If you want to forage at the Cemetery Park, you must apply for permission. Please email contact@fothcp.org. If you’re unable to email, call 0208 8983 1277. It can take us up to 3 working days to reply, so please be patient.
We only allow foraging for personal use. NO RESTAURANTS OR COMMERCIAL FORAGING. If you’re a chef, source your food legally and without the risk of a £5,000 fine, e.g. from Totally Wild, Farmdrop, or Ocado.
Please donate to support us replanting afterwards. The vast majority of our foragers make a donation. As a charity we spend a lot of money, time and effort on our plants. Written permissions are new for 2021. We used to allow more foraging, but Covid has massively increased the number of foraging people, and in 2020 the Cemetery Park was heavily damaged.
You need to follow these rules for responsible foraging:
- Apply for permission – email contact@fothcp.org. Include the species, frequency, and quantity you want to forage.
- Donate. The vast majority of our foragers give a donation. It costs the charity time, effort and money to support foraging.
- Bring your phone/a copy of the permission email, so you can show the email if asked by staff.
- Only take a small quantity, maximum 150g – think a small bag of salad at the supermarket.
- Use a sharp tool so you don’t accidentally pull out the roots. You can not dig up plants.
- Leave no trace. Don’t trample any plants, and don’t disturb wildlife. Ensure areas don’t look damaged.
- Only pick from where there are lots of plants. If you see bald patches, do not pick there. Collect from more than one spot, and away from footpath edges (it looks bad, and think dog wee…).
If you are ever not 100% sure of what you are picking, please do not forage it. We wouldn’t want you to accidentally poison yourself.
If you’ve received permission in a previous year, please apply again, so we can monitor how much is being foraged.
Please note that according to Tower Hamlets Parks byelaws, picking plants isn’t allowed at all. Legally the Cemetery Park grounds are part of Tower Hamlets Parks, so in principle the byelaw still applies. However as a charity we strongly encourage people to enjoy nature, within reason.