Home Study Bushtucker Plants Course
Discover new and exotic culinary pleasures with flavours of Australian Indigenous plants
A course for plant enthusiasts, food enthusiasts or anyone looking for something different and exciting to spice up their horticulture or hospitality business
Lesson Content and Structure
Duration - 100 hours
There are 8 lessons in this course:
Introduction
Scope
Is it Edible
Native Plants to be Cautious with
Understanding Plant Toxins
Nutritional Value of Bush tucker
Plant Identification
Naming Plants
Hybrids, Varieties and Cultivars
Plant Families
Pronouncing Plant Names
Resources
Growing
Understanding Soil
Improving Soil
Feeding Plants
Growing Australian Plants on Low Fertility Soils
Planting Procedure
Mulching
Pruning Australian Plants
Propagation
Seed
Collecting, Storing, Germinating Seed
Difficult Seeds
Seed Germination Techniques
Handling and raising seedlings
Asexual Propagation (Cuttings, Division, etc)
Gathering
Introduction
Ethics
Bush Foods as A Commercial Venture
Gathering Acacia Seed
Developing a Bush Food Garden
Designing a Bush Garden
Selected Native Trees for a Bush Tucker Garden
Selected Shrubs for a Bush Tucker Garden
Selected Small Indigenous Australian Plants for a Bush Tucker Garden
Rainforest Gardens
Desert Gardens
Edible Arid Zone Bush Tucker plants
Water Management
Nuts and Seeds
Macadamia
Araucaria
Aleurites moluccana
Athertonia diversifolia (Atherton Oak)
Castanospermum australe
Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia
Acacias
Using Acacias (eg. Wattleseed Essense)
Vegetables
Native Spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides)
Pigface (Carpobrotus sp.)
Longleaf Mat Rush (Lomandra longifolia)
Solanums (Bush Tomatoes or Kangaroo Apple)
Blechnum indicum
Apium prostratum (Sea Celery)
Native Lilies
Microseris lanceolata (Yam Daisy)
Dioscorea transversa (Wild Yams)
Native ginger Alpinia caerulear
Seaweeds
Fruits
Astroloma
Austromyrtus dulcis (Midgen Berry)
Billardiera sp (eg. Appleberry)
Davidsonia purescens (Davidson’s Plum)
Eugenia spp. and Syzygium spp. (eg. Bush Cherries)
Ficus (Native Figs)
Planchonella australis (Black Apple)
Quandong (Santalum)
Rubus sp (Native Raspberry)
Other Fruits ...lots more outlined
Flavourings, Teas, Essences
Backhousia
Curcuma (related to ginger)
Eucalyptus
Leptospermum
Soaked Flowers (eg. Grevillea)
Acacia
Alpinia caerulea
Tasmannia sp
Using Bush Tucker Plants
Develop your ability to identify, select, and develop processing procedures, for a range of varieties of bush food plants selected.
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
The individual module courses are 100 hour long usually (also known as modules) and can be taken on their own or as part of a larger program of study. If you want to take one of these courses only, you can elect to sit an optional exam at the end of it. If you successfully sit the exam, you will receive a Statement of Attainment. If you don't take the exam, you will receive a letter of completion. You can take examinations at a time and location to suit you. If you enrol, you will be sent further information on how to arrange examinations at the end of the course. If you do not wish to sit the examination, you will need to complete all assignments to receive the course completion letter. There is an assignment at the end of each lesson. So for example, if an individual module course contains ten lessons, you will need to complete ten assignments. Assignments can be sent to us via email, post or fax. Find out more on exams here.
What qualification will I achieve for completing this course?
This is an individual module course. The individual module courses are 100 hour long usually and can be taken on their own or as part of a larger program of study.
If you wish to take an individual module course as a stand alone course, you can elect to sit an optional exam at the end of it.
If you successfully pass the exam and all assignments, you will receive a Statement of Attainment. You can take examinations at a time and location to suit you. If you enrol, you will be sent further information on how to arrange examinations at the end of the course.
If you do not wish to take the exam, you will receive a Course Completion letter when you have passed all assignments.
There is an assignment at the end of each lesson. So for example, if an individual module course contains ten lessons, you will need to complete ten assignments. Assignments can be sent to us via email, post or fax.
Other qualifications, such as certificates, diplomas etc may require examinations to be taken as part of the overall assessment process.
You can find further information on the examinations process by clicking on the “Enrolment” link above.
You can find further information on other courses by clicking on the “Courses” link above.
Aims
Discuss the nature and scope of bush tucker plants.
Review the way bush tucker plants are accurately identified.
Describe how to cultivate a range of bush tucker plants.
Describe how bush foods are harvested from the wild and how to set up a cultivated bush food garden.
Outline the cultivation, harvest and use of various bush tucker nuts and seeds.
Explain the cultivation, harvest and use of various bush tucker vegetables
Explain the cultivation, harvest and use of various bush tucker fruits
Explain the cultivation, harvest and use of various bush tucker plants that are used to flavour foods or beverages
Describe the preparation of bush tucker.
More Information on ACS Distance Education and our courses
Who are our tutors?
Our tutors are all highly experienced and professional, knowledgeable in their field of study. We have staff from around the world, enabling us to gain a wide variety of perspectives. We have a school in the UK and in Australia. If you would like to have a look at our tutors, then click on the “The School” in the boxes above and choose “The Staff” option.
Sample Course Notes
Our courses are all written by highly qualified tutors and writers, who also teach on the courses, so know them well. We strive to update our courses and improve them with new information, methods and knowledge on an ongoing basis. If you would like to see examples of some of our courses, then choose the “Enrolment” option above, and then click on “Sample Course Notes”.
What learning method should I choose?
We offer three learning methods – e-learning, correspondence and online. If you are not sure which is the right choose for you, then click on the “Enrolment” box above, then “Learning Methods.”
How Long will it take to complete the course?
This obviously varies from student to student. Some students will have more time for study than others. Some students may work quicker than others, so it is an individual thing. We estimate that most students will take, for example, 4 – 6 months to complete a 100 hour individual module, but we allow up to 12 months for you to complete it.
Longer courses will obviously take longer. You can find more information on the length of time required and so on the “Enrolment” box, then selecting “Terms and Conditions of Enrolment.”
What Do Our Students think of us?
If you would like to read comments from our previous students, then choose the “Enrolment” option above, then “Student Testimonials”.
I don’t think this is the right course for me.
If you’re not sure about this course, then why not look at our wide range of other courses. Click on the “Courses” box above.
You may also wish to design your own course to fit in with exactly what YOU want. To do so, click on the “Enrolment” box, then “Design your Own Course”.
If you would like more advice on a course, then you can contact us and ask a tutor about the courses. You can contact us by calling 0800 328 4723 or +44(0) 384 442752 or emailing info@acsedu.co.uk
Recognition and Accreditation
For more information on our recognition and accreditation, click on “The School”, then “Recognition”.
Who is ACS Distance Education?
If you want to know more about ACS and our history, then please click on “The School”, then “About us.”
Learn about identifying, growing and using Australian Indigenous Plants for Food
There are many different types of bush tucker foods:
Nuts and seeds (eg. Acacia, Macadamia, bunya nuts)
Drinks (eg. hot teas, infusions of nectar laden flowers, fruit juices)
Flavourings (eg. lemon scented myrtle)
Berries (eg. Astroloma, some Solanum species)
Fruits (eg. quandong, Ficus macrophylla, Syzygium)
Vegetables
Wattle seeds ground to produce ‘flour’
Plant roots ground to produce a paste or flour.
