Rees Campbell, a fifth-generation Tasmanian, has transformed the way we appreciate Tasmania’s edible native plants and seaweeds through her books and community work.

How did growing up in Tasmania shape your passion for the land and its native plants?

It has meant everything. I’ve always loved being part of this island, and her wild places. I grew up at Kingston Beach and as a child would eat native cherries from the trees, cook periwinkles in camp fires, but it wasn’t until much more recently that I thought about the wealth of native edibles there must be. I’ve always written about place, this place especially. Most of my poetry is about Tasmanian wild places, and I have always been enthusiastic and passionate about sharing that wonder I feel.

What is your research process for your books? How did you learn about native ingredients?

I scoured everywhere for resources, and they weren’t easy to find. I read all the Australia-wide wild food books, including the great books by Tim Low and AB and JW Cribb. I read some of our early white settlers such as Louisa Anne Meredith. I read as many early explorers’ journals including George Robinson. I spoke to many palawa people and also white people who lived in or near the bush. For the way to use the plants, I often extrapolated from ways they’d been used on the mainland – following plant genera. All the recipes are my own, although with cooking, it’s often tweaking the edges. I always want the Tasmanian taste to be the major flavour profile.

How has your collaboration with the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre influenced your understanding of native plants?

My understanding and respect for palawa kani was the major thing for me. I hadn’t realised what a robustly researched and cross-referenced, linguistically-accurate exercise it was. It was a real honour to work on reviving plant names, and I thank June Sculthorpe for her generosity in sharing. It was excellent learning some of the medical uses for plants too.

What are your thoughts on Tasmanians foraging for their own native ingredients?

I’m totally against it. My mantra is to “treat the bush as a library, not a supermarket”. Our bush is too fragile, too fragmented to have us trample it to get a few bits and pieces to eat. All nurseries in Tasmania grow some edible natives, and we should grow our own in our own gardens. Just because it’s wild, doesn’t mean it’s available to us, to denude the bush for.

What’s one native edible plant should every Tasmanian should have in their garden?

Ooh, it’s so hard to pick a favourite. Favourite fruit – pigface / carpobrotus rossii. Favourite herb – native parsley / apium prostratum. Favourite green – warrigal greens / tetragonia tetraganoides or maybe saltbush. Favourite seed – allocasuarina seed. But the plant we should all grow because it’s such a unique flavour – Tasmania’s answer to lemon myrtle is baeckea gunniana. This has a multi-profile flavour of citrus but with all the essence of the Tasmanian bush. Beautiful!

How do you balance the promotion of Tasmania’s unique offerings with the desire to protect it from over-exploitation?

This is a really big issue, and one of the aspects of this is the opportunity for commercial enterprises to start growing these plants. There’s already a market, both from chefs and the general public; but the supply isn’t there. It’s one of the reasons I wrote The Seaweed Supplement, and also why I incorporated a weed section in Eat MORE Wild Tasmanian, so people could satisfy that natural urge to forage; but to leave Tasmania’s bush alone. It is actually illegal to harvest any native plant material from any public land; which includes roadsides and beaches.

How does it make you feel to see your teachings resonate with children, especially with schools and childcare centres growing and using Tasmanian wild food plants after your visits?

 It’s fantastic. It’s brilliant to see how open they are to various tastes from the past. The children are our future, and if they normalise the eating of wild Tasmanian foods, many species will be saved. We conserve what we value, and if we value these wild food plants as part of our diet; they will be conserved. One of my favourite activities to do with very young kids is to bring along a range of edible native flowers, and let them flavour their own pikelets. Some are so artistic, others want “the lot”.

What did it mean to be a finalist in the 2025 Tasmanian Australian of the Year Awards?

 It’s really lovely for me personally, although I would prefer the date was changed; but more significantly it shows me how important wild food has become. It’s fantastic that the panel considered advocacy of our wild plants worthy of a place amongst the final four. It’s an honour to be among so many worthwhile people.