Wild Beach Foods Workshop

Picture the perfect day on the beach. You harvest fresh oysters in the tidal zone, and rake for clams in the sand. You forage edible plants (and mushrooms, if you get lucky) from the woods. You  learn how cook what you find using a traditional French technique and eat your feast on the beach. That's exactly what we do during this daylong workshop.

Workshop attendees start the day at 8:30am by meeting at Gearhouse to coordinate carpool for non driving attendees. Take the Tacoma Narrows bridge from Seattle.  Do not use a ferry, they're bedlam on summer weekend.  We start promptly at 11am.  We're headed to Rendsland Beach (18901 NE North Shore Rd, Tahuya, WA 98588). When you arrive at Rendsland your instructor, Colleen, will be down on the beach tending the fire for lunch. Park in the large gravel lot across from the beach. Make your way down to the beach, look for the fire!

Any Gearhouse member with a ticket can check out  their foraging kit at Gearhouse anytime the week prior. 

Non gearhouse members should have the following

- Clam bag with carabiner to clip to belt (can buy in person or online)

- Shucking knife (buy online:  in person h)

- Gardening rake/fork (we like Walt's Organic because they're a super sweet small business and right by Seattle Marine supply: https://waltsorganic.com/ ,  or you can get one online here)

- A cooler to keep any shellfish you bring home cool, plus ice or frozen packs

All attendees must have their own shellfish license.  It's very important to us to be responsible about our impact on the ecosystem that foraging has. Part of the way we ensure that is by buying a shellfish license, which funds conservation in Washington. Your instructor will ask to see your license before class starts, so be sure to take a screenshot. Because of state laws, we can't sell you one. You can buy one here. 

We recommend you plan for a day with A Lot of weather. Might rain, be scorching, who knows, but we definitely are going to get muddy. Wear layers, and bring a lot more water then you think it would take. Here's the suggested packing list

- Shoes you can get wet and muddy. We do everything from wade through marshes to wade knee deep in salt water on this trip, so be prepared.

- Pants/shorts that youre fine getting wet up to the knee

- Rain gear

- A camp chair or something to sit on

- A full change of clothes in your car, including shoes + socks

- Sunscreen

- Large water bottle. LARGE.

- Sunglasses

We do the lunch by a stone soup principle: bring something to contribute! Popular items in the past include onions or garlic, curry paste, coconut milk, potatoes. Somethings people bring sides like snacks. What you bring doesn't matter as much as you being a part of what we make together.