Event

SCMF Wild Mushroom Foray

Join us at the Santa Cruz Mycoflora Project's Wild Mushroom Foray this December for a full weekend of immersion in the world of mushrooms. From fungal biology lectures to identification workshops, mushroom tasting sessions to DIY cultivation kits, we'll be exploring many realms of the Kingdom of Fungi.

Here in the southern stronghold of Redwoods, mid-December has been the most consistently productive time for mushroom variety and abundance in recent years. A good mix of fall species should overlap with early-winter groups like waxy caps, contributing to outstanding diversity.

Our preliminary lineup is headed by the inimitable Tom Volk, and will be accompanied by a list of fungal luminaries including Steve Trudell (author of Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest)additional speakers and educators will be added as confirmations come in, so stay tuned!

Noah Siegel and Christian Schwarz will lead field trips and teach workshops covering tips and tricks for identifying California mushrooms, and for using Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast. Milton Tam will lead a build-your-own Oyster Mushroom cultivation kit workshop, and Chad Hyatt will give a mushroom cooking demonstration and tasting including some lesser-known delicious edible species.

Your participation will directly contribute to our knowledge about the marvelous mushrooms of this spectacular bioregion. Our findings support the Santa Cruz Mycoflora Project, and we'll be using citizen science tools like iNaturalist to pair with our specimens (eventually headed for the UC Santa Cruz fungal herbarium). Every year, new species are added to the Santa Cruz County mycoflora, and participants in this event will no doubt find mushrooms that we've never documented in this area.

On-site registration is $325 (includes lodging Thursday-Saturday night, meals from Thursday dinner through Sunday lunch, and all foray fees). Off-site price is $200 (includes meals from Thursday dinner through Sunday lunch, and all foray fees). This foray will almost certainly sell out, so make sure to register early!