Wild eatables of Vancouver Island

A hike in the woods to see what there is to eat

[@bcwoodsman876]

Excellent video! Matches what we have around the Fraser valley over here too. I wasn't sure about the horse tail, will have to look into those more. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

same to you thanks for watching

[@noah8268]

Hey! 😀 I'm pretty sure that the plant you said is stining nettle isn't it. I'm pretty sure Its actually trailing blackberry. You can eat it's Berry's when it's blackish purple. Stining nettle is way taller, doesn't trail on the ground. It grows in stocks and has small transparent needles on it. It grows to about a meeter tall and grows in small disturbed groups.

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

Hey Noah...The bush is Stinging Nettle....It grows here like weeds. It does grow along the ground here. There are no blackberry plants for miles around the bivouac...wish there were....We have an abundance of blackberry bushes by the hydro lines though....good eating. The only bush that can be mistaken here for SN is the salmon berry plant out of bloom...they are very close. Anyway thanks for the comments take care

[@user-rt4om2jz2b]

Didn’t look like nettle to me either, plus it seemed to have a runner type branch.. more like some sort of bramble / young salmon berry. I love collecting nettle on the west coast :) that is not what I forage

[@Blueeastcoast]

Nice job..very informative!!👍

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

Thanks appreciate the comment

[@coveman5826]

Thanks a lot for the awesome info !!

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

hey no problem, It is definately good stuff to know...

[@foodibramble]

Thanks for the great video! I wasn't aware there were wild raspberries anywhere on Vancouver Island. Maybe the plant you show a thumbnail of at the end are "gone wild" cultivars? I've also never seen wild raspberries with that big of berries, even back east.

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

Glad you liked it...everything grows big here..haha

[@madayis9707]

This video helped me a lot I just found your channel and I'm loving it so far and could you make a video of bushcraft shelter not leaning on anything and water proof I just found a great place where it's flat but I don't know how to build a shelter without it leaning on something

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

Hey Madayis, Consider it done. I will do one within a few weeks for ya

[@ant-1382]

Yes there is a lot you can get from the land. If you live by the ocean, you can get more! Fortunately on Vancouver Island we have both. Slugs, ew! Suppose I should try them before passing judgment. Oregon grape jelly is most awsome! As kids we used to peel off the outer layers of bullrush and eat the pith, it is really quiet nice.

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

If you try the slugs make sure you clean and cook them properly...but as you say why when you live next to the ocean!!!

[@Hansen_36]

I wouldn't eat anything from that BC Hydro right of way you were on for part of the video. I worked exactly where this was filmed for a number of years and the pesticides used there are vicious

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

For sure...I would always be VERY cautious around hydro lines, roadways and railways......It would be better to starve

[@landonrush3967]

Also be careful up the area called Doumont in Nanaimo at the top of biggs rd....they use the ENTIRE area as a test ground for biosolids application testing...basically they drive a large truck with a firehose like spraying attachement and they Shoot Human waste mixed with water into the forest and all over the foliage from the main trail....like a firehose with human excrement sludge being sprayed instead of water...lol...VIU leases the area for this process

[@whitecompany18]

I didn't know you could eat horse tail.. That yarrow looks alot like something we have in the UK called hogweed ..expect hogweed will burn your hand off if you pick it.. Nasty old stuff like aliens blood . Great vid buddy .

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

Yah yarrow has a lot of look a likes you have to really know what your doing

[@landonrush3967]

Nice buddy, right down Nanaimo lakes rd

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

You bet ya beautiful area

[@Jixton]

Do you have any books for edible and medicinal plants. I just move to nanaimo from Quebec, I'm a bit lost

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

Look in "Chapters" by the Woodgrove mall ...look for "Food Plants of coastal first peoples by Nancy J Turner...lots of good info in there

[@innerspaceentertainmentltd8820]

My personal thanks for enlightening me on Wilderness Botany for Survival in our own backyard!

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

No problem glad you enjoyed it

[@tutor5557]

Just be certain of the identification of the plant before eating it. More people have died from eating poisonous plants than all the mushrooms species in the world.

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

I totally agree..

[@jonnyroka]

So the guys on Alone series were more in the deep forests....are some of these still available where they were?

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

The entire Island is like the terrain on alone. There are a couple of cities on the South East side but the rest is pretty much like you saw. I choose do my Bushcraft a little more inland but a 5 minute drive and I would be in the same coastal terrain as them.The whole island is one big bushcrafters paradise

[@jonnyroka]

Thanks, that's what i thought and with that much rain anywhere in the world and sea, there would have to be bucket loads of food available....if anyone lived off the edible food in the forest for 2 months they would come out more healthy then going in i reckon.

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

True but one thing to keep in mind is that the Alone show takes place around Nov so all the wild eatables have died out. Having said that if the contestants knew how to acquire crabs and seagulls they would definitely have had a better go of it. I can catch over 10 crabs a day all day every day and the crab guts attract the seagulls by the dozens...they just aren't from here so they don't know what to do

[@yumtumbout]

They're eatible - but are they edible?

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

Apparently they taste like squid...

[@spitfire260381]

eat slug !!! no way ewwwwww shivers haha

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

I'm with ya...not unless there was nothing else...butter and garlic might help haha

[@Siren-Alpha-Beta-Gamma]

Actual relevant info starts at 1:30

[@3112magic]

very informative , thank you , a better camera/focus would help

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

that's great...i'll tell Bridgette my wife it wasn't for nothing haha

[@Nick-vl7lk]

So many more caveats need to be included in this.Yarrow contains thurjone like the oil you mentioned in cedars, which is a neurotoxin. Horsetail is definitely a no unless cooked, even then it contains too much silica which if eaten in large amounts will cause permanent kidney damage, not to mention the alkaloids it contains such as nicotine and palustrine. If raw, it activates the thiaminase enzyme which destroys Vit B1(thiamine). Don't drink or eat too many needles from cone bearing trees, whilst good in Vit C, toxicity varies with species, and can cause intestinal, kidney and liver damage if drunk often. Whilst some are very good for you in small amounts, some people can develop a sensitivity to that species, and become allergic, especially during pollen season. Oregon grape should also be eaten in moderation, especially if dehydrated. I know you know what you are doing, or at least have survived thus far. But remember many people watching this do not.

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

The Yarrow is used for medicinal purposes all over the world and the only contraindications are if your allergic to aster plants. Our family uses it for upset stomachs and nausea ...works in secondshorsetail is eatable in the spring but not later on ...but has an abundance of water in them that is good to drinkPine and cedar teas are a great tea and sourse of vitamin c..if you ingest a large amount one should strain the tea in a coffee filter first it is then good to drink in quantityOregon grape is generally used to make jams as they are VERY bitter..I don't think a person could eat it in quantity even if they wanted to an they are super bitter...the jams are greatThanks for your input...as always before eating any eatable do your research and be 100% sure it is eatible

[@yumtumbout]

I have to be super super hungry to sink my teeth into that slug!

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

I agree 100% I might do a slug eating video if enough people ask, but I am not going to like it..haha

[@happy_squad5679]

+yumtumbout agreed

[@rickmorley9948]

If you are ever in a situation where you need to eat a slug, try to think of it as escargot, without the shell.

[@VIBCTrevorInscho]

Make sure to boil and remove as much "SLIM" as possible. Bad JUJU !

[@puppetken]

Where would there be some fiddleheads on the Island?

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

They are everywhere when it is the right time they shoot out of the center of the ferns..Be really cautious and know what your eating..there is a finite time to eat fiddleheads and after that they are known to be carcinogenic..

[@puppetken]

Thank you for responding where in Sooke might I find fiddleheads @@vancouverislandbushcraft4879

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

They grow wild in all the forests...again be sure of what you eat...

[@toasty.MCdankass]

#2 I was told is poison ?..round leaves bad pointy good for Oregon grapes, but don't listen to me anyone lolol

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

Stinging nettle is eatable cooked or roasted..just not raw

[@patelkins1620]

Why aren’t you eating any of what you find

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

It was an instructional video...I had steak with me for later. Keep in mind also that some of the plants need to be cooked and or processed before eating as well

[@truman5838]

That's not really food. Clams and fish would be much more beneficial and nutritious

[@vancouverislandbushcraft4879]

I agree...being by the ocean it would be the first place I would go...seagulls, crab, shellfish etc....edible plants are a (side dish) at best