Friday, May 16

Dear Reader,

Just across a river from Dot is a flourishing black raspberry bush. Though it isn’t yet bursting with fruit, when it is, I am welcome to help myself to it. I know this thanks to a crowd-sourced website called Falling Fruit, where fruit-loving foragers offer up locations, species, and other relevant info (whether a forageable source is on public land, for instance). Foraging is growing in popularity as a way to combat food insecurity, and also as a way to reconnect with the natural world and gather ingredients for recipes. 

Bluedot Institute student Annabelle Brothers went foraging on Martha’s Vineyard with local expert Jack Yuen and wrote, “I’ve learned that foraging really comes down to noticing.” Bluedot contributor Lily Olsen did the same when she was living in Los Angeles, meeting with a local forager “for an in-person lesson on how to feed myself from the streets of LA,” she told us in her story. And even in bustling New York City, there are foragers happy to guide you toward deliciously edible offerings. 

Are you forage-curious? Start with stinging nettles and then make a delicious recipe courtesy of Bluedot’s resident forager, Caroline Sörbum. Check out what our contributors have to say, and, please, don’t just eat indiscriminately. Not all plants are benign. (Just ask these folks who foraged for mushrooms.) 

Searchingly,

Dot