Today on Mushroom Hour we have are honored to be joined by Welsh wild food expert Daniel Butler. Daniel is an environmental writer and wild food enthusiast, starting as a boy with ferreted rabbits and moving on to herbs and mushrooms in his 20s. He leads guided hedgerow and fungal forays from his Welsh smallholding through the summer and autumn. Writing extensively on issues of foraging as a source of free food Daniel aims to demystify edible plants and fungi to make them accessible to all. I’m excited to learn more about foraging in the Welsh countryside, how wild foods can add new dimensions to our lives and even the legal and conservation aspects foragers consider as we enjoy the wild harvest.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Moving to the Country, Discovering Mushrooms  
• Anglo-Saxon Mycophobia  
• Fungal Edibility & Toxicity in Perspective   
• Environmental Conservation in the UK   
• Property Rights in the UK  
• “The Charter of the Forest” More Influential than Magna Carta?  
• How Foraging Benefits Conservation Efforts  
• Cultural Influences on Foraging in the UK, Continental Europe and America  
• Mushroom Foraging Seasons in the UK   
• Exploring the Biodiversity of Elan Valley in Wales  
• Clashes with Authority in UK Forests  
• Bringing Together Conservation Authorities and Foraging Culture  
• Building Back Connection with the Land   
• Gift of Educating Others About Wild Mushrooms  

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Daniel Butler Website: https://www.fungiforays.co.uk/  
• Elan Valley, Wales: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elan_Valley  
• "Charter of the Forest": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_of_the_Forest  
• Northern Goshawk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_goshawk  
• Calocybe gamose (AKA St. George's Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calocybe_gambosa  
• Boletus edulis (AKA Porcini Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boletus_edulis  
• Craterellus cornucopioides (AKA Black Trumpet Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craterellus_cornucopioides