In honor of Tu B’Shevat, the Jewish New Year for Trees, we will celebrate the interrelationships of trees, humanity, fungi and the unseen world. Learn how blessings, angels, and a Jewish approach to ethical harvesting can deepen our connection to the natural world as we amble through the forest.  All ages and spiritual backgrounds welcome. This guided walk will be in Berkeley, CA in Tilden Park.  With all the rain we've had, the forest is bursting with life. It's a great time for an adventure!

Led by Autumn Summers, this program focuses on edible and medicinal spring plants in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area region. As we encounter them, we will also cover tree, plant, and mushroom identification, symbiotic forest partnerships, poisonous and edible trees, plants, and mushrooms, as well as forest safety.  

It's possible we can find miner's lettuce, mustard, radish, chickweed, spring alliums, cleavers, and a lot more!  We'll also cover wild berries, although they won't have fruit on them just yet. But you'll still learn how to know their leaves for later in the season!  You will leave with foundational skills to be able to go out foraging on your own. The program also includes community building and a tasting at the end. This is an experiential hands-on half-day program that starts at 1pm.

Join us for an exciting evening talk plus optional tacos with leading mycologist Christian Schwarz!

Making Scents of Fungi, from Stench to Perfume

If you've ever gone on a walk with an old-time mushroom picker, you've probably noticed that they often lift mushrooms to their noses as soon as they pick them. Besides being intriguing, alluring, and surprising, the aromas of fungi can be extremely important clues for identification. Come take an olfactory tiptoe through the world of fungi! We'll talk about the anatomy, philosophy, and even the politics of olfaction! Who knows where our conversation might lead us...

We will do our best to get some specimens for a fun experiential smell-a-thon that will help you get deeper into your senses, hone your identification skills, grow your myco-olfactory vocab beyond “it smells earthy”, or “it smells mushroomy” and of course be better equipped to answer “Can I eat that?”

Recorded webinar class

Learn about lacto fermentation and how to integrate wild ingredients such as edible plants, wild grains, roots, mushrooms, and more.

Join us for a special evening with leading mycologist Noah Siegel! Learn helpful foraging tips and enjoy an optional taco dinner.

Learn how to make beautiful colors with mushrooms!

Learn how to process acorns and bay nuts into tasty treats.