Outdoor UW program manager Dan Dunne says there’s more to foraging than finding food, and urban foraging is a great way to connect with nature’s resources.
“Foraging is basically finding natural resources of any kind,” Dunne says. “So it’s for both edible and nonedible things that you can use for utility purposes and medicinal purposes.”
Dunne is the outdoor education adviser at Outdoor UW, which provides recreation rentals and experiences and hosts educational opportunities for UW students and the Madison community.
The organization is in Memorial Union and runs several classes each semester as part of their Outdoor Explorer Series. The classes teach outdoor knowledge at a beginner’s level and topics range from backpacking, to geocaching, and even how to poop in the woods.
"It’s pretty awesome that if you live in the Madison area and are looking to learn new outdoor skills, you have incredible access to do so through Outdoor UW and Hoofers,” Dunne says.
Back by popular demand this fall is an explorer course called Foraging for Beginners, in which students learn to identify and utilize wild plants in Wisconsin. The students discuss the utility of foraging, learn about Indigenous foraging practices, and decipher between edible and nonedible plants.
Whether you’re an avid camper, an outdoor enthusiast, or just curious about what’s growing in your backyard, foraging is the way to go. Here are Dunne’s tips for how beginners can forage in Madison.
1. Know the basics.
When it comes to urban foraging, there are some basic guidelines everyone should stick to. For starters, foragers should steer clear of contaminants like pesticides. Avoid foraging along roads, because exhaust, trash, and chemicals often affect the area. You should also always clean your foraged items, examine them, and use your senses of smell and touch to check for danger. If something is sticky, gooey, or smelly, it’s probably nature’s way of telling you it could hurt you.
2. Mark your map or download the app.
UW–Madison is a great spot for foraging, if you know where to look. Dunne recommends downloading the app Falling Fruit, which is a crowd-sourced database for edible plants and free food sources in cities across the world. The platform was made specifically for foragers and includes an interactive guide to free goods in Madison and on the UW campus.
3. Develop foraging principles.
Because the UW–Madison campus area is flourishing with forgeable goods, it’s important to be considerate of your community and to know where you can legally forage. To learn about where you can forage safely, visit your federal, state, and county webpages and check out local resources for information on municipals lands. And when foraging on private land, Dunne says, you must have permission from the landowner. He also recommends incorporating "leave no trace" policies into foraging practices. For example, foragers should try to plan ahead, dispose of waste properly, and respect wildlife.
