Within the ecological community, there is a growing understanding of the utterly vital roles fungi play in healthy ecosystems. And yet within our society at large, there remains more fear than knowledge about these amazing organisms. The goal of this course is to give wild mushroom novices a safe and immersive introduction to fungi that can serve as a solid base for future exploration, whether that be learning to forage or grow mushrooms, or incorporating fungal knowledge into other practices like gardening, herbalism, or art.

The half-day class will be broken into three sections, with a brief overview leading into a foray through the forest to find and collect mushrooms, followed by hands-on mushroom identification including learning to take a spore print. We'll close our session with a B.Y.O. picnic lunch together on beautiful White Feather Farm.

This class is aimed at adult-level learners but is open to older kids accompanied by an adult. There are no prerequisites for knowledge, but participants should come with sensible shoes for off-trail exploration, a water bottle, and a collection bag (a canvas tote or even a paper grocery bag is fine), and lunch to picnic with if desired. Please address specific questions about accessibility to Chris at chicorynaturalist@gmail.com.

Saturday, September 25th

9am-2pm

$25 Suggested Donation

Chris Baker is a certified mushroom forager, full-time parent, and founder of Chicory Naturalist, offering workshops, resources, and an online shop for budding naturalists of all ages. She has an M.A. in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago and a diverse range of professional experience in the culinary, arts, and agricultural fields. Baker is a passionate lifelong learner, and a strong believer that knowledge is meaningful only to the extent it is shared. She lives in the Hudson Valley with her partner and toddler, who is a constant source of inspiration to engage deeply and daily with the natural world.