This weekend field course will introduce participants to the wonderful world of West Coast Mushrooms. Topics to be covered include introduction to fungi (what are they, and what is their role in our forests?), essentials of collecting and identifying fungi in the field, edible, medicinal and poisonous fungi, cooking with wild mushrooms, and more!
Our Covid Policy: double-vaccinated mandatory to participate
Course Registration is $250 per person, and includes lunch on Saturday and Sunday.
Friday (7:00 pm – 8:30 pm)
- Presentation – overview of wild mushrooms, different fungus groups, role of fungi in ecosystems & mushroom identification.
Saturday (9:00 am – 8:30 pm, with breaks)
- Field collection of wild mushrooms at field site.
- Group lunch (provided).
- Sorting of mushroom collections, spore prints, microscope ID session.
- Mushroom cooking demonstration and tasting.
- Presentation on foraging and identifying edible mushrooms.
Sunday (9:00 am – 1:00 pm)
- Field collection and identification of wild (edible) mushrooms.
- Group lunch (provided) and course wrap-up.
About the instructors:
Dr. Andy MacKinnon is a forest ecologist who lives in Metchosin BC. His fields of study include BC’s native plants, fungi and lichens. Andy is co-author of Mushrooms of British Columbia , and of six field guides to plants of western North America. He is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University, and past President of the South Vancouver Island Mycological Society.
Dr. Shannon Berch is an Emeritus Research Scientist with the BC Ministry of Environment in Victoria and a founding member of the South Vancouver Island Mycological Society and the Truffle Association of British Columbia.
Check out photos from the 2019 course below (due to covid there was not a 2020 course):
