Join us for seaweed foraging! It’s a beautiful, fun and relaxing experience for all ages.

Dates & Times

Fri 5/22 Autumn 9:30AM*

Sat  5/30 Ricardo 5AM

Sun 5/31 Ricardo  5:30AM

*class times are shaped around the low tidetime, which is always changing

What You Will Learn

Learn how to identify, use, and sustainably harvest the bountiful seaweeds. Harvest up to 10 lbs of seaweed to take home and enjoy. 

From ancient times to the present, seaweeds have been used by coastal people all over the world to nourish themselves and their gardens, as well as for health issues. The Sonoma coast is incredibly rich in seaweeds that can be used as food and medicine. 

We will gather on the beach, review some common edible species, and head to where the sea meets shore to access and appreciate the abundant marine meadow growing on our coast.

The class also includes community-building activities and will conclude with a cooking demo featuring several varieties of seaweed.  Led by Autumn Summers and Ricardo Romero Gianoli

Where

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

Instructors

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, medicinal plant cultivation, and how to safely and sustainably gather and use abundant wild edibles, including seaweeds and mushrooms, in Northern California. She teaches at several herbal schools in NorCal and is the lead herbal educator for Herb Pharm.

Ricardo Romero Gianoli (he/him) has been living, foraging, and cooking in Northern California since 2008. One of his passions and career focuses is kelp forest restoration. Ricardo is a certified restoration scuba diver and kelp forest monitor who has surveyed sites from the Salish Sea to Orange County, but he focuses his restoration efforts on the Sonoma and Mendocino coasts. It is his greatest joy to connect people with the ocean through adventure, food, and education in the intertidal zone.

Ticket Options

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

Adults

• $125 Pay it Forward (I'd like to support someone else to come)

• $100  Standard Ticket

• $75 Community Supported (these are supported by Pay it Forward tickets) 

Teens & Kids

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

• $55 per child (recommended for age 12 and up, but you know your child best)

Special Things to Bring

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

• Ice chest with ice to keep your seaweed cool while you transport it home

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

• Bucket

• Change of dry clothes, shoes, and socks, you will get wet at least up to the knee in this class, and possibly more of you.

• Headlamp or flashlight if your class begins before sunrise

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 submit your registration in the evening or on a weekend, it may take us 12-24 hours to send the confirmation. 

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

• This program 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 8 and up, but you know your child best

• Class is capped at 25 participants

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, fish and wildlife rules and regulations.

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