Mushroom Discovery Two-Day Workshop: Exploration and Identification

The course will begin in the classroom with Christian teaching the basics of mushrooms and mushroom identification. Then the class will move outside through a portion of the SLO Botanical Garden. Tips and instructions on collecting mushrooms will be given. Participants will gather specimens for closer examination and discuss identification techniques and citizen science tools. This workshop will emphasize a dynamic sensory awareness of the mushrooms via close observation, touching, and smelling. The Sunday hands-on workshop will be a deep dive into mushroom identification. We’ll organize into small groups and under Christian’s guidance, we’ll practice systematically identifying mushrooms. Midday, there will be a fun break introducing students to edible mushrooms. This will include an optional tasting of multiple species prepared in a variety of ways by local mushroom enthusiasts, Lindsay Best, Michelle Torres-Grant, and Leonard Grant. The mushroom identification workshop will continue after the lunch break. Finally, the course will end with time to ask questions. The class size of this workshop is limited to a small size of 22 participants in order to ensure a high quality learning experience. Register today to ensure your place as it will fill up! Note: There is a separate sign-up for the Monday Mushrooming Field trip and it’s only open to participants of this Two-Day Workshop. Dress for the weather and bring your own lunch. Please enter code: Member40 for your SLOBG member’s discount / membership will be verified Instructor Christian Schwarz studied Ecology and Evolution at UC Santa Cruz, where his interest in the world of fungi became irrevocable. Although he is passionate about ecology and biodiversity in general, Christian is most well-known as a field mycologist. He has co-authored two field guides — Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast and the upcoming Mushrooms of Cascadia, both with Noah Siegel. He primarily spends his time seeking, photographing, collecting, teaching about, and publishing research on North American macrofungi, and has served on the IUCN Red List Working Group for North American Fungi. He is a research associate of the Ken Norris Center for Natural History at UC Santa Cruz, where he teaches undergraduate courses in mycology and community science.