our ecologies.

I paint new landscapes in people’s perspectives.

A common comment made by participants at my workshops is ‘I will never see the landscape in the same way’. This ‘way of seeing’ enables people to notice aspects of hydrology, weather patterns and soil condition/pollution. By training people with simple plant ID skills I open Pandora’s box right in front of them. I do so combining a set of skills well known to educators: story telling, pattern recognition, audience engagement via a fun and rewarding activity. By creating a lived experience I aim to counteract the widespread disconnection to our biospheres that humans find themselves in.

I trained as an artist about two decades ago, and while learning how to paint, draw, talk and perform, I lamented that I saw a lack of true outreach via those mediums. I found ‘art for Art sake’ indulgent and entitled. I wanted to act on the ever-growing plant blindness that made modern societies treat other species as furniture and items to be placed, used and destroyed for the service of our wealth.

Plant blindness is a thing. Biologist like Kathryn Williams and Mung Balding of Australia’s University of Melbourne, amongst many other scientists and academics define plant blindness as “the inability to see or notice the plants in one’s own environment—leading to: (a) the inability to recognize the importance of plants in the biosphere, and in human affairs; (b) the inability to appreciate the aesthetic and unique biological features of the life forms belonging to the Plant Kingdom; and (c) the misguided, anthropocentric ranking of plants as inferior to animals, leading to the erroneous conclusion that they are unworthy of human consideration.”

So there I was, my green heart aching while I witnessed my upbringing in a traditional farm in northern Italy regarded as irrelevant in today’s spectrum of priorities. I armed myself with the teachings of storytellers such as Dario Fo, social ecologists such as Stuart Hill, anthropologists such as Tim Ingold, biologists such as Tim Low and History professor Heather Goodall amongst many, and devised a strategy that would bring back vernacular knowledge into everyday life’s relevance.

To achieve the biggest impact I moved away from what is safe, restrictive framing of white walls (galleries) and black boxes (theatres). Nowadays most of my ‘art’ happens outside, on the walks I take people on, via mainstream media which enables me to reach a wider audience and via collaborating with non-art industries, particularly chefs, alternative health practitioners, environmental managers such as bush regenerators and academics such as geographers and sociologists.

Joseph Beuys presented the concept of social sculpture back in the ‘60s, arguing for an art practice that would create structures in society using language, thoughts, actions, and objects. I, and many other artists with me, move towards fulfilling what we see as our obligation as cultural stewards to bring back care to the land we live in.

It’s raining in Sydney. That is good. I believe the best part of that statement is the realisation that we noticed.

[diegobonetto]

Foraging as communion

Foraging as communion to place.

I am sharing here some amazing words by Tee, who recently attended the Sea Foragng Workshop I run with Oliver Brown of www.fatofthelandandsea.com

Feedback is so important to us educators, so that we can then adjust delivery and content, in order to make sure key knowledge has been transferred.

Thanknyou Tee: 

"There is magic and miracle woven into the stories of the land, water and air. Right where you are now.💫

.

When I moved to the UK several years ago, a foraging walk was one of the first things I did. It ignited a passion and thirst for knowing more of the wild. To become an explorer of both this world and the wild which lives inside of me.

  We had the joy of attending Diego's (aka @theweedyone) seaside foraging workshop last weekend. Half of my notes ended up being plant nerd facts and the other half were Diego's beautiful words about the importance of us taking responsibility as stewards of the land and more specifically, our own little patch and neighbourhood in which we live.

​

To see "foraging as communion" and to start to learn what generations before us knew instinctively. That nature is a gift which provides us with incredible medicine and resources to thrive.

​

He spoke about our yearning for a deeper connection to our environment through knowledge and understanding which leads to respect and care. For when we understand something, we then have the opportunity to deepen our relationship to it; whether that be with other humans, plants or animals.

​

The youngest and cutest participant was the most curious of us all. He was about 2 years old. Nibbling on dandelion and searching rockpools. Reminding us that allowing children to explore and engage with the wild is the only way these precious ecosystems will survive.

​

As we nibbled on some pigface and sea lettuce while walking back to the bus stop, I gave thanks for these 'plant people' who so generously share their knowledge and passion for the wild sacred earth upon which we live. The ones who remind us of the magic right beneath our feet. 🌎”

Image by @cultureclubbing and @trolleyd #wildedibles #wildfood #sydney #workshop #foraging #connection #communion #ecology

[diegobonetto]

In season now: Robinia flowers

Most people would have no idea that some of the trees that line our cities have edible flowers. Some of this trees would be planted in gardens as ornamental and sometime they even naturalised and self-seed themselves.

This is true of a cosmopolitan ornamental/weed tree common in many parts of the world: Robinia.

In Australia the glorious yellow foliage has been a council's favourite for many years since the 80's when it was marketed as an attractive (true) and resilient (also true) tree. 

This days there is much debate whether the plant should be used in landscaping at all, mostly due to the peculiarity of the plant to produce suckers (un-planned new growth from the roots). The varieties commercially available has been grafted on Robinia Pseudoacacia rootstock a common weed making the Golden Robinia a facilitator to weedy outburst.

Despite the problems with the plant, we are talking food over here, and the flowers are oh-so-good. Check out the yummy presentation below by Studio Neon or this recipe for flower fritters here>

Latin Name: Robinia pseudoacacia Alternative Name(s): False acacia, Locust tree, Yellow locust, Robinia, Black locust

Family: Fabaceae Known Hazards: All parts of the plant (except the flowers) and especially the bark, should be considered to be toxic. The toxins are destroyed by heat. Physical Characteristics: Robinia is a small genus of about twenty species of trees and large shrubs usually with spines on the branches. Leaves have many leaflets giving a fine tracery when viewed upwards. Sweetly perfumed, white pea-like flowers borne in tresses are followed by small brown pods with several seeds. The flowers are hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. It can fix Nitrogen. It is noted for attracting wildlife.

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Seeds are boiled and used like peas. After boiling the seeds lose their acid taste. The young seedpods are cooked and a strong, narcotic and intoxicating drink is made from the skin of the fruit. Piperonal is extracted from the plant, it is used as a vanilla substitute. All the above entries should be treated with some caution, see the notes at the top of the page regarding toxicity. The flowers are cooked and have a fragrant aroma, used in making jams, pancakes or a pleasant drink.

Medicinal Uses

The flowers are cooked and eaten for the treatment of eye ailments. The flower is said to contain the antitumor compound benzoaldehyde. The root bark has been chewed to induce vomiting, or held in the mouth to allay toothache. The seedpod is narcotic while the leaf juice inhibits viruses.

Other Uses

A drying oil is obtained from the seed while a highly valued essential oil is obtained from the flowers and  used in perfumery. A yellow dye is obtained from the bark and is also used to make paper and is a substitute for silk and wool. Trees sucker freely, especially if coppiced, and they can be used for stabilizing banks etc. The wood is close-grained, exceedingly hard, heavy, very strong, resists shock and is very durable in contact with the soil. It weighs 45lb per cubic foot and is used in shipbuilding and for making fence posts, treenails, floors etc. A very good fuel, but it should be used with caution because it flares up and projects sparks. The wood of Robinia pseudoacacia var. rectissima, the so called ‘Long Island’ or ‘Shipmast’ locust, has a greater resistance to decay and wood borers, outlasting other locust posts and stakes by 50 – 100%.

Notes: Black locust produces root suckers when the roots are disturbed and dense clumps may develop crowding out other plants. It was often planted around homesteads and stockyards and sometimes the dense thicket is the living reminder of former farming ventures. Although native to North America it has become naturalised in Europe forming thickets in disturbed land along roadsides and railways and reducing the view of the surrounding countryside for travellers. It has transformed grassland into open woodland in parts of Germany. The characteristics which make it weedy have been used to advantage in erosion control work in Hungary. The roots also fix nitrogen in the soil. Black locust is naturalised in WA, SA, Victoria, NSW and Queensland. It was sometimes planted in Canberra last century as a street tree and is a scattered weed in the ACT. It is still available in nurseries although ‘mop top’ cultivars are now more popular for small gardens. It is still used as the rootstock however and the problem of suckering has been reduced but not solved.

Check Wild Food Map for locations worldwide>>

More info> Wiki

[diegobonetto]

Weeding and Feasting Oct 7

Learn to identify edible weeds and how to cook a meal with them.

 Learn the weeds of your garden and how to cook them.

Join renown foraging instructor Diego Bonetto and permaculture urban gardener and cook Margaret Mossakowska for a halfday workshop. Learn how to positively identify common wild edibles growing in your garden, how to process the seasonal abundance and cook a meal to be shared. To some these weeds are a nuisance, to others they are a delicious salad and a seasonal treat. Learn about the most common species growing in your garden, along the green belts and in parks and reserves. Find out how they have been used for food, craft and natural remedies. Discover ways to safely harvest the urban 'wild' and enrich your diet with vitamins and minerals.

 Tutor Profiles:

Diego is an edible weeds advocate based in Sydney, most famous for his offering of urban foraging workshops. Building on the knowledge acquired while growing up on a farm in Italy, Diego introduce people to the ever-present food and medicine plants that surround us. He collaborates extensively with chefs, herbalists, environmentalists and cultural workers promoting new understanding of what the environment has to offer. You see weed, Diego sees food.

Under the banner of Wild Stories Diego has been working with council and institutions to provide content for community engagement projects. Diego is now collaborating with a cluster of programmers and web producers to create WildFoodMap. WildFoodMap is a Google mapping overlay facilitating a community-driven wild food and medicine plant identification while locating it. We’ve set out to provide a platform to flag sources of free food and medicine plants (native or not) living in the landscape sharing locations and related knowledge through social media interaction.

Diego has received a substantial amount of media including a Gardening Australia appearance, articles on Marie Claire, GQ Australia, SMH, and segments on ABC and SBS.

Wild Food Map: wildfood.in Facebook: www.facebook.com/WildStories Web: www.diegobonetto.com

  Margaret Mossakowska is a sustainability educator, organic gardener, urban food grower and founder of Moss House. Her passion for healthy, natural living leads her to share her knowledge and skills with others through a series of workshops that are designed to empower participants and increase their confidence to create healthier and more sustainable lifestyle.

She provides talks, hands-on workshops and foraging tours for her clients who range from local councils and companies to schools and community groups. Many of these activities are documented on social media. She is also a regular contributor to the Real World Gardener segment on 2RRR community radio. The Moss House garden is opened twice a year to the public to enable visitors to see firsthand what food and medicinal plants can be grown on a suburban block in Sydney.

The idea of Moss House grew from Margaret’s desire to reconnect with her roots, these wonderful childhood days spent in rural Poland, tending her family vegetable garden, foraging for wild herbs and mushrooms and in autumn preserving hundreds of jars full of summer harvests. This is when she acquired homesteading skills, which she has spent her life cultivating, both as she raised a family and during years working in the corporate world.

Over the years Margaret was interviewed for newspapers and magazines (Northern District Times, Manly Daily, Lifestyle Asia) and her garden featured on ABC Gardening Australia program in 2016.

For social media presence see:

Website: www.mosshouse.com.au Facebook: www.facebook.com/moss.house.au Instagram: www.instagram.com/mosshouseau

 What we will do:  

We will take you out on a walk in a local reserve, looking at the most common edible and medicinal plants. Diego will empower participants with key identification features, advise on how to sustainably harvest and present the variety of cultural ties we have with such plants. We will then return to Moss House Permaculture garden where we will harvest a number of plants and learn from Margaret how to process them and turn the seasonal treat into a mineral-rich meal to be shared, as well as learning how to use the plants in folk medicine.

What you will get:

Id skills and a light meal. You will also be issued with a booklet detailing the most common wild edibles of the Sydney Basin and follow up notes, recipes and links about the plants we actually talk about on the day.

 What to bring:

This is a family friendly stroll in the park, bring your camera and notebook, dress for the weather. Meet at Moss House before walking to a nearby location. Please wear walking shoes.

 When: 

Saturday 7 October Time: 10am - 2pm 15 people maximum

Where: 

Denistone, Sydney. Full address on booking

Costs: 

$60 adult $100 couples $45 concession/underemployed

[diegobonetto]

In season now: scotch thistle

Love them or hate them, the thistles are here, again. One of the early risers -as soon as the seasonal rains come in- is the ubiquitous scotch thistle, Cirsium arvense.

This is a  most hated weed as it grows prolific all over Australia (and indeed the rest of the world), so much that it was the first legally declared weed in the colonial history of this country. The first legislation ever written about plants on this side of the world dates back to 1852, when the state of South Australia passed a law to prevent the distribution of the plant. This was deemed necessary as it caused much pain to sheep grazers: the spiky seed heads getting stuck in sheep wool causing wool faults.

Scotch thistle takes his name from the folkloric value bestowed on the plants in Scotland, where the bright purple flower is the national floral emblem. Over there the thistles tell a different story, one of pride and strength.

The legend goes that one night, at a time when hoards of Norsemen used to pillage the Scottish shores, a raiding army were about to ambush a small village. In approaching the victims, one of the norsemen stepped on thistles and the pain was so intense that the screams awakened the whole valley, preventing the pillage.

Another story tells of the Romans, when on the way up north the British isles decided to stop the conquer two thirds through, built Adrian's wall and declared anything north of it to be inhospitable and undesirable. Apparently the fact they wore sandals to battle had lots to do with it and rather than marching on thistle's fields they decided to hold back on their plans.

Now, all good and fierce, but scotch thistle is also edible, and it sports a few medicinal properties too, so here we go:

Origins: Europe, North Africa, naturalised in Australia

Uses: Young leaves can be cooked after soaking overnight in salt. The stems can be peeled and then steamed or boiled. I loved them raw, harvesting the stalk of advanced plant before they go to flower. The tap roots can be eaten raw or cooked, also of young thistles that have not flowered yet. The dried flowers are a rennet substitute for curdling milk. The seed are occasionally eaten roasted.

Medicinal: The roots and a decoction of the plant is used as a poultice on sore jaws. A hot infusion of the whole plant has been used as a herbal steam for treating rheumatic joints. A decoction of the whole plant has been used both internally and externally to treat bleeding piles.

And so much more. Check this link from wikipedia, or this from Plants For A Future>

Or just watch this below. It's the famous scene in Braveheart the film: the gift of the thistle.

  * "No one attacks me with impunity" 

[diegobonetto]

Table of knowledge: pine mushrooms feast- Vivid special - June 11

Join us for a long table of discussion and glorious food in celebration for the pine mushrooms harvesting season at Custom Bar, while looking at Vivid's lights.

June 11, 6pm

2017 will be remembered as the amazing mushrooms harvesting season. It is now petering out, the pine forests slowly slowing down with its gifts of Saffron Milk Caps, Slippery Jacks and more of the edible varieties. Time to cater the last feast!

To celebrate such a downfall we are teaming up with head chef Patrick Haney and his kitchen to provide a special dinner upstairs in Junk Lounge – Level two of Cruise Bar in Circular Quay, while enjoying the projections of Vivid Festival light up the Opera House  from Sydney’s iconic Waterside Oasis.

A long table of knowledge, where we will feast on a 6 course meal and learn the wonders of the amazing produce.

This is a very limited numbers event (only 18 places available) and as part of the offering you will be issued information about the what. how, where and why of the seasonal activity that is the mushrooms harvest and complimentary glass of wine.

Whether you love mushrooms, or love Vivid's lights from an amazing point of view, this is an event not to be missed >

WHEN: Sunday June 11, 6pm

WHERE: Level 2, Overseas Passenger Terminal Circular Quay West Sydney NSW 2000

HOW MUCH: $120 Adults $200 for couples (two adults)

QUESTIONS? Give Diego a call on 0411 293 178

[diegobonetto]

In season now: african olives

On this article we talk about a serious weed of greater Sydney, as in Noxious weed. One of those plants that the government and land manager spend millions in trying to contain in NSW alone: African olives -olea europeae subspecies cuspidata-

This small tree -up to 10 meters tall- was first introduced to Australia back in early 1800s, as a fast growing, much branching, little effort edge plant. Boy it went wild.

It now covers extensive areas of the Sydney area and is declared as a priority species to be controlled in both government and private land. 

This is also a delicious plant, closely related to the commercial olive (indeed a subspecies) it carries the same characteristics and medicinal benefit. Olive fruits are widely used, especially in the Mediterranean, as a relish and flavouring for foods. The fruit is usually pickled or cured with water, brine, oil, salt or lye. They can also be dried in the sun and eaten without curing. The cured fruits are eaten as a relish, or used in breads, soups, salads etc. ‘Olives schiacciate’ are olives picked green, crushed, cured in oil and used as a salad. The fruit contains 20 – 50µ vitamin D per 100g.

The main issue here is size, this trees were never bread for big fruits, indeed, this is a wild tree. Yet the seed is rich in an edible non-drying oil, that is used in salads and cooking and, because of its distinct flavour, is considered a condiment. There are various grades of the oil, the finest (known as ‘Extra Virgin’) is produced by cold pressing the seeds without using heat or chemical solvents. Other grades of the oil come from seeds that are heated (which enables more oil to be expressed but has a deleterious effect on the quality) or from using chemical solvents on seed that has already been pressed for higher grades of oil. Olive oil is mono-unsaturated and regular consumption is thought to reduce the risk of circulatory diseases. The seed contains albumen, it is the only seed known to do this and an edible manna is obtained from the tree.

One on the best uses I heard from a while is by Trolley'd a local mobile bar, who harvest the fruit to make a tincture for dirty martinis, now that's a good way to deal with the spread.

I think the biggest missed opportunity here is in the foliage though, as olive leaves extract is a much priced immune system booster. The leaves are antiseptic, astringent, febrifuge and sedative. A decoction is used in treating obstinate fevers, they also have a tranquillising effect on nervous tension and hypertension. Experimentally, they have been shown to decrease blood sugar levels by 17 – 23%. Externally, they are applied to abrasions. The bark is astringent, bitter and febrifuge. It is said to be a substitute for quinine in the treatment of malaria. In warm countries the bark exudes a gum-like substance that has been used as a vulnerary (a medicine used in the healing of wounds).

More? Talk to any wood turner and they will tell you how much they'd like to put their hands on some good sized piece of African Olive timber, as it is very hard, heavy, beautifully grained, takes a fine polish and is slightly fragrant.

TIP: a distinctive feature of the plant is in the leaf. The very tip of it has a tiny 'hook'. Get hooked on the olives I say. I'm sure there's a marketing campaign right there.

So, when are we starting to turn a problem into a possible economic wonder? We have african olives coming out of our ears after all, let's harvest, rather than destroy.

Check out Wild Food Map for locations of some. Try the little black olives now in season and juicy, you'll be surprised :)

[diegobonetto]

Mushroom foraging and feasting April 29

Join us for a day-long outing in the forest: learn how to collect edible mushrooms, enjoy the provided feast and come back home with your own harvest!

Wild edible mushrooms foraging workshop and lunch in the forest

WHAT: Join us on a day outing in the State Forest. Follow the footsteps of the Italian and Polish families, wild crafters and gourmet food enthusiasts, for a fantastic seasonal treat> pine mushrooms! PLUS for this event we will also have Patrick Haney, head chef at Cruise Bar, to serve us a treat of mushrooms in the forest for lunch!

That's it, you heard about it, you've seen them at the farmers market, you ate them in risottos and paellas, this year you can jump on a bus to get them out of the forest! WHEN: Saturday 29 April 2017, 7am-3pm

WHERE: We're going south, on the Hume highway, two hours out of Sydney.

TWO TICKETING OPTIONS: You can meet us in Penrose State forest at 8:30am . Cost: $100 and then tag along as we move around in different locations SEE BELOW FOR MEETING POINT

OR Come to Burrows Avenue in Sydenham (outside Sydenham Station) by 6:45am. Cost: $130 No late comers, the bus will leave at 7 am sharp! ha! the joys of waking up before sunrise.

EXPECT:

cheerful trip

a learning experience

outing in the magical pine forest

lunch in the forest prepared by Patrick Haney

back in the City by 3pm

wild mushrooms each participant to go home with

WHAT TO BRING: suitable clothing (it gets cold in the forest) and shoes a knife and a basket or bag your camera for selfies WHAT WE WILL DO:

you will have a comfortable people's mover (unless we meet you in the forest)

we will travel 2hours south to Penrose State Forest

I will provide a thorough tutorial on the what/how/where of mushroom foraging

we will visit 2/3 different locations

we will collect mushrooms

we will have mushrooms for lunch

we will be back in the city by 3pm

Too many mushrooms to go home with? We will have a box each to bring home your loot!

FINE PRINTS: This is an all weather event. We will only cancel the outing in case of heavy rain or gusty winds, via email and phone call 2 days before the date, offering a seat on another tour or a full refund if you prefer.  Cancellations made within 5 days of the workshop will forfeit the full fee, or you can pass on your ticket to someone else.  

Share this event with interested parties

"Diego, I absolutely loved Sunday’s Mushroom Trip :) I was an avid wild-crafter back in my homeland, Michigan and have deeply missed that sense of connection since moving to Australia a few months ago. Thank-you so much for introducing that simple magic into a new immigrant’s life. — Felecia We really enjoyed our visit to the Penrose and the Belanglo forests and learning about which mushrooms we could pick. I especially appreciated your generosity with your knowledge, and that you acknowledged the communal and cultural roots of the practice. We shared most of the mushrooms we picked with work colleagues; and we kept a little for ourselves and made them into a delicious ragout. - Robyn A loot! Thank you Diego for the knowledge 4 years ago. Still going strong each year :) -Csilla"

I would like to acknowledge the original custodians of the land were this workshop will take place, the Gundungurra people, and would like to pay my respect to elders past, present and future. May your wisdom thrive.

[diegobonetto]

Edible mushrooms, right there growing straight from the roots of the pine trees.

I run wild mushroom harvesting workshops, teaching the craft back into the community. The people who come along quite often are amazing individuals, with a deep respect for nature. Below is the recount from one such amazing individual. Thank you Ella, beautiful words>>

I recently embarked on a day adventure with the beautiful and knowledgeable Diego Bonetto.  Diego guided me and a group of willing participants into the forest for a day of foraging.  

We travelled one and half hours south of Sydney. Diego drove us in the mini van and it was a great opportunity to bond with the fellow foraging crew. We drove to the State forest for the first forage of the season for mushrooms.

Edible mushrooms, right there growing straight from the roots of the pine trees.

The pine plantations in the state forest are vast and there are hundreds, thousands maybe even millions of mushrooms to be foraged and consumed. Diego's knowledge on mushrooms was extensive and I found him to be a humble and respectful man. I trust in his methods to protect and provide for nature and feel strongly he is a great teacher and mentor for all to embrace.

Diego informed me that this is one of the most sustainable foods to forage as it doesn't harm or disrupt the natural process. The mushroom is the flower of the mycelium network and once it breaks through the floor of the dirt ground, it gives the light and nutrients back down to the network underneath and then its job is done, then it is ready to be picked.

The mushrooms life is normally about five days. So picking prime time is around day two or three and this is where you will see them at their best before they go to rot. We specifically learned to identify pine mushrooms, found around the pine trees and slippery jacks. Being the beginning of the season the slippery jacks were a little harder to spot but the pine mushrooms were out in plenty.

Final words that stuck with me that day was Diego saying, “nothing is for free, not even the foraging, mother nature did a lot of hard work to create these mushrooms, nothing is ever free”.

May the hard work of Mother Nature and Diego continue to help inspire our community to be humble.

Ella Noah Bancroft 

Below a set of images from Lux Eterna

 And below a set from me, showing how magical it is to learn about nature's bounty, for young and old.

[diegobonetto]

Inner West Foraging Workshop, April 1

Sat 1 April - 10am-12:30pm

Learn about the most common species growing in your garden, along the green belts and in parks and reserves. Find out how they have been used for food, craft and natural remedies. Discover ways to safely harvest from the urban 'wild' and enrich your diet with vitamins and minerals. This is a family and pet friendly stroll in the park, dress for the weather bring camera and notebook if you wish to retain the information.

All guest will be issued with a booklet detailing 20 of the most common species to take home with you, see below for a preview:

Wild Stories a foraging guide by Diego Bonetto

WHERE: Tempe Station Carpark Richardson Crescent Tempe, NSW 2044

WHEN: Saturday 1 April, 10am to 12:30ish

CONTACT DETAILS: Diego 0411 293 178 info[at]diegobonetto.com

Cancellation policy: Cancellation less than 48 hours form the event will not be refunded. About the event: This is an all weather event and we will cancel only in the case of heavy rain or strong wind, in which case we would issue a full refund or offer an alternative date for your bookings. 

"Thank you for such an informative tour.  I really appreciate your generosity in sharing your knowledge and stories and all with such a humourous flourish."  -- Rachel, 2016

I would like to acknowledge the original custodians of the land were this workshop will take place, the Cadigal-Wangal people of the Eora nation, and would like to pay my respect to elders past, present and future. May your wisdom thrive.

[diegobonetto]

Mushroom foraging workshop March 24

Join us for a day-long in the forest, learn how to collect edible mushrooms and come back home with your own harvest

Wild edible mushrooms foraging

WHAT: Join us on day outing in the State Forest. Follow the footsteps of the Italian and Polish families, wild crafters and gourmet food enthusiasts, for a fantastic seasonal treat> pine mushrooms!

That's it, you heard about it, you've seen them at the farmers market, you ate them in risottos and paellas, this year you can jump on a bus to get them out of the forest! Last year season was booked out, and we are already booking out for this season :!

This is the first outing for the season, please take note that this workshop will happen on a FRIDAY.

WHEN: Friday 24 March 2016, 7am-3pm

WHERE: We're going south, on the Hume highway, two hours out of Sydney.

TWO TICKETING OPTIONS: You can meet us in Penrose State forest at 8:30am . Cost: $100 and then tag along as we move around in different locations SEE BELOW FOR LOCATION

OR Come to Burrows Avenue in Sydenham (outside Sydenham Station) by 6:45am. Cost: $130 No late comers, the bus will leave at 7 am sharp! ha! the joys of waking up before sunrise.

EXPECT:

cheerful trip

a learning experience

outing in the magical pine forest

lunch in the forest with BBQ wild pine mushrooms (Lactarious deliciousus), garlic and parsley.

back in the City by 3pm

wild mushrooms each participant to go home with

WHAT TO BRING: suitable clothing (it gets cold in the forest) and shoes water and snacks (do not expect to be fed of mushrooms alone) a knife and a basket or bag your camera WHAT WE WILL DO:

you will have a comfortable people's mover (if I'm driving you there and back)

we will travel 2hours south to Penrose State Forest

I will provide a thorough tutorial on the what/how/where of mushroom foraging

we will visit 2-3 different locations

we will collect mushrooms

we will have BBQ mushrooms for lunch

we will be back to Redfern by 3pm with a bounty of pine mushrooms

there will be toilet stops along the way and composting toilets available at the forest

Too many mushrooms to go home with? We will have a box each to bring home your loot!

FINE PRINTS: This is an all weather event. We will only cancel the outing in case of heavy rain or gusty winds, via email and phone call 2 days before the date, offering a seat on another tour or a full refund if you prefer.  Cancellations made within 5 days of the workshop will forfeit the full fee.  

Share this event with interested parties

“Diego, I absolutely loved Sunday’s Mushroom Trip :) I was an avid wild-crafter back in my homeland, Michigan and have deeply missed that sense of connection since moving to Australia a few months ago.  Thank-you so much for introducing that simple magic into a new immigrant’s life." — Felecia "We really enjoyed our visit to the Penrose and the Belanglo forests and learning about which mushrooms we could pick. I especially appreciated your generosity with your knowledge, and that you acknowledged the communal and cultural roots of the practice. We shared most of the mushrooms we picked with work colleagues; and we kept a little for ourselves and made them into a delicious ragout." - Robyn "A loot! Thank you Diego for the knowledge 4 years ago. Still going strong each year :)" -Csilla

I would like to acknowledge the original custodians of the land were this workshop will take place, the Gundungurra people, and would like to pay my respect to elders past, present and future. May your wisdom thrive.

[diegobonetto]

The rain moon

It's raining in Sydney, lots. My peasant knowledge tells me that it will be going for the full moon. Much of it falls on the coast, but the spread of the clouds bring also the rain further afield. This is good news for people like me that wait the whole year for that special time when the temperature falls low enough and the rain falls high enough to get to wake up the amazing underground network that is mycelium. And that means MUSHROOMS!

Indeed the flowering bodies of those special organisms (so special they are not plants nor animals, they are their own thing) come out anytime of the year, in different places, in different forms. But if you like me wait for the incredible bonanza that are edible pine mushrooms then this is the time you are waiting for. So, what that means is: YAY. it's raining, lots, that means the yummy slippery jacks and saffron milkcaps and a host of other treats are about to fill the floor of the pine plantations around Sydney.

It is still early, so don'trush to get your basket sorted, but I would get ready anyway.

I run mushroom foraging workshops so I get asked lots of questions about the activity. Here's a FAQ about Edible pine mushrooms in State Forests:

Are there any mushrooms yet?

Maybe, check your local spot. It is raining a lot in Sydney, but as soon as you move away from the coastal watershed the rain is not that much. It is also still a little warm (warmer than usual) so yes, there might be something out there but is still early days.

Can I do it myself? 

Sure, go ahead, if you know what you're doing. But if you never collected pine mushrooms before I (and everyone else for that matter) strongly suggest you go first out with some one who knows what they're doing. Even just once, so that you can see how to interact with the resources and the space, how to look after the ecology of the place and how to tell apart from what you want in your basket and what not. 

Is it allowed?

It is permitted to collect mushrooms in State forests pine plantations, as long as you do not disturb the trees and you stick to pine mushrooms and do not also get bush rocks or logs. Very important is to check for forests closures, as sometimes they get logged, and for safety reason they get closed to the public. Finally, respect road rules, as in no speeding, you need a registered vehicle to go around and obey the signage. Some forest allow for camping, others not. Check the list of State Forests in NSW and possibilities here.

How long does the season go for?

Depends, sometimes 4 months, sometimes 3 weeks. In Sydney last year there was an early show in February due to lots of January rain and a drop in temperature, but then it went dry, and the season was pretty bad after that. The year before there wasa very short season in May, but so much mushrooms as I never seen before, everywhere. And so forth. It depends, it changes. It's wild stuff folks. It does what it wants.

How can I get on your workshops?

Join the waiting list here. This year I changed the way we're going to do it. There will be smaller parties going out, some self driving, others with transport. The main point is that this year I set up a system much more flexible in terms of dates. I understand you want to plan ahead 3 months in advance for your weekends, but that is not how it works with nature. One of the forst lesson you learn about foraging for wild food is that you take advantage of the harvest when the produce is available. By joining the waiting list you will then be the first to know when I will take people out, and I'll let you know of workshops with 7-10 days notice. I understand thai might not works for everyone, but that is the best I can do to guarantee a harvest.

What if I go to the forest and find nothing?

Welcome to my life. The life of a forager. You cannot expect anything, you just go and check, and if lucky you come back with something. If very lucky you get a good harvest. In terms of my workshop I will try my best to foresee harvest, but that is no guarantee, unless you want me to set up workshops with one day notice that is.. :)

Just to give you an idea, in 7 years of running mushroom picking workshops open to the public it only ever happened once that we didn't find much, last year. That was very embarrassing for me so this year I changed the system for the bookings, in order for that to never happen again, hopefully.

 Look at it this way.

The first thing that you need to enjoy as a land steward is to look at land. Expect nothing back but the pleasure to go out to your special spots to see how things are going. As a farmer you do that a lot. You go out and check on the crops, see what's happening, check the state of the soil, feel the temperature of the fields, assess the humidity of the ground. You look and learn. Pay communion to the other species and the overall ecology. Every now and then nature gift you with something.

I tend to say thank you forest.

See what other people said about learning how to collect pine mushrooms here> The Guardian> The Slow Poke>

[diegobonetto]

Monday Foraging Workshop April 3

Take a walk in the park and discover the edible and medicinal plants living around you, on a Monday!  Mon 3 April - 10am

 Learn about the most common species growing in your garden, along the green belts and in parks and reserves. Find out how they have been used for food, craft and natural remedies. Discover ways to safely harvest from the urban 'wild' and enrich your diet with vitamins and minerals. This is a family, wheelchair and pet friendly stroll in the park, dress for the weather bring camera and notebook if you wish to retain the information. This workshop is been scheduled for a Monday morning for all those people who cannot attend on weekends. This is better as there is less people around and you can indulge in more plant knowledge per meter ratio!

All guest will be issued with a booklet detailing 20 of the most common species to take home with you, see below for a preview:

Wild Stories a foraging guide by Diego Bonetto

 WHERE: Tempe Station Carpark Richardson Crescent Tempe, NSW 2044

WHEN: Sunday 19 March, 10am to 12:30ish

CONTACT DETAILS: Diego 0411 293 178 info[at]diegobonetto.com  

"I have made an observation about what I have learned from you. By introducing the dimension of the different tastes of the different plants into my experience I’m am relating to my environment in a totally different and much richer way. When I walk into my backyard I no longer see different shaped green things, I am distinguishing between plants by look and taste. Thank you for giving me those eyes."  -- Nigel, 2014 "Thank you so very much Diego! It was such a pleasure to meet you and I really enjoyed the workshop. I loved it so much I am going to tell lots of people about it. Very informative and very fun! Thanks for sharing these resources and thanks for opening my eyes to the world of weeds :)"  -- Kate, 2015 "Hello Diego, I just wanted to thank you for the great workshop on Saturday, I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to pursuing this more. It is certainly astonishing to think how ignorant most of us are of all of this opportunity around us.... I'm constantly looking at my feet now to see if I can spot any edible weeds! Thank you for making it a fun morning."  -- Georgia 2016

I would like to acknowledge the original custodians of the land were this workshop will take place, the Cadigal-Wangal people of the Eora nation, and would like to pay my respect to elders past, present and future. May your wisdom thrive.

[diegobonetto]

Postcards form Bundanon

For us city dwellers to carve out some down time and immerse yourself in the landscape of the place is a treat. I have been coming to Bundanon Trust as artist in residence from about ten years, on a regular basis. Indeed I have developed my practice and thinking around plants and human relationships in those studios (see this posts from my old blog here>). I have honed my botanical ID skills on those walks and fields, and much of what I learned by observing here became the background of what I do now as a storyteller.

This time I am here with the Big Fag Press crew, for our annual retreat/get together/print/eat/talk bonanza. For our residency I decided to revisit a printing techniques that I learned while working with Italian artist Giorgia Severi last year. A simple, basic yet highly effective calcography.

Taking advantage of the resident etching press I brought together my passion for plants and stories related to them, and printing, by immortalising the species on a series of mono prints. They are stunning, the sap intermixing with the ink, giving hints of the natural pigmentation. The feature of the subject impressed so faithfully on the papers that it could well come across as a photographic process.

From left to right:  Amaranths,Food+ Medicine; Anagallis arvensis, Medicine; Biden pills, Food+ Medicine; Chenopodium album, Food; Conyza, Food+ Medicine; Malva, Food+ Medicine; Malva, Food+ Medicine; Plantago lanceolata, Food+ Medicine; Sida rhombifolia, Food+ Medicine; Solanum nigrum, Food+ Medicine; Acetosa sagittata, Food.

Each of the plants is well know to me, and everyone else for that matter, as I select common weeds. The reason to select such plants is the basis of my practice outside of what I do with the Big Fag Press. I am a storyteller, and I talk about old stories of partnerships, between humans and botanical species. Stories of growth and evolution, mixing in folk lore and science, highlighting co-existence and struggle. In many ways my passion for telling stories is the backing bone for my long standing commitment to the Big Fag Press. We have a big, old school, slow machine. But it can tell stories.

Some one recently said that crafting the new narratives that the world needs to embrace is singularly the most important job a creative can do in this time of change. I -rather than craft new stories- retell the old ones, as the narratives that we need to embrace have been told already.

Thank you Big Fags, so fun. Thank you Bundanon, so needed.

[diegobonetto]

Wild Mushroom Foraging Workshop Waiting List April-June 2017

Join the waiting list for April-June 2017 season  

Want to learn to pick Wild Edible Mushrooms?

Join the 2107 Season waiting list and be advised of upcoming workshop as soon as they get released.

Wild mushroom season vary between April and June, depending on conditions. We will offer anything from 4 to 15 workshops in 2017.

 WHEN: April-June 2017

WHERE: We're going south, on the Hume highway, two hours out of Sydney.

EXPECT:

cheerful trip

a learning experience

outing in the magical pine forest

lunch in the forest with BBQ wild pine mushrooms (Lactarious deliciousus), garlic and parsley.

back in the City by 3pm

wild mushrooms each participant to go home with

 MEDIA

Foraging for wild mushrooms in Australia, The Guardian. 2015

Warm April weather delays mushroom foraging season, flowers also affected, ABC Online, 2016

A mushroom forage with Diego Bonetto Studio Neon, The Slowpoke, 2015

Mushrooms in pine forests: the Good, the Bad and the Glowing, my blog, 2015

 TESTIMONIALS

“Diego, I absolutely loved Sunday’s Mushroom Trip :) I was an avid wild-crafter back in my homeland, Michigan and have deeply missed that sense of connection since moving to Australia a few months ago.  Thank-you so much for introducing that simple magic into a new immigrant’s life." — Felecia, 2012 "We really enjoyed our visit to the Penrose and the Belanglo forests and learning about which mushrooms we could pick. I especially appreciated your generosity with your knowledge, and that you acknowledged the communal and cultural roots of the practice. We shared most of the mushrooms we picked with work colleagues; and we kept a little for ourselves and made them into a delicious ragout." - Robyn, 2013 "A loot! Thank you Diego for the knowledge 4 years ago. Still going strong each year :)" -Csilla, 2015

I would like to acknowledge the original custodians of the land were this workshop will take place, the Gundungurra