Daily Archives: October 12, 2024

Saturday, October 26, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Mushroom Identification Walk at Stevens Brook

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They can feed and enlighten you – or sicken and kill you. They’re mushrooms, the mysterious eruptions from an otherwise entirely hidden world of life and death. Join Opacum Land Trust, Holland Trails Committee, and amateur mycologist, Jonathan Kranz, On October 26 at 10 am on a woodland walk-and-talk where we explore the joys and hazards of the fungus among us, discovering:

  • The safest and most commonly found edible delicacies
  • The most dangerous toxic mushrooms in our region
  • How to safely pick, handle, and identify your mushroom finds
  • How mushrooms live and what roles they play in our habitats

Note: What we find depends on what’s out there, weather and climate permitting. Please take common sense precautions against insects (e.g., mosquitoes and ticks) and sunburn. We will meet at the trailhead parking area on the left-hand side of Blodgett Rd, Holland, MA. Cost $15. Register at https://www.opacumlt.org/events/mushroom-identification-walk-at-stevens-brook/


Thursdays, October 31 – November 21, 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm – New England Native Plant Design

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This Berkshire Botanical Garden four-week course, held on Thursdays, Oct. 31 through Nov. 21, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., will help students better understand the principles and practices of ecological gardening with a focus on native plant communities. Students will learn the native plant palette, resources needed to identify these communities, and habitats and methods of introducing native plants into gardens. Identifying and controlling invasive plant species, in addition to restoring areas that have been impacted by invasives, will also be highlighted. Gardeners will learn how to enhance garden spaces with native plants that create sustainable and low maintenance gardens. This course will be taught by Bridghe McCracken of Helia Land Design.

Three years ago, HNN was founded by horticulturalist and landscape designer Bridghe McCracken, after the sale of Project Native, a non-profit where she was Chief Landscape Designer for ten years. The founding of HNN was a solution to continue her and Project Native’s mission to save unique Berkshire native plant seed and propagate plants from those seeds, to be sold to landscape design clients and the public, part of an effort to restore and expand the strained ecosystem in the Berkshires.

BBG members $215, nonmembers $240. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/new-england-native-plant-design