Questionnaire about UK wild food collection Questionnaire about ...

Questionnaire about UK wild food collection
Information collated in this questionnaire will form part of an Ethnobotany MSc research project
conducted through Kent University, by Lisa Fenton. The aim of this research is to investigate factors
that influence the increasing interest in wild plant food and its consumption in the UK.
Please complete this questionnaire regardless of whether you are a wild food fanatic or just an
armchair enthusiast. The broader the spectrum of response the better, providing you are actively
interested in wild food, I would like to hear from you. All information will be treated as confidential.
My aims and objectives are as follows –
• To understand what motivates people to learn about, collect and eat wild foods in Britain.
• To discover how they learn about edible wild plants.
• To look at what are the most popular wild foods and whether people would / do purchase wild food.
This questionnaire can be filled in as word document and emailed to info@woodsmoke.uk.com. If
preferred, it can be printed, filled in by pen, and posted to: Woodsmoke Questionnaire, PO Box 45,
Cockermouth, CA13 9WB.
I would be so grateful if you could try to complete and return this form as soon as you possibly can,
as I only have a week or so to collate this data. My deadline for this phase of research is the 4 th July!
YOUR PERSONAL DETAILS (This information will not be shared with third parties)
FIRST NAME:
LAST NAME:
AGE:
GENDER:
M / F
I give my consent to allow the following to be used for academic research purposes:
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
The map opposite has a text box
superimposed over it. To mark your
geographic location within the British Isles,
please use the space bar and enter keys to
navigate, and place an ‘x’ over your location.
Would you describe your location as?
Rural
Semi-rural
(E.g. small village)
Sub-urban
Urban
Post Code
(1 st four digits only)

REASONS FOR COLLECTING WILD FOOD
WHY DO YOU FORAGE FOR WILD FOOD?
PLEASE GIVE EACH OF THE FOLLOWING A SCORE OF IMPORTANCE USING THE SCALE BELOW –
1 = NONE
2 = MINIMAL
3 = AVERAGE
4 = HIGH
5 = ESSENTIAL
My Reasons for gathering and learning about wild plant foods are -
Importance
Score
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
For personal recreational learning
To increase self-sufficiency
To increase knowledge for potential times of emergency/ need
To feel connected with the natural world/ environment
To explore/ sustain a deeper spiritual connection to nature
To feel connected to our past heritage
To keep alive knowledge of our environment
HEALTH
To know that wild foods are organic and fresh
To benefit from the nutritional qualities
To avoid commercial contaminants (herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, etc.)
To avoid irradiated food
To increase the variety of things I eat
LIFESTYLE
To enjoy exercise and fresh air
To allocate time to spend with family and friends
To enjoy the gourmet status of wild food
To enjoy the taste and aesthetic of wild food
ETHICS
To go some way to withdrawing support for supermarkets
To avoid hybridised or genetically modified food
To avoid supporting petrochemical based fertilizers
To encourage sustainable harvesting, through non-destructive collection
To eat seasonally
To reduce my carbon footprint through reduced food miles
To enjoy free food
ECONOMIC
OTHER REASONS:

HOW FREQUENTLY DO YOU GATHER WILD FOOD
PLEASE TICK (X) AS APPROPRIATE:
WEEKLY MONTHLY SEASONALLY ANNUALLY NEVER
WHAT ARE THE MAIN WILD FOODS THAT YOU COLLECT?
PLEASE SCORE EACH INDIVIDUAL BOX BELOW, WITH 1 BEING NOT PICKED AND 5 A BEING FREQUENTLY PICKED FOOD
TYPE. FOR EXAMPLE – NUTS, FUNGI AND SEAWEED COULD ALL RECEIVE A SCORE OF 4 IF APPROPRIATE. PLEASE ADOPT
THIS SYSTEM FOR OTHER QUESTIONS WHERE APPROPRIATE.
LEAFY GREENS FRUITS NUTS SEAWEEDS FUNGI
WHAT ARE THE MAIN SPECIFIC SPECIES THAT YOU COLLECT, AND HOW DO YOU PREPARE AND EAT THEM?
(PLEASE EXTEND TEXT BOX AS NECESSARY, OR USE EXTRA SHEET IF POSTING)
E.g. Sloe berries for Gin; Nettle’s for soup, damsons for jam…
IN WHAT CONTEXT ARE THESE WILD FOODS NORMALLY CONSUMED?
E.g. When camping, as part of daily diet, seasonally, or special occasions, etc.
ARE YOUR FORAGING EXCURSIONS USUALLY DELIBERATLY PLANNED, UNPLANNED OPPORTUNITIES, OR BOTH? PLEASE TICK:
PLANNED OPPORTUNISTIC COMBINATION OF BOTH
FROM WHAT AREAS DO YOU GATHER WILD PLANT FOODS? PLEASE SCORE EACH INDIVIDUAL BOX BELOW, WITH 1 BEING AREAS
NOT USED, AND 5 BEING AREAS COMMONLY USED.
HEDGEROWS COASTAL AREAS OTHER:
ROADSIDES
FIELD BOUNDARIES
WASTE GROUND
URBAN AREAS
WOODLANDS
FOOTPATHS & RIDES
NATURE RESERVE
PARKLAND
ARE THESE AREAS;
COMMON LAND PRIVATELY OWNED DON’T KNOW

LEARNING ABOUT WILD FOOD
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION SOURCES HAVE YOU UTILISED TO LEARN ABOUT WILD FOOD?
PLEASE SCORE EACH BOX BELOW, WITH 1 BEING NOT UTILISED, AND 5 BEING FREQUENTLY UTILISED.
BOOKS T.V INTERNET COURSES FRIENDS & FAMILY
PLEASE WRITE A SHORT COMMENT ABOUT WHICH OF THE ABOVE HAS BEEN OF MOST INSPIRATION AND VALUE TO YOU:
LIMITATIONS OF FORAGING
DO YOU THINK THERE ARE FACTORS THAT LIMIT WILD FOOD HARVESTING?
IF YES, WHAT FACTORS LIMIT YOUR ABILITY TO INCLUDE MORE WILD FOOD IN YOU DIET?
PLEASE SCORE EACH BOX BELOW, WITH 1 BEING NOT LIMITING AND 5 BEING TOTALLY LIMITING.
LACK OF
KNOWLEDGE
LACK OF TIME
LACK OF
HABITAT
LACK OF
MOTIVATION
OTHER
PLEASE COMMENT ABOUT ANY OTHER FACTORS:
SUSTAINABILITY
DO YOU THINK THERE ARE SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES SURROUNDING THE HARVESTING OF WILD FOOD PLANTS?
PLEASE COMMENT BELOW
PURCHASING WILD FOODS
DO YOU EVER BUY WILD FOODS TO INCLUDE IN YOU DIET? YES
NO
IF YES, WHERE DO YOU PURCHASE WILD FOOD?
E.G. FROM PEOPLE YOU KNOW, LOCAL MARKET, SUPERMARKET (E.G. BEVERAGES, FUNGI ETC), RESTAURANTS

WHAT WILD FOOD PRODUCTS DO YOU BUY? PLEASE SCORE EACH BOX BELOW, WITH 1 BEING NOT PURCHASED AND
5 BEING FREQUENTLY PURCHASED.
WILD SALAD HERBS FRUITS LEAFY VEG NUTS SEAWEEDS
FUNGI BEVERAGES PICKLES CHUTNEYS JAMS
PLEASE GIVE A REASON FOR WHY YOU DO OR DO NOT, PURCHASE WILD FOODS:
GROWING WILD FOODS
IF A WILD PLANT WERE TO BE GROWN ORGANICALLY FOR COMMERCIAL CONSUMPTION, WOULD YOU STILL SEE IT AS BEING ‘WILD’?
YES
NO
PLEASE EXPLAINE WHY?
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMPLETING THIS QUESTIONAIRRE; YOUR ANSWERS AND OPINION WILL BE A VERY VALUABLE ADDITION TO
MY RESEARCH.
PLEASE SAVE THIS DOCUMENT AS WILD-FOOD-‘YOUR NAME’ AND EMAIL IT AS AN ATTACHMENT TO INFO@WOODSMOKE.UK.COM
A SPEEDY CORRESPONDANCE WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED, AS MY DEADLINE IS THE 4 TH OF JULY.
IF YOU ARE A COMITTED FORAGER AND INCLUDE WILD FOODS IN YOUR DIET, IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE A CHAT
AND TO HEAR MORE ABOUT YOUR FORAGING ACTIVITIES. IF YOU WOULD BE OPEN TO THIS, I WOULD BE REALLY
GRATEFULL IF YOU WOULD INCLUDE YOUR PHONE NUMBER BELOW:
Tel:
THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME.
KIND REGARDS,
LISA FENTON