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

Sonoma Coast. Exact location provided with registration. 

Instructors Include

Taye Bright (she/they) is a mycologist, naturalist, and artist dedicated to fungal ecology, bioremediation, and community science. Holding a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Science, she is a certified UC California Naturalist and Permaculture Designer. Taye serves as a field mycologist for the Fungal Diversity Survey (FUNDIS) and a researcher for FENiXS, where she investigates how fungal inocula support post-fire ecosystem recovery. Her work focuses on building ecological literacy and interspecies reciprocity through accessible education. Beyond her research, she leads workshops across California, helping students connect with bioregional intelligence and fungi outside of traditional academic settings.

Mikhael Crystallah-Selk is a leading mushroom identifier in California with more than a decade of experience foraging and studying the taxonomy of fungi. He is on the board of SOMA mycological association and is a group expert and moderator of some of the largest online mushroom groups.  He leads the identification tables at many of the Northern California mushroom events and leads guided mushroom walks around NorCal. 

Saumitra Kelkar (he/him) is an ecologist and educator with degrees in forestry and environmental economics from UC Berkeley. He taught high school biology for 4 years in the Oakland Unified School District, where he taught students how to forage for plants and mushrooms and identify local species. He can identify most of the common plants and mushrooms in the Bay Area and is passionate about restoring ecosystems and building relationships between people and the living world around them.

Ryath Fujita Beauchene (he/him) has been studying, foraging, cultivating, ingesting, making medicine with and absolutely lovig fungi for fifteen years. Ryath is also a trained horticultural-herbalist who consults with private clients, makes myco-herbal blends & co-stewards an outdoor mushroom farm in Sebastopol, CA. Ryath teaches online & at mycological gatherings and regularly facilitates myco-ecology walks on the CA coast and in the Sierra Nevada. 

Maria Kostick (she/her) 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. 

Ticket Options

• $135 pay it forward adult ticket 

• $115 adult standard adult ticket

• $85 adult 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

•  This site has a limit per person of 2lb per day.

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