A LYMM workshop is teaching communities how to safely forage for wild foods, including stinging nettles.

The 'Stinging Nettle Forage and Feast' workshop teaches guests how to forage safely for wild foods, and to bring communities together to appreciate nature.

This unique event, run by Jim Parums from Altrincham, has been shortlisted to win a prize for 'Most Curious and Colourful Event.'

Warrington Guardian: Jim has been leading groups of foragers since October 2020Jim has been leading groups of foragers since October 2020 (Image: Newsquest)

Organised through the website Eventbrite, the foraging event has beaten off competition from hundreds of other nominations in the category.

Eventbrite is offering a £2,500 cash prize, plus £2,500 of Eventbrite credits, to the organisers of the winning event.

In recognising the event, Eventbrite commended the forage for offering a sustainable skill to help combat the cost of living crisis.

Eventbrite hosted over a million events in the UK last year, so selecting only 12 finalists was no mean feat.

Other events that made the top 12 include workshops in Japanese paper marbling, underwater photo shoots, puppet making, children’s circus skills, moss art, tea leaf reading and scarecrow making.

Warrington Guardian: Jim began foraging because his grandmother used to forage for wild mushroomsJim began foraging because his grandmother used to forage for wild mushrooms (Image: Newsquest)

Jim said: "British culture doesn’t lend itself to foraging in the way that the rest of the world does so I enjoy bringing this new hobby and skill to people. 

"Those that used to come to events were foodies wanting to find new ingredients and learn new cooking skills and while they do still attend, I’m finding that other people worried about the cost of living are coming to learn more as foraged foods are free and can supplement a diet.

"However, it’s important to know which plants to eat, how to pick them safely and get inspiration on how to cook the ingredients."

At the workshop, Jim will show guests how to handle and eat raw nettles without getting stung, cook with nettles, and educate them on how the nettle is used in textiles, medicine and nutrition - before finishing with a feast including nettle beers and cocktails.

Warrington Guardian: Jim leads the groups and teaching how to handle, cook, and eat wild ingredientsJim leads the groups and teaching how to handle, cook, and eat wild ingredients (Image: Newsquest)

Since October 2020, Jim has been taking groups of people foraging and teaching them how to recognise what is and isn't safe to eat.

Workshop attendee Chloe Darke said: “We did the two-hour taster workshop in Lymm and we couldn't recommend it enough.

"Jim was really engaging and we learnt so much from his vast knowledge of what you can eat and make."

Jim's nettle forage and feast will take place on Thursday, May 11, 2023 - for more information, and to book tickets, click here.