Welcome to Wild Revival, a gentle prompt to get outside and interact with Nature in a way that feels nourishing to you. I’m Jo, a forager and creative who finds both relief and inspiration outside. This publication is where I share my seasonal noticings and plant wisdom with you. Come in, sit down, I’ll pop some herbs from the garden in the teapot and you can join me in learning and listening from this more-than-human world.
Hello Wild Ones,
It’s turned so chilly here in Northumberland this week, but this time of year is my absolute favourite season for foraging. I’ve taught some wild medicine making recently, and I must be mirroring Nature’s season of abundance and generosity because I have loved creating some beautiful resources to give to you all! Everyone who signs up now to my emails here, receives a lovely free guide to Tree Energetics (if you didn’t receive this recently, check your inbox and spam folders but reach out if you still can’t find it!) and today I am sharing a recipe with you.
Autumn is the season of wild berries, and the hedgerows are ripening with a rainbow of colour. Dark drooping clusters of Elderberries, bright red Rosehips on long thorny branches, dark red Hawthorn berries like miniature apples on craggy trees, and familiar Blackberries swelling on bramble vines. All of these fruits are fantastic medicine for our bodies in this season, preparing our immune systems for Winter, boosting our Vitamin C levels and supporting this seasonal transition.
This recipe is an adaptable method to make a simple folk remedy, an Oxymel. Oxy meaning acid and ‘meli’ meaning honey in both ancient Greek and Latin, this sweet and sour mixture has been used for thousands of years, to preserve herbs and extract their properties into a medicine that is delicious and beneficial. If you wish to avoid honey you can substitute a plant-based syrup like maple or agave, but then keep the mixture in the fridge so it keeps longer.
Here is the recipe with just one last tip from me - use the best ingredients you can afford and find. Food is medicine, and medicine is feeding and fuelling our bodies with exactly what we need to thrive. I buy Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) that is organic and ‘with the mother’ which means that it is raw, untreated and unfiltered to keep all the goodness in. Honey can range from super-local, small-batch and raw, right through to being imported and blended; the local-to-you honeys will have more medicinal benefit to your body, and the less processed they are, the more active compounds will be retained in it.
How to learn with me
In-person workshops coming up in Northumberland
The next 2 dates for our Wild Hygge group are Sunday 20th October and Sunday 17th November 2-4pm, at Palace Green Pavilion in Berwick. It costs £12 to attend a session (concessions available via email request) and we journey into the season together, finding out what we can forage to eat, heal or craft, and celebrating the season we are in alongside the campfire and foraged herbal teas! Book Wild Hygge by emailing me: woodland-jo@outlook.com
I’m back with Becca Poremba from Flow In Felton CIC on Friday 15th November for a lovely retreat day - Yoga with Becca followed by a Foraging Walk and Plant Medicine workshop, healthy homemade lunch and great company. It runs from 10am-1.30pm and costs £35/£20 concession. I’ve attended these sessions as both a participant and a workshop leader, and they really are a treat for your whole being! Book the retreat by emailing Becca: rporemb@hotmail.co.uk
Learn with me online
To get even more recipe cards like this one, plant ID guides, foraging tips and information, and sensitive, spirit-full Nature connection guidance, upgrade to my paid Substack membership. I share longer posts with loads more detail about wild plants and what to notice in each season, you get a download every month, and over the year you will build up your resources and your confidence in going out and deepening your relationship with the landscape. There’s so much inspiration out there and the Earth loves to connect with us, too. I’d love to see you there and get to know you as we journey together!
Thankyou for being here! I hope you enjoy this recipe; you can reach out with any questions or comments (and to book a workshop) by replying directly to this email, or emailing me on woodland-jo@outlook.com
See you in the hedgerows,
Jo xxx
Thank you Jo x