J288 The Journal for WSD

Foraging for Colour Deb Bamford, Jane Deane, Susan Dye & Ashley Walker and Isabella Whitworth

Introduction Natural dyeing is currently very much 'on trend' with articles about dyes and dyers appearing in mainstream print and broadcast media. There are numerous dyers offering courses, books, online tutorials and blogs covering every possible way to obtain and use colour from natural sources. Within this movement there are writers and tutors who recommend foraging for dyes from plants, lichen and fungi. Some provide excellent guidance on when and how to forage and, most particularly, whether some species should be foraged at all; others provide scant, or no, information. Those of us who have spent much of our lives researching, teaching and working with natural dyes will be excited about this resurgence of interest. However, a group of us has been curious about the foraging aspect of the movement. Our aim, when we convened online in summer of 2022, was to discuss the impact that this upsurge of interest in natural colour may be having on students and practitioners, while critically exploring how the popularity of foraging may be affecting the natural world. The group comprises five specialists with decades of experience in growing, using and researching natural dyes. All of us are educators and two of us hold the ASDC qualification in dyeing awarded by the Society of Dyers and Colourists. Initial direction We are all UK-based but belong to online international natural dye groups, so are aware that advice on foraging can and will differ according to geographical location. In other parts of the world, such as the US or Canada, population density is entirely different to ours in the UK. As a group we agreed to devote time into researching the upsurge of interest in natural colour and our first decision was to focus solely on the UK. Our initial activity was to compile a working list of plants ‘most likely to be foraged’. Next, we contacted various wildlife charities and natural history societies to ask their views and find out whether they have foraging policies in place. Would they even know what plants dyers are likely to use? Our research The issues became increasingly complex and nuanced the more we researched. Firstly, we learned that the largest harms to biodiversity are habitat losses from farming, development of land and climate change. By comparison, the impact of foraging is much smaller and would most likely be felt in conjunction with these larger forces. Expert foragers often have deeper local knowledge than nature conservation professionals, but we learned that nevertheless, foragers are often scapegoated. Most wildlife groups we spoke to recognise that foraging connects people with nature, encourages active observation and creates attitudes that are more likely to preserve the environment. Engaging in foraging activities can begin to cure ‘hedgerow blindness’ and can change people’s attitudes quite profoundly. Not all of the organisations contacted had foraging policies in place. We did find that very comprehensive guidelines are

Alnus species . Alder cones, leaves and bark are used for dyeing. Photo: Isabella Whitworth

Alnus species. Bark stripped from farmer’s hedge trimmings – used for browns. Photo: Isabella Whitworth

Dandelion, Taraxacum species – used to dye yellow. A widespread plant consisting of hundreds of individual species in Britain and Ireland. Photo: Susan Dye

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Journal for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers 288, Winter 2023