Mushrooms of the West Coast – Weekend Field Course
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!
We thank Andy MacKinnon and Ann McCall for taking time to come to the West Coast to share their knowledge and passion with us! Shout out to Kem Luther & Shannon Berch for their years of commitment to the RES — we hope to see you in years to come.
Course registration is $350 per person
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(opens in new tab) , 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 President of the South Vancouver Island Mycological Society.
Ann McCall is a mycology enthusiast with a particular interest in taxonomy and ITS barcoding. With a background in engineering and a life-long passion for the sciences, Ann finds joy in deepening her knowledge of fungi while contributing to citizen science and encouraging others to do the same. She assisted with the launch of MycoMap BC to make DNA sequencing more accessible in BC and currently serves as Vice President of the South Vancouver Island Mycological Society.
Weekend Schedule
Friday Evening (7:00 pm - 8:30 pm)
Ucluelet Community Centre
- Presentation – overview of wild mushrooms, different fungus groups, role of fungi in ecosystems, and mushroom identification.
Saturday (8:30 am - 5:30 pm)
- Field collection of wild mushrooms at field site.
- Sorting of mushroom collections, spore prints, microscope ID session.
- Afternoon presentation on foraging and identifying edible mushrooms.
- Mushroom cooking demonstration and tasting with Chef Ian Riddick of Heartwood Kitchen!
Sunday (8:00 am - 1:00 pm)
- Field collection and identification of wild (edible) mushrooms.
- Group lunch and course wrap-up.