About Wild Food Arran

My name is Zoë Le Fay and I set up Wild Food Arran. I am a Foraging & Nature Guide on the Isle of Arran, Scotland. 

 

I guide people who love nature but feel a bit lost when they try to forage. I teach people 

• the names of wild food, 

• how to find them, 

• what to stay away from, 

• how to cook them and 

• most importantly, how to take care of their ecosystems so we all have wild food for many generations to come.

 

You will often hear me say “foraging is the gateway”, because it's much more about connection to nature, something we can do innately. I give people the comfort and confidence to forage as a way to spend time in nature. To support their own lifelong journey of connecting more deeply with nature.

 

Here is a little bit of my background and why I’m a Forage Guide

 

With support from my mentor, Mark Williams, Galloway Wild Food (Scotland’s very own foraging Don, and originally from Arran!) I have been a professional forager since 2022. I’ve been a member of the Association of Foragers since that time as well. 

 

Though self taught, I have been foraging myself since I was a child. My love of nature was so profound as a child, I was fascinated with every plant, tree and animal and have dedicated my life to learning as much as I possibly can about the natural world. In doing so I’ve found a powerful source of connection, inspiration, acceptance and joy in nature that I weave into my work alongside practical elements, like identification skills.

 

I have been a Qualified Mental Health Nurse since 2016. Not only does this make me great at risk assessments, it makes me a compassionate, calm and reliable guide with heaps of experience leading groups. I’ve found connecting with nature to be the most powerful medicine for mental and physical health in myself and in the people I guide.

 

Since around 2009 I’ve been a passionate voice for change in environmental organisations. My love of nature has made me very sensitive to injustice of all kinds. I set up an organisation to reduce waste in my university in 2009, went on to write academic articles about the environmental impact of corporate waste. Later I set up a modest but innovative textile recycling operation in Manchester. I’ve been involved in some form of environmentalism ever since. 

My style of environmentalism is connective, open-hearted and nature-centred. Much the same as my style of guiding.

 

All the very best to you!