Wild picking | Become a woodsman

Ah, marvel at discovering a patch of wild carrots, morels or vanilla plants of sweet clover! Our ecosystems are home to food that is close at hand. A pretext to develop another relationship with nature, wild picking transforms a hike in the forest into a treasure hunt! Here are 10 activities to discover the nourishing spaces of the boreal territory.

Posted at 11:30 a.m.

Isabelle Morin

Isabelle Morin
The Press

The mushroom party


PHOTO GUILLAUME ROY, ARCHIVES SPECIAL COLLABORATION

sheepstooth mushrooms

Kamouraska has declared September the month of mushrooms. From September 16 to 18, the municipality of Bas-Saint-Laurent is renewing its Forest Mushroom Festival with an offer of local feasts, a mushroom market, “mycological food” kiosks and training and excursions to discover the truffles of the region. Quebec and forest mushrooms.

In Montreal, the Mycoboutique has been promoting wild mushrooms throughout Quebec since 2006 and offers a generous range of activities 12 months out of 12: excursions, workshops, training and conferences. Learn all about mycology.

Learn from the pioneers

Gourmet sauvage is no longer to be presented in the world of wild picking. A leader in the movement for foresters, the company is dedicated to education, respect for nature and offers a wide range of forest products in its online store. For several years, Gourmet Sauvage has been introducing the region to outdoor enthusiasts and gourmet hikers in the Laurentians. In the spring, she added webinars to her offer that we won’t want to miss next season. Registration for this six-month training will take place next April.

Wild territory deep in the mountains of Charlevoix


PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES

Pick up and camping at Territoire in Charlevoix

In a network of several kilometers of trails in the forest, hikers-gatherers-campers find a vast playground and spectacular views of the river and the surrounding nature. From September 23 to 25, the Territoire nature accommodation center offers boreal heritage discovery workshops with picker and founder of Morille Québec Simon-Pierre Murdock. These workshops are offered to those who stay in its cozy refuges and its archipelagos of campsites.

The heritage of the region of Bellechasse

Specialized in permaculture, the Les choux gras cooperative is interested in the relationship between plants and their territory, as well as in all those specimens that we come across without suspecting their virtues… the lamb’s quarters, nicknamed chou gras, for example! The cooperative offers foraging workshops in the wild pantry of the Chaudière-Appalaches region. The activities, spread over different times of the year, include training, picking and a tasting of wild products.

A certain taste of the forest


PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS

Former lawyer Laurence Burton shares her passion for wild plants with her guide A taste of the forest.

Former lawyer Laurence Burton has a passion for wild plants. She makes it her mission to share it through writing with her guide. A taste of the forest and its guided hikes. Trained in herbalism at the Académie herboliste du Québec as well as in identification and picking at the Lanaudière Forestry Association, she also offers various activities to discover wild edible, medicinal and survival plants online.

Nature seen by gourmets

La Coop de l’arbre is involved in arboriculture, cabinetmaking, environmental awareness and the marketing of forest foods from its cooperative of pickers. Forêt Gourmande is its forestry education and gourmet tourism project over four seasons. In the Massif forest and other undergrowth of Charlevoix, the cooperative presents its gourmet products, guided tours in the forest all year round and a small museum of interpretation of wild flora with a passionate guide. The workshops are offered in long or family formulas.

Vitaforêt in Lanaudière


PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS

Currants and violets on bedstraw background

With Vitaforêt, workshops presented by urban planner Céline Bouchard, trained in the collection of non-timber forest products, the seed artisan Les jardins de l’Écoumène explores wild plants and mushrooms. These discovery workshops take place on the 100 acres of mountainous land of the Écoumène, located in Saint-Damien in Lanaudière. On site or through its website, the company sells its organic seeds and thus aims to ensure the survival of certain heritage lines.

Picking in Estrie

La Cueillette invites botanist Joanie Bélanger to observe, pick and fill your basket with gourmet and beneficial wild plants. Several workshops are offered throughout the seasons. We take advantage of this visit to Saint-Adrien, in the Eastern Townships, to get some dried forest vegetables, in sauce or marinated, because La Cueillette also processes wild plants. These products will soon be available in its online store.

Learn to pick at home

For anyone interested in the power of plants, Flower Souls is a wealth of information. The school offers workshops on its premises and online where the secrets of herbalism, aromatherapy and the manufacture of natural products are explored. One of these training sessions, presented in four videos, focuses on the responsible harvesting of wild plants. To know when, where and what to pick.


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