A Gabriola Island resident has gained more than a million followers on social media by B次元官网网址渢rying to do the very least harm and making the smallest carbon footprint possible.B次元官网网址�

Elizabeth Burdock has amassed 1.3 million followers on TikTok and many millions of views and likes on the social media platform for her diverse content.

Known as , her eclectic content series ranges from do-it-yourself fixes, to giving tips for going to music festivals, to vehicle customization projects and B次元官网网址渃rappyB次元官网网址� cooking advice.

Although Burdock values sharing her expertise with festival B次元官网网址渘ewbiesB次元官网网址� on what to bring and where to camp, she said her foraging content is by far the most popular.

This is how to make tea from Turkey Tail Mushrooms

B次元官网网址淭he forest is just the place that I feel the safest and the most at home,B次元官网网址� said Burdock. B次元官网网址淲e had a friend of my momB次元官网网址檚 visit recently, and he was saying [to me], B次元官网网址榶ouB次元官网网址檒l always be that feral, barefoot child running through the forest.B次元官网网址� And my husband was like, B次元官网网址榮o nothingB次元官网网址檚 changed.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

Now in her early 40s, Burdock said she initially landed on TikTok as a means of B次元官网网址榮pyingB次元官网网址� on her teenage daughter to make sure she wasnB次元官网网址檛 doing anything inappropriate online.

B次元官网网址淎nd I was kinda hooked,B次元官网网址� she said, adding the platform would show her targeted content like B次元官网网址渕oms day drinkingB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渙ther hilarious Gen X stuff.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淎nd before I knew it, I was making silly little videos.B次元官网网址�

Burdock settled on creating informative videos about native flora, as was her passion, and said plenty of viewers seemed to immediately like it. One of her favourite subjects is plantains, specifically plantago major.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 known as B次元官网网址榳hite manB次元官网网址檚 footprint,B次元官网网址� which is because it came from Europe and it really prefers disturbed grounds and trailways. So people would end up naturally moving the seeds around, and you could always kind of see where people had gone based on where the plantain was growing. It also has an ability to suck poisons out. So if you have a cut or a bee sting, you can chew it up and put your B次元官网网址榞lobB次元官网网址� on your sting or your cut and wrap it up, and itB次元官网网址檒l stop it from getting infected.B次元官网网址�

Before moving to TikTok, Burdock also ran a YouTube channel called B次元官网网址楾he Vagrant Vegan ShowB次元官网网址� in which, while travelling the globe, she would show viewers how they could eat plant-based foods in different parts of the world. Before YouTube, she wrote a blog called B次元官网网址楬ow I Freed My FamilyB次元官网网址� about avoiding the B次元官网网址渃onstraintsB次元官网网址� of grocery stores by monoculture farming, foraging in the woods, B次元官网网址榙umpster divingB次元官网网址� and even farming mealworms.

B次元官网网址淲ith the mealworms, it was easy. Because you would freeze them to kill them, and then you could dehydrate or cook them or make them into a flour and just throw them into something. ItB次元官网网址檚 a really sustainable protein source,B次元官网网址� she said.

Since becoming an influencer, Burdock has noticed foraging and sustainable living content has swiftly risen in popularity across most major social media platforms. Even in her personal life, she said friends who used to make fun of her for foraging are now reaching out for advice and sharing their own videos.

For B次元官网网址榥ewbieB次元官网网址� foragers B次元官网网址� or those aspiring to be B次元官网网址� Burdock recommends reading and researching first and foremost before taking to the woods.

B次元官网网址淚 always say to follow your intuition, because once you tune in, itB次元官网网址檚 like the forest will show you what you need to see and what you need at that moment,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭ry to take no more than 20 per cent of anything B次元官网网址� so that we can stay sustainable.B次元官网网址�

As for what to avoid when foraging: B次元官网网址淣ever eat any mushroom that you donB次元官网网址檛 know. Because while you can eat any mushroom, some of them only the once.B次元官网网址�

She also suggested seeking out online community groups and advice from others more experienced living in the area.

Personally, Burdock recommended FacebookB次元官网网址檚 and B次元官网网址� although both are private groups and require approval before joining.

For the rest of the summer, Burdock plans to keep busy travelling the festival circuit, making stops and providing informational sessions at , and , to name just a few.

Her content will always be varied, Burdock said, since, as her TikTok handle suggests, B次元官网网址測ou never know which Betty youB次元官网网址檙e going to get.B次元官网网址�