Wimbledon Common Nature Club forage for medicinal plants
The Wimbledon Common Nature Club, supported by the London Wildlife Trust, met for a Herbal Walk on Sunday to forage for wild plants.
Led by Althea Finch, the children and their families learnt about the importance of plants for medicinal purposes to help our health.
They were told never to pick without permission and to have someone on hand who knows exactly what the plant is.
The children went out on the common and identified 28 plants including lavender, elder, blackberry, cleavers, ragwort and hawthorn.
On returning to the Information Centre they tried two teas, one made from lavender and the other from cleavers.
Auriel Glanville, club leader, said: “We were delighted that Althea Finch gave us such a brilliant walk around Wimbledon Common, really opening our eyes to the plant life around us, so a big thank you was said to her at the end.”
The Wimbledon Common Nature Club will host its next session on June 2, “BEES” led by Alison Pelikan, a local beekeeper, exploring the life of the honeybee.
Pictured top: Six-year-old Diego Garcia holding a leaf he found during the day out (Picture: Auriel Glanville)