A screencap of 10 of Which Betty's TikTok videos.
Photo Credit: @whichbetty | TikTok

What Can You Eat in the Forest?

If you want to survive the next apocalypse, head to TikTok

This VanIsle Witch can teach you how to use the forest for food

Are you DTF (down to forage)? That’s how Elizabeth “Betty” Burdock introduces her TikTok page.

This avid forager, forest advocate, and self-proclaimed witch has a ton of knowledge about our coastal plant life. And she has enchanted a ton of people with her videos.

Her teaching style is casual, eclectic, and sometimes chaotic. The wealth of information she shares would give Ms. Frizzle a run for her money.

Whatever she’s doing, it’s working. She has a full classroom with over a million followers on TikTok who are learning how to live off BC’s amazing coastal ecosystems.

It’s hard not to love Betty. She starts each video with her signature “hi friends!”

Then she launches into lessons. These range from “how not to die” while foraging BC’s edible mushrooms to stinging nettle soup recipes and everything in between.

Lots of folks are learning to connect more with our natural environments and learn about new ways to live on VanIsle.

It turns out TikTok is an easy and accessible way to share this kind of knowledge. And Elizabeth is happy to teach what’s always been a natural passion for her.

“Since I was little, I would choose the company of the forest or an animal or plant over most humans,” she says in her bio.

That aside, she’s made a ton of friends—both plants and humans.

You can check out her page at @whichbetty on TikTok or WhichBetty on Youtube (if you’re too old for all these newfangled apps).

You’ll come away with some rad new recipes to try. You’ll also get a laugh and a new appreciation for the ecosystems we’re lucky enough to call home.

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