Our foraging code of conduct

Always have the landowner's or manager's permission before foraging, and understand what's allowed where you are. Read our plain-English foraging law guide. Never pick protected species or forage on sites where it's prohibited.

• Only gather what you will genuinely use
• As a rule of thumb, never take more than about half of what you find in any one patch, and keep well within a reasonable personal amount (Wild Food UK (opens in a new tab) suggests no more than around 1.5–2 kg per outing)
• Pick only from abundance
• Leave plenty behind for wildlife and to let plants and fungi reproduce and spread

When picking fungi, cut or gently twist the fruiting body rather than raking, scraping or uprooting; the mushroom is only the fruit — the living organism (the mycelium) stays in the ground and must not be damaged. Don't disturb leaf litter and soil more than necessary, avoid trampling vegetation, stick to paths where you can, and leave the place as you found it.

Never pick rare, declining or legally protected species. If you're not sure how common something is, leave it. Follow the conservation guidance of the British Mycological Society (opens in a new tab). Some fungi are slow to fruit and easily lost from a site.

Only ever pick what you can positively identify, and never eat on a single identification — see our safety guidance. If you can't name it with confidence, don't pick it to eat. Follow the Food Standards Agency's safe-foraging advice (opens in a new tab).

Follow the Countryside Code: close gates, keep dogs under control, take your litter home, and be considerate of other people enjoying the outdoors. In Scotland, follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (opens in a new tab). Leave habitats, livestock and other foragers undisturbed.

Commercial picking is a different matter legally and ecologically: it generally requires the landowner's explicit permission and can be an offence without it. ForageGB is for personal, responsible foraging only.