More Correspondence Between me and my Friend, the River.
By Thea McDonald
April 2025
Preface
Last fall, I wrote a letter to the Kinnessburn River. It was a lengthy note giving the Burn the rundown on a movement had heard about called “Rights for Nature”, where legal personhood rights are granted to a natural land feature. I combined the discourse about the legal framework with giving a voice and a personality to the river, as if it were already a person.
Here, I wanted to continue that conversation and give the Burn space to respond to my ideas and tell me about what’s been happening within and around it. I reply with the story of the Dreel Burn, where I took a field trip, to offer the Kinnessburn with some hope about what nearby communities are doing to support the wellbeing of its rivers.
Enjoy this series of notes back and forth from the river and me, and maybe it will encourage you to strike up a conversation with your favourite natural feature in St Andrews too.
Dear Thea,
Thank you for writing to me last November. It’s nice to know that you’re still thinking of me, even if you haven’t been visiting as much this year. Your idea about legal personhood protection was cool, but honestly, I’m much more go-with-the flow than one of you. I’m not meant to be a person, but it would be great to be treated with more respect some of the time.
Anyways, I know you’ve come and walked by me a few times, but I want to give you a life update! Spring is an exciting season for me and all my friends who live around me. It's warming up and the snowdrops and daffodils are blooming, the frogs are hopping around and laying spawns, the trees are blossoming, and more insects have begun to buzz around. The otter has been out and about, foraging during the night. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you where the otter’s den is, keep looking though! And the birds have been constant in their chorus, the chiffchaffs, thrushes, and tits have all been quite vocal. Dippers have been dipping in and out of my stream, finches and wagtails taking baths as well. Robins and other species are nesting in the nearby trees, it’s a busy time!
My friend, Freddy the Frog, hopped along my shore last week.
What to forage for our salad:Young leaves are the most tender.
Season: April to October
Habitat: Roadside verges, woodlands, hedgerows, meadows, literally everywhere
Distinctive features: Three smooth leaves (that split into three lobes each) with serrated edges. The stem is triangular in cross-section. Small white flowers in early summer.
Taste: Peppery, a bit like celery (but, in my opinion, a lot better).
Biodiversity benefits: Provides shelter for invertebrates.
Possible confusion with: Hemlock water-dropwort (very poisonous but distinguished by fern-like leaves)
Fun fact: Likely brought to the UK by the Romans (source: The Wildlife Trust)
A gaggle of my friends taking a bath in my shallows.
Spring is good, but I know you saw me at my worst in January, after the storm. I flooded and was filled with garbage and debris from peoples’ homes. I think you even pointed out a shopping cart lodged in one of my curves. It took a long time to recover, and even though most of the mess has been cleared, it leaves more than just a visual scar. These events affect the species that rely on me.
Scotland is unfortunately known for destructive weather like that. And it happens to me often. The winters are hard for me. If there was only some way my flooding could be managed to make me more resilient when storms hit.
Sometimes I get a bit down thinking that the St Andrews community doesn’t really know or care about what’s going on with me. It sometimes feels like you BioLit students are the only ones who monitor my biodiversity and its changes. I want the university and the community to know more about what I go through, the good and the bad.
That’s all for now,
Kinnessburn
Daisies, photographed in front of the Byre Theatre.
What to forage for our salad: Buds and flowers
Season: March to November
Habitat: Field and path margins, lawns, meadows
Distinctive features: The most characteristic feature is an array of white petals around the yellow “centre” of the flower. Small rounded leaves that grow from the bottom of the hairy stem only.
Taste: Nutty flavour
Biodiversity benefits: Provides nectar for pollinating insects such as butterflies and hoverflies.
Possible confusion with: Oxeye daisy (but flower heads are three to five centimetres in diameter instead of one to two for the common daisy)
Fun fact: Fossils from Antarctica reveal that the oldest flowers in the daisy family were “trampled by the last surviving dinosaurs” (source: Kew Gardens).
Dandelion, photographed in front of the Byre theatre.
What to forage for our salad: Young leaves, flower buds, petals
Season: March to October
Habitat: Roadside verges, meadows, lawns
Distinctive features: Toothed leaves that grow from the bottom of the stem only. Bright yellow flowers that transform into “seed clocks”. Dandelion has many microspecies, which are all edible.
Taste: The leaves are bitter and earthy, with notes of coffee. The flowers are sweeter and grassy.
Biodiversity benefits: Dandelions’ long flowering season provides nectar and pollen when other flowers are scarce.
Possible confusion with: Coltsfood (likely unsafe for consumption, distinguished by prominent round middles in the flour heads)
Fun fact: On average, a single dandelion plant produces 15,000 seeds (source: Michigan State University).
Foraged salad recipe
Last but not least, the secret recipe for a delicious foraged salad:
Ingredients for four people:
- 400 g of foraged herbs (ground elder as a base, with yarrow and dandelion leaves for added taste and daisy flowers for decoration – vary according to season and availability)
- A teaspoon of mustard
- A teaspoon of honey
- Three tablespoons of oil
- A dash of balsamic or other vinegar
Foraged salad with dandelion and daisies, made using Canva.
Instructions:
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Wash all foraged herbs and leave to dry.
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Cut the yarrow and dandelion leaves and stems into one-centimetre-long pieces.
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Mix the mustard and honey with a fork.
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Add the oil and vinegar and stir until it forms an emulsion.
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Transfer all herbs except daisies to a bowl and mix the dressing under it.
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Garnish with daisies before serving. Enjoy!
Looking for more foraging tips and events? Come along to Transition’s spring forage on April 27 2025.