Mushrooms

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/


Saturday, August 17, 1:00 pm – 2:15 pm – Spore into Specimen

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Discover the enchanting world of mushrooms on August 17 from 1 – 2:15 at the Clark Art Institute, 225 South Street in Williamstown.

In this workshop, Andrea Puccio, director of the library, and Terri Boccia, collections development librarian, lead a tour of rare books in the Clark library’s collection featuring mushrooms. Then, Jan Rolin from Mycoterra Farm (South Deerfield, Massachusetts) teaches participants about the mushroom lifecycle and how to harvest their own mushrooms using a grow-at-home kit. Learn how mushrooms can help us both environmentally and physically as you discover how to pick, store, and cook the mushrooms you grow.

Mycoterra Farm is a leader in sustainable mushroom cultivation, dedicated to producing high-quality, gourmet mushrooms. Located in the heart of Western Massachusetts, they pride themselves on innovative farming techniques and a commitment to environmental stewardship. In addition to their farm operations, Mycoterra Farm collaborates with Mass Food Delivery to ensure fresh, locally-grown mushrooms and other produce reach communities across the region.Tickets $30 ($28 members). Includes one mushroom growing kit. For accessibility concerns, call 413 458 0524. Register at www.clarkart.edu

Saturday, February 17, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Medicinal Mushrooms

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Are you curious about the power of medicinal mushrooms? Join Berkshire Botanical Garden on February 17 at 2:00 pm, along with Willie Crosby of Fungi Ally. In the classroom, the woods and the kitchen, this exploration of medicinal mushrooms will serve as an introduction into some of the common mushrooms found in the Northeast woods and cultivated at home. We will learn how to prepare them to access their medicinal potency. We will get to know reishi, cordyceps, lion’s mane, maitake, and other fungal allies. 

Owner of Fungi Ally, Willie Crosby has been growing mushrooms indoors and outdoors for nearly a decade. He works to reveal the power of mushrooms by educating people how to incorporate mushrooms into their gardens and lives. Willie teaches online for Stockbridge School of Agriculture, Cornell University, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, as well as in person at his farm in Hadley, Mass. $40 for BBG members, $60 for nonmembers. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org

Saturday, April 15, 11:00 am – 1:30 pm – Cultivating Mushrooms Outside

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Start spring early with a dive into the fungal kingdom with Berkshire Botanical Garden. Learn how to inoculate logs, wood chips and stumps for mushroom cultivation in your backyard. We will cover the basic information everyone should know about fungi and get hands-on experience doing these easy to replicate growing methods. By the end of class you will be familiar with six different wild mushroom species, three cultivation techniques and have loads of new fungal lore to share with your friends. The class takes place at Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge on April 15 from 11 – 1:30.

Willie Crosby is the owner of Fungi Ally. He has been growing mushrooms indoors and outdoors for over nine years and works to reveal the power of mushrooms by educating people how to incorporate mushrooms into their gardens and lives. Willie teaches online for Stockbridge School of Agriculture and Cornell as well as in person at his farm in Hadley, Mass., and for UMass-Amherst. $35 for BBG members, $45 for nonmembers.

Courtesy Freshcap.com

Thursday, February 16, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Finding Beauty in Fungi: Mushrooms and Lichens, Online

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From “mushroom leather” fashion to best-selling books on how mycelial networks create webs of interconnectivity between species, fungi continue to capture the contemporary imagination. Join the New York Botanical Garden on February 16 online to view stunning artwork created by botanical artists Christiane Fashek, Lucy Martin, and Margaret Saylor, who have long focused their artistic lenses on mushrooms and lichens. Each artist will show a curated selection of their work and discuss how they collect, prepare, or photograph specimens for study, how they depict these tiny organisms in such intimate detail, and why they too remain fascinated by fungi. Those interested in submitting work for Unsung Allies, The Fifth NYBG Triennial, will gain invaluable insights from these experts. $18. Register at www.nybg.org.

Tuesday, July 19, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Medicinal Mushrooms: Fungi for a Healthy Body, Mind, and Planet, Online

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Emerging research suggests that mushrooms may be beneficial for brain and nerve health. Discover the properties of different species and learn where medicinal mushrooms occur locally. Study how select types such as Maitake, Reishi, and Lion’s Mane can help strengthen the immune system and increase resistance to stress. We’ll also explore how fungi have been used to clean toxins from the environment by filtering water and removing heavy metals from soil. This New York Botanical Garden webinar takes place July 19 from 6 – 8, with instructor John Michelotti. NYBG members $45, nonmembers $49. Register HERE.

Sunday, September 12, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm – Painting Marvelous Mushrooms

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This Tower Hill Botanic Garden course on September 12 from 10:15 – 12:15 with Carol Schwartz is focused on learning and applying botanical illustration skills. It is an all levels workshop but it is encouraged that participants have some basic illustration experience. During this workshop, take a short walk along the wooded paths at Tower Hill and find just the right mushroom to paint. Snap a few pictures, then back in a classroom learn about how to use watercolors to create a beautiful mushroom illustration. Carol will provide tips, tricks and guidance for your illustration.

Required Materials (Not Provided With Registration)

  1. Watercolor or mixed media paper pad, 9″ x 12″, such as Canson XL or Strathmore 400 Series
  2. No. 2 pencil and an eraser
  3. Watercolor set, pan or tubes, suggested brands include Winsor & Newton, Pelikan, Raphael, Royal Talens Van Gogh, Koi
  4. Three watercolor brushes; one small round brush size 0 or 1, one medium round brush size 2-5, one large round brush size 6-8

Carol graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute, attending her senior year at Rhode Island School of Design. She earned her MFA in Illustration from the University of Hartford, Connecticut in 2014. Her education equipped her to be diverse and adaptable, with work appearing in 60 picture books and countless magazines, newspapers and advertisements.

$30 Member Adult; $40 Adult (Registration includes admission to the Garden) Register HERE.

Thursday, July 22, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, and Sunday, July 25 (Field Session) – Introduction to Mushrooming, Online and In Person

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Mushrooming can be a fun and safe hobby if you know the guidelines. Learn about many Novice and Beginner-Level mushrooms, their health benefits, and how to stick to “safer” classes of edible mushrooms with an interactive online webinar. In addition to the webinar you can register to go on a mushrooming walk at Tower Hill Botanic Garden. We will take the information we learned in the webinar and apply it out in the field. The field session is limited to 25 people. If you are interested in signing up for the field session, click this link to register for both the webinar and the field session.

July 22 Online Webinar: The basics of mushrooming

July 25 Field Session: Applying what we’ve learned while exploring the woods of Tower Hill

Rachel Goclawski, Naturalist and MA Certified educator is a Programmer The Museum of Natural History, Sudbury Valley Trustees, Scouts of Eastern MA and other organizations. She is a contributing writer for The Cook’s Cook: Now, Forager Magazine and has been featured in The Boston Globe, Worcester Telegram, and local television talk shows. Rachel comes from a long line of foragers, including her great-grandfather, Arthur W. Fairbanks, founder of the Boston Mycological Club. Visit her Facebook page for Forage to Table tips and other sustainable skills posts: www.facebook.com/cookingwithmrsg

Webinar Only: $15 Member Adult; $20 Adult Register at www.towerhillbg.org

Thursdays, October 9 and 15, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Mushrooms of the Forest in Dry Brush Watercolor, Online

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This Berkshire Botanical Garden online workshop will focus on using dry brush watercolor to replicate the colors and the form of mushrooms. “Dry brush” refers to the art of using only a small amount of paint to damp a brush. Learn the basics of the technique: color mixing and layering, working from light to dark, adding fine detail and using a dry brush with the “skin” of dried paint on the palette. This two-session class on October 9 and 15 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm led by botanical artist Anastasia Traina will include live instructional time and group critique. Attendees will be provided with a photograph and an outline of the same mushroom to work from throughout the class. These materials will be provided post-registration along with a required material list. 

Anastasia Traina is a member of SAG, WGA, The Dramatists Guild, The American Society of Botanical Artists, the Tri-State Botanical Artists of NYBG, the SBA and Circle East. Ms. Traina is a graduate with honors from the NYBG botanical art degree program. She lives in upstate New York with her husband, dog, two rabbits and her 40,000 bees.

Sunday, September 20, 10:30 am – Magnificent Mushrooms Botanical Illustration

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Explore the multitude of mushrooms popping up in the woods at Tower Hill on September 20 at 10:30 am. This program will be held under our open sided outdoor canopy tent. Group size will not exceed current state restrictions. Sketch as you see them, then snap a photo with your phone and add color with colored pencils while sitting at a table under the activities tent. Learn about showing texture and shading.

Instructor Carol Schwartz graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute, attending her senior year at Rhode Island School of Design. She earned her MFA in Illustration from the University of Hartford, Connecticut in 2014. Her education equipped her to be diverse and adaptable, with work appearing in 60 picture books and countless magazines, newspapers and advertisements.

$30 for Tower Hill members, $40 for nonmembers. Register at https://towerhillbg.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-registration-form—magnificent-mushrooms