Jonathan Eldridge

I arranged for Maria to come and lead a foraging walk for a community group in Barton Hill, Bristol. She is an excellent facilitator with an extensive knowledge of healing herbs and weeds. The walk had a really positive impact on those who came along, and was great fun!

abi sweet

Wonderful foraging walk with Maria. She helped our group explore the local park and see all of the "weeds" in a whole new light! Thanks for sharing all of your knowledge and insights with us, it was a really special afternoon!

Oliver Jobling

Absolutely loved our day out foraging with Maria! She really knows what she's talking about and made it very fun and personal. We will definitely be returning for another forage in another season!

Bryony Mann

I thoroughly enjoyed the foraging walk with Maria. It really opened my eyes to the healing power of a range of plants in my local area. It was so nice to wander, learn and taste...and all in very good company.

Oliver Dahmen

Excellent and fascinating walk through the countryside. Maria instantly made everyone feel very welcome and passionately shared her knowledge. Would highly recommend to everyone!

Holly Wilson

This was a very empowering experience to grow confidence and knowledge in foraging and using plants as medicine. Maria is a brilliant teacher! Would highly recommend the workshops and walks that Maria organises.

Sarah

I had a wonderful time on Maria's course at the weekend. Maria is a wonderful teacher and overall lovely human. Everything we learned was so interesting and informative and I am looking forward to putting what I learned in to practice. I will definitely join future workshops and recommend them to everyone! Thank you, Maria.

James Ransome

Outstanding! Maria took our work group with no experience in the subject (and in a very unpromising-looking park with mostly flat football pitches and a few random bushes) and opened our eyes to the magic of what's growing all around us. She's enthusiastic and engaging, and pitched the walk just right with enough information for us all to learn something new, but also made it a fun and enjoyable experience. Highly recommended!

Edward Counsell

Splendid walk on Purdown. Fourth time out with Maria--- and I always learn something new, even when we encounter plants that I thought were familiars. Followed up with making a batch of plantain balsam!

Anne Condé

The foraging walk in Conham river park with Maria was super enjoyable and inspiring. She shared some of her knowledge for local plants and their use but most importantly her curiosity and enthusiasm. I have been looking out for plants on all my walk ever since, what a beautiful gift!

Lucy Davey

Very much enjoyed our afternoon with Maria at Conham River Park. I learned so much about the plants we came across and their properties. It really inspired me to learn more and the resources she sent afterwards were very helpful.

Peter Ryan

Maria took 14 of us on a guided foraging tour around Conham River Park. It was really informative and has inspired me to forage when I am about and about with the dog. Will definitely be back in touch to enquire about foraging walks at other times of year!

Vickie Peters

Maria's foraging session was fascinating, thoroughly enjoyable and has given me the confidence to have a go myself. I would highly recommend.

Kathy Emery

We organised a 2 hour workshop with Maria for our friend’s hen party at Campwell Farm in Bradford upon Avon, near Bristol. Our session included an introduction, a short walk around the local area while Maria explained the properties and uses of various plants, and then we infused our findings into a herbal tea and made a balm with soy wax, essential oils and yarrow oil. Maria was very knowledgable, enthusiastic and engaging. She made a noticeable effort to be mindful of the nature of our celebration and we found the session to be very well organised and relaxing. She was kind enough to send some follow up notes too - would definitely recommend if you’re interested in getting to know the flora around you better!

Natalie Morris

Bought tickets for a foraging walk with Maria along with Gin tasting with Hendricks and Cocktail making at Hyde & Co for my friends birthday, what a fantastic afternoon. Maria is so knowledgeable and showed us so many different plants wth so many healing properties, I can't wait to start learning more, we will be booking more walks and workshops and even thinking of dragging our husbands. Thank you so much Maria you really opened my eyes to what is readily available to us in the wonderful world of Mother Nature

Rosie Greenwood

Absolutely wonderful walk with Maria at Cobham River Park. I learned loads, and it was a delightful group with lots of knowledge shared. I'll be doing this again at another time of year.

Becca Churchill

I highly recommend Maria’s afternoon foraging experience for anyone who wants a taster (literally!) of foraging. It was thoroughly enjoyable and informative.

Orla Stanford

This was such an informative and enjoyable experience. I really loved it. Received this walk as a gift and it was one of the best gifts I've ever got!

Kim Long

This was my first guided foraging walk ever. I found it to be well organised, had good structure but also plenty of flexibility for participants to be curious and ask about other plants that piqued their interest. I loved that people were encouraged to share stories or recipes for their foraging finds. I really enjoyed the pace of the walk, it felt leisurely. Not rushed at all but still started and ended on time which I appreciated. I had some foraging knowledge before the walk as someone who grew up in the countryside. But this was was just the education I needed to motivate myself to continue learning and spending more time in nature. Maria is very friendly, approachable, genuinely interested in people's input in the session. Maria is very encouraging but also respectful of boundaries, participation in eating or trying different things is optional and she gave gentle reminders of this throughout which made me feel comfortable and at ease. I have such a keen interest and inspiration to continue learning more about foraging so I will definitely be joining a foraging walk with Maria in the near future. I will be excited to book in when season's change to observe the development of plants and flowers etc that I tried on my first walk. Thank you Maria.

bethan moore

We had a fantastic time on Maria's foraging walk. She was incredibly knowledgeable, friendly and open-minded and really brought to life the world of using and eating plants that can be found all around us, even in Bristol city centre. Highly recommend!

Catherine Coleman

Maria ran a wonderful foraging walk with a large group of my friends to celebrate my birthday! The session was perfectly planned and paced to cater for the prior foraging experiences (varying from none to some!) within the group. Everyone went away fired up to put their new knowledge into practice. Maria is an excellent communicator with a great passion and deep understanding of plants. I would definitely recommend booking Maria for a foraging walk with your nearest and dearest!

marc wright

Maria was welcoming. The walk was great fun and learnt a lot. It has ignited my desire learn a lot more. Thank you, would highly recommend going on a walk with Maria.

Kate Daguerre

Maria took a group of us foraging on one of the wettest afternoons in memory but her enthusiasm and knowledge made the whole experience such a pleasure. I highly recommend Marias foraging walks to anyone interested in connecting with plants and nature more. I am keen to go on more in the future! Thank you!!

emma charlton

What a treat - even though the weather was a bit grim! I thoroughly enjoyed my foraging walk with Maria. It was really nice to amble around with my husband, dogs and a nice group of people looking and finding out about the different plants on our walk. This was a lovely present from my daughter for mothers day. If you're thinking of buying this for your mum - do it!

Sarah Webb

I have now done both a summer and autumn foraging workshop with Maria - and can't wait for the next one! Maria has a vast amount of knowledge, which is impressive, but even more so is her delivery. She has a delightful manner and sense of humour, engaging with all ages with skill and ease.

Nia Evans

Spent a gorgeous afternoon learning about the plants local to my area last Sunday. It was a brilliant walk and I've really enjoyed recognising so many more parts of nature in my neighbourhood and beyond. Maria is a great guide and I highly recommend the foraging walk for a lovely afternoon out in nature!

Rox C

I really loved the Healing Weeds calming infused oils and balm workshop in Bristol! Maria was great, super knowledgeable and very friendly. She kept us all interested throughout the whole session, and I've been using my handmade balms almost daily since we made them! I've recommended Healing Weeds to a few friends in Bristol. Nice to do with friends/ family or by yourself!

Sivani Balachandran

Really enjoyable, informative and engaging walk. Thank you!

Fred Kavanagh

I cannot recommend Healing Weeds enough. At short notice, Maria provided an incredible foraging walk in Morden Hall Park, South London. 15 of us wandered through woodlands and meadows, the versatility of "weeds" such as stinging nettles, elderflowers, and plantain, were revealed, as Maria shared her encyclopedic knowledge and foraging tips from start to finish. The group consisted of staff and students with various degrees of foraging knowledge, but everyone got to learn the medicinal properties of the plants we encountered, culminating in a group foraged-tea making session which brought the knowledge to life! Maria has created an inspiring community sharing seasonal wisdom on local plant medicine. I feel reconnected to urban green spaces and excited to continue learning. I highly recommend joining Maria's future events to dive deep into the healing gifts of wild plants on your doorstep. A foraging experience that feeds body, mind and spirit!

Catherine Barnes

Amazing. Attended the foraging morning on 22nd July in Conham woods. Maria is so knowledgable, friendly and enthusiastic. The morning exceeded my expectations and I learnt so much in such a short period of time. I have found myself looking at plants and weeds on my walks instead of merely trampling all over them! Highly recommend and will definitely be going again.

Tracy Gill

I did an afternoon's foraging course with Healing Weeds and it was just the loveliest time. I learnt loads, enjoyed the time outdoors and met some lovely people. If you have an interest in foraging, getting closer to nature and understanding more about the benefits of wild and woodland plants, then get along to one of Maria's walks.

Panos Tyros

Maria is an experienced and knowledgeable professional, passionate for what she does! Very friendly and approachable, she taught our group about wild medicine in a fun and hands-on way while encouraging us to try it. We made our own tea in the end with the herbs we gathered - delicious! I would recommend Healing Weeds to anyone interested in foraging, I feel more confident picking up wild plants after this course.

Rosalie White

We hired Maria for a private guided foraging walk for a hen do. It was relaxed yet informative, Maria did a really good job of pitching to the level we were at (mixed levels of knowledge and some waning energy levels being day 2 of a hen do!) She was warm, approachable, patient and knowledgeable. It felt really special and would highly recommend.

Phil Kent

If you'd like to understand more about the wonders and abundance of flora all around us, then I wholly endorse and recommend spending some time with Maria and Healing Weeds. Maria's knowledge and passion are infectious. Enjoy!

Martin Newman

Thank you Maria it was a very interesting and informative day, I was impressed with your knowledge of the properties of the species we found and their beneficial effects on our bodies, I would recommend Maria's foraging walk and hope to go again, Martin x

taylerorr

I couldn't have wished for a better experience and teacher, I went into this experience without any real knowledge of plants and foraging but left with a strong amount of information that I can put to practical use. Maria was a wonderful teacher that made you feel at ease and was happy to answer question you may have had, I was a bit intimidated before going but as soon as you arrive you feel at ease and also everything is explained to you in terms you understand, fun and super engaging for any age, there isn't anything I could complain about. I went with no knowledge but felt completely included in the group and I partially believe that is down to Maria who runs the experience creating a fun and open atmosphere where everyone feels safe to speak their mind without feeling insecure for saying whats on their mind or worried about being wrong. the people that I meet were also kind. you'll leave with interesting and practical knowledge

Sophie Pope

Maria was welcoming, funny and knowledgeable. The group had a lovely dynamic, suitable for all knowledge levels. Perfect for anyone wanting to improve their foraging skills or just connect with nature.

John Clamp

I joined Maria for a foraging walk at Stoke Park and would like to feed back it was a really enjoyable experience! I was quite amazed by the number of plants we walk past every day, some may even call 'weeds', which have fascinating uses and histories. Maria's enthusiasm was infectious so the whole group of us were spellbound from the off. The time absolutely flew by and I left with a head full of new knowledge I was keen to share on future walks with friends. Maria helped us to look out for certain distinctive features in the plants to enable us to identify them with confidence. It was nice to meet the other members of the group too. It was a treat to enjoy Maria's foraged drinks as we progressed around the walk. I am truly inspired and very keen to join a similar walk again!

Sean Mullin

I highly recommend Maria's foraging walks. It was a really enjoyable afternoon and served as a great introduction to the world of foraging. Maria's enthusiasm for foraging and herbal medicine was uplifting and made the experience great fun throughout.

Hannah Doe

Thank you Maria for a wonderful few hours. It was such a cold frosty morning and I had assumed we wouldn't find anything to forage but how I was wrong! there was such an array of nutritious things to pick and taste and smell, hearing about all the benefits and medicinal properties was so useful- i now feel confident that i can impart this knowledge to friends and family. It exceeded all expectations and my perspective has changed hugely - it was super informative and I now feel confident to forage for delicious tea or making a tincture for the winter months from things you can find almost anywhere. I am very much looking forward to another course in the spring. Thank you.

David Cross

Maria Fernandez Garcia gave a fascinating and informative introduction to foraging and herbal medicine in Hackney Marshes. Especially valuable were the insights she shared about the history of the gendered suppression of herbal knowledge, and the emancipatory potential of that knowledge today.

Amy Derrick

We had such a good time last week at the group we organised for our charity, thank you so much. We thought you were particularly brilliant and in tune with people and their needs. We loved how kind and knowledgeable you are, in a really inclusive way. We also loved how if you didn't know something you said so, it is really refreshing and makes people trust that when you do give information you are confident in it (ie you don't blag it!). The amount of information you did know was incredible though! Foraging itself was a grounding activity, using all of our senses which is great for mental health and wellbeing. We would definitely organise more sessions for our charity with you and would recommend you to other organisations looking to do something similar.

David Jones

Maria’s so wonderfully knowledgeable and passionate - she makes reconnecting with the plants around us so accessible and interesting. Thank you Maria - I’m inspired to learn more and share these connections with friends and family

Lucy-906 Bro

I had a really fantastic time foraging with Maria and the others in the group, its was really interesting learning about all the plants and I had a great time making tea and tonics in the woods 🌿🍁

Samantha Bond

Informative and enjoyable foraging experience

Danny

Had a great time on this workshop, definitely worth every penny. Learned a lot and now feel confident to start foraging for plants myself. Maria is very knowledgable and delivers information in a friendly and accessible way. Highly recomend.

hannah h

Came away feeling completely inspired and cannot believe how much I didn't (and still don't) know! I went back to the exact same foraging spot with my children the very next day and spent 4 hours there foraging and exploring. ..and they were just as enthusiastic- we have already had wildflower topping on our overnight oats, seeds sprinkled in our smoothies and wild leaves added to our salads. I cannot wait to learn more. Maria is so knowledgeable, warm and friendly ...the whole experience was eye opening. Oh and also I cannot wait to try the elixir I made during the session it smells amazing!

Richard Shortridge

Thanks Maria. I had a fabulous morning with you. Really grateful for you coming to my local patch and revealing new edible and medicinal plant wonders. I loved how within 5 metres of our start you found a few plants to talk about. This then carried on throughout our walk. Your knowledge was deep and as we discussed I would really like to do a walk in the mountains some time, a combined wild swim/forage. Thanks very much. Rich PS. If you ever want to know more about insects let me know.

Georgia Foreman

Maria is a very knowledgeable and engaging host. Her workshops are inclusive and cater for any level of experience of foraging. I found how Maria got us to touch and taste the plants we found on the walk a really effective way of learning about each plant. Highly recommended :)

tom palmer

We had a fantastic day with Maria at Conham River Park. We learned a great deal about the medicinal and nutritional properties of plants and trees that we would ordinarily walk past and not give a second thought to. Maria is super knowledgeable and happy to use her expertise to answer any questions and would often encourage the group to share their knowledge with eachother to prompt interesting discussion. The session ended with a delicious tea made with wild foraged ingredients. Overall a great afternoon, and we will be back again to do do one of her other courses soon

Addam Merali-Younger

Brilliant foraging walk in Leigh Woods with Maria. She is friendly and knowledgeable, and we both feel like we learnt a huge amount on the tour. Highly recommended and looking forward to putting some of our learning into practice!

FLORA Samuel

We learnt so much in one afternoon and explored a place we'd never been to too. I am drinking yarrow tea as I write this. Thanks so much Maria for a great experience.

Sophia Ortiz

Absolutely incredible! Would highly recommend & cannot wait to sign up for more. Maria is incredibly knowledgeable & delivers information in such an accesible manner which makes the whole experience great fun. Sunday well spent! Already been making teas with what we foraged & inspired to continue learning more. Thank you again 🌻

Mark Stanley

What a beautiful afternoon spent with a small group meandering down through woodland, and along a riverbank, guided by Maria. We learned so much, stopping every so often to touch, smell, and taste all kinds of leaves, seeds and flowers. Maria held the space really well and shared loads of knowledge without swamping us. We left feeling very inspired to add more foraged food into our diets.

Marion Cuthbert

I had a great afternoon with Maria. Her knowledge is wide ranging and she helped me identify plants I didn't know and their uses. It wasn't a route march ('m not young) and she was more than happy to answer all and any questions we had. There was plenty of laughing as well as learning She made a herbal infusion that actually tasted good! (I was a sceptic, but am a convert now) A lovely way to spend an afternoon - good for the body - and the soul

Henry Twist

Amazing walk with Maria in Stoke Park. She is an extremely knowledgeable guide and gave fascinating insights into not only the medicinal properties of the plant but also their place in folk tradition and lore. On top of this she is a lovely, warm, positive person. Thanks, Maria!

Molly Kent

Maria is such a fantastic guide! I learnt so much and it was a really engaging, fun experience. It's sparked a real interest in foraging, so much so that my partner and I have since been on a foraging walk with another couple we met on the course. Can't recommend Healing Weeds enough, I will definitely be signing up to another course! Thanks Maria!

Michael A

Had a really great time at Conham river and (being a complete novice) really felt that my confidence in foraging had grown. Maria did an excellent job of making us feel comfortable and gave us detailed explanations of the plants, uses and history/lore. She also gave us a task at the end of the walk to put our knowledge to the test which further added to the confidence. I would definitely recommend this walk to anyone interested in starting foraging. I may even do it again and bring a friend. Cheers Maria 👍👍👍

Free spirit

I had a lovely learning experience with Maria. We shared stories about the plants on the pleasant walk down by the river. I learnt how to make flower and plant cordials. Maria brought some different herb infusions for me to sample. All in all a super experience. If I'm over in the UK I'll definitely be attending one of her many foraging workshops again.

Kristina

Highly recommend Maria's foraging walks! It was a really enjoyable morning and I learnt so much. Maria's teaching style is accessible, engaging and interactive, and there was lots of space and freedom to ask questions and try things as we went along. Especially loved sitting down for a tea infused with our foraged items, with a beautiful view and a lovely group of people! Afterwards, I felt confident to take away all I'd learnt and have a go myself.

robyn sparkes

Our morning with Maria was brilliant. She has SO much knowledge and delivers it in such a chilled easy going manner, making it easy to ask questions and enjoy the time spent. We learnt so much and will definitely be signing up for more!

Gemma-Rose Nevin

The walk with Maria was so insightful and beautiful. Her knowledge for foraging is amazing and I learnt so much in just 2 hours! At the end of the walk we sat and brewed some tea at the top of the hill and had some lovely chats🌱💛 Would 1000% recommend Healing weeds. Thankyou Maria! x

Dawn Powell

Maria was very open, kind and encouraging, happy to answer any of our questions. The walk was great, very good value for money, and the time spead past! We were a varied group of ages and experiences and it was a really lovely walk in a wonderful environment. The cleaver water which Maria brought and herb tea which we foraged for were a lovely idea. I came away with enthusiasm to persue more foraging walks and to make my own herbal teas and infusions. It's great that afterwards Maria sent us a list of the plants we saw and instructions on making our own herbal recipes. A lovely few hours in good company. Recommended.

Lara luna bartley

Excellent! Learned a lot, and would love to do it again at a different time of year.

matty hind

Yesterday my best friend and I had the most magical and wholesome experience with Maria. It transformed our experiences of walking through green spaces, and we learnt so much! I couldn’t recommend this experience enough, please don’t hesitate to book it as Maria is absolutely wonderful, so incredibly informed and a true delight :)

Caroline Yorke

A week ago tonight I was in a group of 5 girls away for the weekend to celebrate a friend's birthday and she had booked Maria to take us on a foraging walk for a couple of hours. It was genuinely an utterly eye-opening experience. From the second she turned up Maria exuded warmth and fun and a wealth of knowledge and had also researched a route for us beforehand. We had a lovely evening walking in the late sunshine tasting hairy bittercress (which I have since found in my garden!), garlic mustard, dead-nettle, various tree blossoms, cuckoo-flower and also learning valuable lessons about what to avoid, all illuminated with a great blend of anecdotes, science and spirituality. Afterwards we tasted some pre-prepared herbal and foraged drinks Maria had brought along, I'm now an addict of goosegrass tonic! It has awakened something in me that I think will re-ignite my appreciation of my local habitat, I would thoroughly recommend Maria for any kind of individual or group foraging walk. She has a great way with people, a keen and vibrant knowledge and deserves every success. I could not recommend too warmly. Thank you! Caroline :-)

Frankie W

I would highly recommend this wonderfully wholesome experience. Maria literally leads from the front with passion and enthusiasm. She shares this during the foraging and it really adds to the inspiration. She is also open to feedback and welcomes each participant to offer their own opinions and ideas. If you want to delve deeper into what's on offer in the great outdoors and have appreciation for the changing seasons, then this is for you.

Georgia Bate

brilliant foraging walk around st annes and nightingale woods in Brislington. We nibbled some different plants, learnt which ones to definitely not nibble, found about about what plants can be used for (both medicinally and for cooking), we made a herbal tea picked from the woods and had some really interesting chats! Maria was lovely, really knowledgeable and up for going with the interests of the group.

Matt Winston

We had such a lovely day with Maria, she made it all super accessible, interesting but also light hearted. We all had a mix of knowledge about the different things we were looking at and Maria offered a balance that suited us all. Would thoroughly recommend going out on a trip with her if you are curious about foraging or even just curious about the outdoors itself!

Celia Somlai

We went to our first but definitely not last foraging experience with Maria (March 2022) and I can highly recommended to join one of her events if you want to learn more about edible and medical plants ☺️

Helena Murphy

Thanks so much for such a lovely, friendly & informative afternoon. I didn't know anything about foraging before I did this walk, and now I'm really excited to see what I can spot out in the wild and I've already started identifying a few things I can harvest to include in my cooking. thank you and would definitely recommend to others! x

Gina Pazienza

Maria is lovely and has fantastic plant foraging knowledge. I have really enjoyed every group I’ve joined. Her down to earth, friendly nature creates a positive learning environment and you don’t feel shy to ask questions. You have time to take photos, make notes etc. At the last group Maria kindly made us all nettle tea and sipping this in the woods in the wintertime was so cosy. I highly recommend Maria’s Healing Weeds experiences!

Zoe Carter-Beedie

I had such a fantastic time on this workshop. It was everything i hoped for. I already feel the first buds of confidence in Foraging taking hold. Can't wait to nurture this practice and integrate it into my daily life. Thank you so much, Maria!

Caroline Cadman

We had a wonderful morning with Maria. She is warm and friendly with the most incredible knowledge! We foraged plants that have great health benefits as well as those that simply add a great flavour to your food; not to mention others that are edible but not necessarily tasty (this is a key learning point of this walk!) I photographed the plants and added notes, other people were more sensible and had brought containers to carry their foragings. At the end of the walk we stopped to sample some nettle tea and reviewed everything we’d learned. Maria encourages you to take part at whatever level you are comfortable with so there is no pressure to try anything but she is able to advise and answer questions if you do. I cannot recommend this experience enough!

Terence carless

Really enjoyed the foraging and medicinal weeds experience at the venue. Maria was extremely knowledgeable and packed a lot of content into the three hour course. Would recommend ,can't wait to go again. Regards Helen .

George L

Such a lovely morning! Maria was super helpful & knowledgeable, the enthusiasm really comes across. I learnt a lot as a beginner forager, would definitely recommend to anyone who's curious about which bits of hedgerows are OK to eat.

Fiona Evans

From my neighbour… “Thanks so much for Wednesday's wonderfully informative and encouraging walk and talk on Stoke Lodge with Maria from Healing Weeds. Her infectious enthusiasm and confidence were really inspiring, and made me feel not only interested to learn more but also willing to put the knowledge into practice.”

Jack Young

Such a fantastic walk. Maria is so engaging and full of fascinating knowledge. Felt like I was able to connect with my local woods in a totally different way through understanding the different seasons and their effect on edible plants, as well as hearing something of the history of those plants. Would highly recommend for anyone wanting to connect deeper with green spaces in Bristol.

Beanie Rowe

What a lovely afternoon, Maria is so knowledgeable and friendly we all ahd a great time!

Hannah Bowman

I absolutely LOVED this workshop with Maria, it was really fun and I learnt so much.. so excited to try my immune tonic when it's ready and have been foraging more herbs for myself and making teas :) Maria was lovely the whole day was really well organised and relaxed as well - would recommend for sure

Komarcevic Jevtic

Prior to attending Maria’s workshop on ‘Immune Tonics and Autumn / Winter Herbs’ I was for a while looking for opportunities to improve my awareness of the healing properties of weeds and wild plants. This interest stems from my childhood memories of my grandparents’ skilful preservation of nutritious and immunity-building powers of home-grown and natural produce in Southern Europe. I joined Maria’s November’21 workshop in a beautiful setting of Bristol’s ‘Grow Wilder’ where I spent 4 hours learning, together with 9 other participants, about nutritious and healing qualities of autumn and winter Herbs and wild plants freely growing around us. The workshop was packed with information, discussions, reviews of relevant books and included a walk to a nearby park during which we were able to identify and safely pick relevant weeds, berries and leaves. Maria ran her workshop in a truly hands-on fashion which culminated in each participant’s preparing and bottling an infusion of their own choice (to take home ) based on their learning and using both the freshly picked plants as well as additional ingredients Maria generously presented and offered. This was enlightening as well as socially engaging - a wonderful bonding tool for the attendees. I would highly recommend this workshop to anyone with similar or related interests including total beginners. I would also like to thank Maria for her kindness and willingness to generously and enthusiastically share her knowledge and passion for 'healing weeds'. I have already booked a place on another workshop within Maria’s ‘Come Foraging’ repertoire. Svetlana (November 2021)

Sheryl A

Maria was phenomenal! No matter how novice or experienced you were at forging she really made sure everyone felt welcome and got something out of the afternoon. I really enjoyed the hybrid of workshop and walk and having a jar of winter medicinal herbs to take home was the icing on the cake. I can't recommend Maria and Healing Weeds enough!

Ethan Paul

What an experience! Maria has a vast knowledge and a passion to share that with anyone and everyone. Her ability to engage everyone was brilliant and she made sure we were respectful towards the natural world during our foraging session.

Gisela Norman

I spent a fabulous morning foraging with Maria. She exudes a lovely, warm, vibrant and enthusiastic energy. Maria shared her broad knowledge and experience, which I found invaluable. I learned so much about a range of plants and their medicinal uses that I walk amongst daily. At the end of our walk, Maria set up camp and involved us all in making a syrup from a selection of wild berries, which was so easy and tasted delicious too. I will be on more forages with Maria and I encourage others to join too!!

Emily Cooper

I had the best time on a foraging workshop with Maria. She is so knowledgeable and happy to answer all of your questions. We created some amazing cordials and picked up so many tips along the way. I would highly recommend Healing Weeds for anyone interested in foraging and herbal medicine!

Maria Lewis

Maria's knowledge is absolutely mindblowing! I didn't know what to expect and since we walked and foraged in a local area that I've been to before several times, I didn't think I'd be surprised so much. She pointed out so many interesting things to us and I couldn't believe how many plants that grow right on our doorsteps are actually edible. Furthermore Maria was incredibly knowledgeable about the human body and how the plants can affect it. Whatever the group asked her about the many plants we spotted on the way, she knew it! The other nice thing was how laid back everything was. We could take our time and completely go with the group's pace. It was an absolutely amazing day out and I would recommend it to anyone! Also amazing as a gift for a friend, you can't go wrong. And we got to take home homemade syrup too! Cannot wait to book onto my next foraging adventure with Maria :)

Natalie Hansen-Just

I really loved following the plant path with Maria on my first organised foraging walk. I have been reading foraging books in my spare time but have never really had the confidence to get outside foraging by myself. Maria was warm and welcoming and made me feel at ease. she is clearly really passionate about foraging and connecting with nature through the plants surrounding us. After our forage, Maria brought out her little teapot and by torchlight we brewed up our gathering. I will definitely attend one of her walks again and I have been foraging while out and about most days since meeting Maria.

Constance Osborne

We had a great time on the walk with Maria! It was very casual, but still informative. I’ve always been interested in forgaging but never knew where to start. This was a great introduction. Tea by torchlight was a particular highlight.

Pete Conheeney

We went on the Equinox foraging walk with Maria and it was a fantastic way of looking at our local area in a new light. Maria was very personable and knowledgeable as a guide and told us about the plant’s life cycles, characteristics and how they can be used for food or medical purposes. On top of this we were able to taste some of the seeds, leaves and berries on the walk. Would definitely recommend this to anyone with an interest, even if like us you have little foraging experience! It will certainly give you plenty to look for on your future walks!

Elinor Carter

Great afternoon learning about foraging. Highly recommended ☺️

Llanero Sincaballo

Thank you, it was a lovely morning walking in the forest, learning about medicinal plants and flowers. Really good physical and mental exercise and like spiritually re-connecting with nature.

Paula Rincon

I went foraging with Maria last Saturday and I ended up meeting a wonderful group of open-minded people. I learned so much about different plants. Maria explains everything wonderfully and answers everyone's questions. The afternoon ended with a lovely cup of tea made with the plants we had foraged during the hike.

Clare Knivett

A great afternoon in a gorgeous meadow learning about the medicinal benefits of so many plants and flowers. Maria's enthusiasm and passion for the subject is infectious!

Lewis Pidoux

Had a great morning foraging walk with Maria. Learned lots about medicinal herbs and edible plants. Would definitely recommend 👍🌱

Rebecca Heaps

I attended one of Maria's Foraging sessions. It was honestly one of the best workshops I've ever attended. It was so interesting learning about the healing properties of plants that grow in abundance in our local area. Then we got to make our very own apple cider vinegar tincture! Bring the knowledge of the past back into our future.

nick jones

Had a great foraging walk with Maria! She is very passionate and we learnt so much about things we never knew were right under our feet all the time. Would recommend to everyone of all ages. We are already looking forward to seeing her again.