What You'll Learn

This experiential, hands-on half-day program is all about the fascinating world of fungi and begins at 10:00 am. Learning to forage for mushrooms is an ongoing life path. This program will teach you foundational skills to be able to go out foraging on your own. We will cover mushroom anatomy for identification, symbiotic tree and plant relationships, poisonous and edible mushrooms, and forest safety. This winter, it will be possible to find edibles such as chanterelle, matsutake, porcini, lion's mane, blewits, black trumpets, hedgehogs, and more. The program also includes community building, mindful movement, a cooking demo, and a tasting at the end. We typically end between 2-3 pm. 

Where

Santa Cruz, CA Exact location provided with registration. 

Teaching Schedule

Sun 11/15 10:00 am-2 pm with Maya & Mikhael FULL. Join the waitlist.

Sat 11/21 10:am-2pm with Maya & TBD on private property FULL. Join the waitlist.

Sun 11/22 10:00 am-2 pm with Maya & TBD on private property FULL. Join the waitlist.

*Sun 12/13 10am-2pm with Alan Rockefeller & Cat in the mountains FULL. Join the waitlist.

*Sat 12/19 10am-2pm with Alan Rockefeller & Christopher in the mountains FULL. Join the waitlist.

*Sun 12/20 10am-2pm with Alan Rockefeller & Christopher in the mountains

Please note: the site that Alan is teaching at requires all participants to get a free individual mushroom permit. We will provide all registrants with instructions.

Instructors Bios

Alan Rockefeller(he/him) is an acclaimed mycologist renowned for his expertise in DNA barcoding, field photography, and microscopy. With over 20 years of experience, he has documented and photographed more than 2,500 fungal species. Alan has dedicated the past 15 years to studying fungal diversity in Mexico, regularly leading forays and sharing his knowledge with mycology enthusiasts worldwide. Alan is passionate about education and has taught thousands of people how to extract and sequence the DNA of their mushrooms. His contributions include uploading over 700 DNA sequences to GenBank and co-authoring several scientific papers, notably on new species of bioluminescent Mycena and Psilocybe. He has also identified over 400,000 fungal observations on platforms like iNaturalist and Mushroom Observer, contributing significantly to the understanding of global fungal diversity.

Maya Elson (she/they). Raised in the forest, Maya brings their skills as a mycologist, organizer, naturalist and teacher to facilitate connection with the wild world. With an environmental education career spanning 20 years, Maya makes learning fun, engaging, and relevant. Even though Maya has been leading mushroom and plant foraging classes for the last 8 years in the Santa Cruz Mountains, each class is unique–tailored to the participant’s interests, season, and location. Maya is also a biologist whose work explores the dynamic relationships between fire, soil, and humans, and consults wildfire mitigation and bioremediation projects internationally. Maya holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from The Evergreen State College, a graduate certificate in Ecopsychology from the Holos Institute, and is an MS Environmental Studies candidate at San Jose State University.

Cat Adams (she/her) Hailing from Seattle, Washington, Cat Adams, PhD, is a Research Scientist studying fungal ecology at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. She earned her BS in Biology (Ecology and Evolution) from the University of Washington, where she first fell in love with fungi. Cat earned her Master’s with Anne Pringle from Harvard University, studying how wild fungal seed pathogens of wild chili peppers evolved tolerance to spice. Her PhD at UC Berkeley was on the chemical ecology of the death cap mushroom, Amanita phalloides. For her postdoc, Cat studied how fungal farts (VOCs) from a root-associated fungus can inhibit bacteria that also live on the plant root. She has a penchant for public outreach and has written for Slate and BBC Earth. On the weekends, Cat enjoys mushroom hunting, cooking with mushrooms, giving guest lectures about mushrooms, and attending mushroom camps.

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.

Ticket Options

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 additional financial assistance, please see our scholarship program.

• $145 pay-it-forward adult ticket 

• $120 standard adult ticket

• $85 community-supported adult ticket

• $85 per teen (age 13-17, must be accompanied by an adult)

• $55 per child (recommended for age 7 and older, but you know your child best)

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

This trip goes rain or shine! 

• Event runs 10am - 2pm

•  In case of extreme weather that poses a safety threat, we reserve the option to cancel your date and offer reschedule, refund, or gift ticket

•  All participants should be prepared to walk slowly, covering about 3-5 miles on uneven terrain

•  We prefer to teach in small groups, so our groups are capped at 25 participants

•  Fees cover program costs only and do not cover transportation, gear, or lodging

•  You will be required to sign a waiver to participate

•  While we usually do, finding edibles is not a guarantee

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

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. We cannot hold your spot until we've received all 3.