​About Us
Tellus Mater is Latin for ‘Mother Earth’ and a play on ‘tell us mother’ as we can all learn so much about the world around us (and ourselves) when we take time to enjoy nature in whatever way that may be.
What we offer
Based in the beautiful Northamptonshire countryside, Tellus Mater delivers both foraging, nature walks, workshops and talks that are carefully designed to educate participants on the wild flora, fauna and fungi that is native to the UK.
Lizzy set up Tellus Mater with the belief that learning nature through various means should be accessible to all, and we have created various options that are available to both private clients, groups and individuals. Our own foraging walks are based in Northamptonshire and surrounding counties including Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Warwickshire and Bedfordshire.
We also work in partnership with venues, restaurants and chefs, public houses, estates and both charity and community groups across the whole of the UK to offer bespoke packages and events.
Meet Lizzy
Lizzy Mary-Jane Farmer
Founder
(Mum, Forager, Guide & Writer)
I have incredible memories as a child of just getting up and out the door into the countryside with my late dad David. He was a source of unending encouragement and had a huge influence on my life. I lost him when I was just eighteen in an RTA and this impacted my life massively.
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I tried to keep true to his teachings when I too had children of my own. We would enjoy walks in nature together, admiring all the flora, fauna and fungi, whilst occasionally picking up goodies that we could cook with or add to cakes and other bakes later that day.
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With a degree in history and psychology my work has always been shaped by a natural fascination with how humans have sustained themselves across time, not just through what they ate, but how they lived, coped and cared for themselves and each other. This natural curiosity led me to rediscover wild foods, not as something new but as something deeply familiar, evoking memories of childhood days spend making mudpies on the back doorstep, picking blackberries and gathering both hazelnuts and sweet chestnuts with my sisters and dad.
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The psychology side of my degree continues to shape how I work today exploring how we care for ourselves, how we heal, and how we return to being more grounded, kinder humans via working on our own traumas, addictions, and patterns. This journey for me is deeply entwined with nature and wild food. Reconnecting with the land as a way to reconnect with ourselves and grow, lean and live happier lives.
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The business emerged as I wished my youngest son who is now just seven years old, to engage more in nature as I had done as a child, and indeed my other three (now adult children), had done too.
Friends and family joined our walks and I was soon getting asked to extend this to others so they could feel the awesome benefits of connecting with nature via learning wild foods with both confidence and excitement. Tellus Mater was born and I am loving the adventure!
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