Press release: Launch of the Scottish Wild Harvests Association, Big Tent festival, Falkland, Fife, 25-26 July 2009

16jul09 For immediate release

The Scottish Wild Harvest Association (SWHA) will be launched at the Big Tent Eco-Festival in Falkland, Fife on July 25th 2009, by well-known chef Christopher Trotter. This new Association will celebrate the bounty to be gleaned from the countryside and help Scottish businesses who make a living from wild resources.

Christopher Trotter and the Big Tent are very appropriate partners for this launch. Christopher has been helping the Big Tent organisers to source genuine locally and sustainably sourced food, and is passionate about the fabulous foods, both wild and cultivated, that Scotland has to offer. Big Tent is also working with the Fife Diet, a cutting-edge project to help people to reconnecting the food they eat with the place they live in.

Scotland's wild harvests have plenty to offer by way of sustainable gourmet food. Wild garlic soufflé, nettle soup, elderflower fritters and other such delights are increasingly turning up on restaurant menus for the adventurous and discerning diner. You can expect this launch to be toasted with elderflower cordial, and celebrated with wild berries, woodland mushrooms, or whatever else can be foraged fresh for the day.

It’s not just about food, though – there's yet more to be found. The Scottish Wild Harvest Association has been formed for businesses making herbal remedies, bog myrtle midge repellent, hedgerow baskets, and artefacts carved from Scottish wood; and for Scottish seed collectors and growers of native plants as well. Spruce chocolate, beeswax lip balm and nettle soap are just a few of the new products being created to satisfy the growing demand for natural, locally sourced products.

Many wild harvests are to be found within Scotland's woodlands, and the SWHA grew out of work by woodland charity Reforesting Scotland ( which is why you will find SWHA's stall and launch event in the Big Tent's Wood Zone ( – nestling in the historic Palace Orchard along with such woody displays as woodland crafts, beekeeping and shiitake mushroom growing.

The launch of the Association reflects how Scotland is leading the way in a UK-wide movement towards people making a sustainable living from the wild. Its formation was endorsed by the Roseanna Cunningham MSP at the Wild Harvests of Scotland conference in April ( Forestry Commission Scotland have recently produced a policy document on encouraging and supporting the sustainable development of the non-timber forest products sector in Scotland – the SWHA welcome this step forward, and the Forestry Commission's support for the wild harvests sector.

The SWHA will raise public awareness of individuals and companies that make their products or their living from wild native plants and materials, and will help promote good working practice with high standards of sustainability, ethics and commerce. Members – whether harvesters, buyers, makers of fine foods and wines, craftspeople, course providers or landowners – will be helped with marketing and product development by the creation of a network of like-minded people with a diverse range of skills, products, materials and services. The SWHA will also provide a collective voice for members in policy development and legislation, and assist in the developing relationships between landowners and gatherers.

Membership is available to businesses and voluntary groups in Scotland who produce sustainable, ethical products or services based on Scottish wild materials. Associate membership is available to organisations and individuals who support, work with, or do business with wild harvest businesses and service providers.

Further information:

The launch event will be from 1:30-2:30pm on Saturday 25th July in the Orchard stage area.

There will be a SWHA stall in the Exhibition Tent in the Orchard. Both the Orchard stage and the Exhibition Tent are part of the Big Tent Wood Zone:

Details of the Big Tent festival are at

The SWHA website is at

Further background information about wild harvests in Scotland is available from the ForestHarvest website and from Reforesting Scotland ( - contact Emma Chapman )

Contact: Jools Cox (SWHA Chair)
tel: 01556 503694 email: