Feeding Ourselves with Trees (with author Elspeth Hay) 🌲 Episode 8 from the Forest Edge

🌳 Episode 8 – Feeding Ourselves with Trees (with Elspeth Hay) 🌳

In this episode we sit down with Elspeth Hay — writer, radio host, and author of Feed Us With Trees. What began as a simple curiosity about acorns and eating from trees grew into a conversation that wove together food, history, and healing. 🌰✨

We dive into: 🌿 The forgotten role of nut trees in feeding entire communities for thousands of years 🔥 Cultural fire practices, biochar, and how humans can act as a keystone species instead of a burden 🌳 The history of the commons in Europe and how its enclosure still ripples through our food system today 🪵 Basketry, weaving, and traditional ecological knowledge 🥖 Food politics, sugar industry myths, and what “healthy food” really means when it comes from a healthy place

Along the way we share our own stories of gathering acorns by flashlight, experimenting with fire and soil building, and re-imagining our relationship with the land as one of kinship instead of domination. Elspeth’s stories remind us that humans are not separate from nature — we are part of the mycelial web of life, capable of bringing more abundance when we step back into our role with care and creativity. 🌎🤝

This is one of those conversations that leaves you seeing the world differently — more hopeful, more connected, and more inspired to try it yourself. 🌲💫

🎥 Prefer to watch? This episode is also available as a video on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/UQ1yK0Vi9N8