You're not going to want to miss this delicious mussel foraging and feast with our team of ocean "o-fish-ionados".

Dates:

• 11/7 2:30-5:30 with Ryn and Maria near Bodega Bay

• 11/8 3:30-6:30 with Ryn and Maria near Bodega Bay

• 11/22 2:30-5:30 with Ryn & TA near Bodega Bay

What You Will Learn

Deepen your relationship with the ocean with a magical mussel foraging & feast adventure on the beautiful Sonoma Coast.  Learn how to sustainably harvest and cook fresh mussels, their role in intertidal ecology, how to be a good ocean steward, and regional history. 

Each person can take home up to 10lb of fresh foraged mussels.

After we forage, we’ll all throw a handful into the pot, and your guide will cook up a delicious mussel dish, and we can celebrate our bounty together. 

Where

A beautiful beach near Bodega Bay, CA.  Exact address is provided with registration. 

Instructors

Ryn Sullivan (they/them) brings over 10 years of experience in outdoor education and nature-inspired crafts to our team. As a backpacking guide, naturalist, and lifelong maker, they’re always finding new ways to work with what’s around us while caring for the ecosystem. They’ve been foraging since childhood and diving headfirst into their passion for the intertidal zone and all the creatures that call it home. They are involved in many sea urchin projects and are excited to teach Fork in the Path's students how to find and eat urchin as part of their holistic restoration efforts. When not foraging, you might find them teaching wilderness first aid classes, free diving for purple urchins, or crafting cordage from the irises in their backyard. Ryn is a certified Wilderness First Responder, yoga teacher, and California fishing guide.

Christopher O'Maelmacasa (they/them)is a leading botanist and one of the most knowledgeable people about the Sierra Nevada region ecology! Christopher holds an MA in integrative ecology from UNR, is on the board of the Nevada Native Plant Society, and leads walks and workshops throughout the region, specializing in ethnobotany. Christopher is currently writing a comprehensive guide to edible and medicinal plants of the Sierra Nevada and is co-author of an upcoming book on California trees.

Maria Kostick (she/her)is a mushroom, mussel, and urchin instructor and photographer for Fork in the Path. She was taught by her parents and grandparents to forage, preserve, gather & garden in order to make the most of what was accessible.  Maria went on to earn her teaching credential from San Francisco State University.  She taught for the Berkeley Unified School District before becoming a full-time resident of the Mendocino coast in 2005. This created an opportunity for her to deepen her understanding of her childhood foraging practices.  She is honored to explore, learn, study & try to understand the beautiful wild land of which she is a part. Currently, she teaches her young son the ways of the land as they explore & create connection to the earth together.  The forests, beaches, and oceans have provided much for her pantry and table, but much more for her spirit and soul.  She has been a teacher since her youth, and now her passion for teaching has extended into the forests of Northern California. 

Autumn Summers (she/her)is an avid wild foods forager, herbalist, gardener, and ethnobotanist. Autumn is passionate about sharing her 35 years of experience in an accessible and empowering way.  She teaches botany, intertidal ecology, medicinal plant cultivation, and how to safely and sustainably gather and use abundant wild edibles, including seaweeds, mussels, and mushrooms in Northern California. She teaches at several schools in NorCal and has been a leading herbal educator in Northern California for decades.

To make our programs accessible to more people, we offer sliding scale pricing; please choose the rate that's best for you. For those who need financial assistance, we have a scholarship program available!

Ticket Options

A portion of your program fee goes to Native American Rights Fund.  

Adults

• $135 Pay it Forward (I'd like to support someone else to come)

• $115  Standard Ticket

• $85 Community Supported (these are supported by Pay it Forward tickets) 

Teens & Kids

• $75 per teen (age 13 - 17, must be accompanied by an adult)

• $60 per child (recommended for age 12 and up, but you know your child best)

Special Things to Bring

• Fishing license (see advice below this section)

• $10 cash or check per vehicle for parking (or park outside the park gates and walk a bit for free)

• non-slip shoes that can get wet: examples: waterproof sandals, running shoes, diving booties 

• an ice chest and blocks/ice packs to keep your mussels cool while you transport them home (fresh water kills mussels, we want them cold, but not sitting in melted fresh water)

• any bags will work, but mesh bags are great for draining water (less heavy for you!) 

• a bucket

• heavy-duty leather, rubber or gardening gloves 

• A change of dry clothes, shoes and socks, you may get wet at this class. But you will definitely get wet up to the knee.

• A headlamp or flashlight. Your class begins with the light and ends as it's getting dark

Fishing License Requirement & Advice

This class requires a CA fishing license for all participants age 16 and up, per CA Dept of Fish & Wildlife regs that you must purchase separately here:  https://www.licenses.wildlife.ca.gov/internetsales/ you must create a profile to purchase the license. You can get a one day license for $20, or annual license is the best option if you plan to fish, clam, mussel, etc more than one day in the next year. If you need help, please contact California Department of Fish and Wildlife - 916-928-2537 (Monday-Friday: 8:00am to 5:00pm, PST) Email - LRB@wildlife.ca.gov 

You can use an annual or a day sport fishing license for this class.  If you are getting a day license, we recommend waiting until a few days before your class to purchase the license in case we need to postpone the class due to a storm or toxic conditions. CDFW will not allow you to transfer your license to a different date. 

About a week before your class, you will receive an email from us with step-by-step instructions on how to get your license. 

More Important Details

These programs are very popular and often fill up very quickly. We encourage you to register right away if you'd like to attend!

You will receive a registration confirmation once we've received this form + your payment + your signed liability waiver. Our programs fill up quickly, and we cannot hold your spot until we've received all 3. 

• If you enroll and must change your plans, we do not offer refunds, but you may sell or gift your ticket

• Thisprogram runs rain or shine! In the event of severe hazardous weather, the class will be rescheduled with the option to reenroll, or get a refund or a credit

• Fees cover program costs only and do not cover transportation or lodging. We do provide a carpool spreadsheet once you've registered that participants use to self-organize ridesharing. 

• You are required to sign a waiver to participate. 

• Recommended age is 12 and up, but you know your child best

• Class is capped at 25 participants

• Dogs are not allowed at this, or any of our classes

Accessibility

• You will need to walk up and down a steep hillside on uneven surfaces including rocky shoreline, up to 3 miles round trip

Park and Fish and Wildlife Rules and Regs

You are required to follow all park and fish and wildlife rules and regulations.

No other plants, mushrooms or other forms of life may be harvested during this program, per park regulations.  

You must have your fishing license or risk steep fines.

Registration Form Notes:

On a mobile phone, you may need to click inside the form to scroll. (use this registration form for a non-embedded version)

If you get an error when you Submit, check your email for a link from us to complete your registration (especially your spam folder).