Foraging is a lost art in Britain but in mainland Europe, families often incorporate wild food into their diets. You can live off wild food, although you have to be very committed to do so. But even if you don’t want to turn into Mowgli and live

Pale blue Gruffalo dressing gown £16.50 by Their Nibs

Matchstick Garden £1.75 for a book of ten from the Design Museum Shop Each stick has a seed in the tip to grow herbs or wild flowers.

AutumnBrussel sprouts Never the same once you have tried them in a lovely creamy gratinBeetroot Tastes brilliant with salty fetaButternut Squash Turn it into a delicious soupFigs Try them pureed with some cinnamon riceWild mushrooms Grilled on toast

perhaps don’t bank on a lifetime supply of fresh guacamole, just an enjoyable gardening project. More green living from Junior:How to grow a wild flower gardenThe best foods to buy organic

for small creatures and birds.3. Make a compost heap Compost is not only great for recycling and for the soil, but also as shelter for useful creatures like the slug-hunting slow worm.4. Sow a wild flower meadow Or you can just allow a patch of grass to grow

Strolling through a meadow on a warm day in search of brilliant poppies, delicate daisies and such colourfully named varieties as Bacon and Eggs and Scarlet Pimpernels is a wonderful adventure. Indeed, the fun of identifying wild flowers can

the wares of local producers and buy unusual gifts in glorious surroundings.July 14Family Forage WalkAs park of Birmingham’s Food Festival families can join in this search for wild foods along the canals of Digbeth. A guide will be on hand to offer advice

, dancing, Punch and Judy performances, barbequed food and a parade through the town centre. Pirate Play DaysJuly 21–September 2Young buccaneers can channel their inner Jack Sparrow at this afternoon of pirate-themed fun at Chatham Historic Dockyard where

heyday era, is set in the new food piazza just off Tottenham Court Road. There are mismatched wooden chairs (which leads one of the boys to complain he doesn’t have a spongy seat) and crockery that looks like it came from a school staff room: turn over a