Please join Naturalists Ryan Johnson and Licia Sahagun from Firecraft Northwest for this interactive and beginner friendly fungi and mushrooms crash course.
Learn the different structures of fungi and mushrooms, their life cycle, and how to categorize them so you can prepare for your first forage or studies in the world of mycology.
Course Outline and Objectives
We’ll study fungi and mushrooms with a combination of activities, lectures, and hands-on training. You’ll learn:
Fungi and mushroom anatomy basics
The roles of fungi and categorizing them based on their ecology
The seasonality of fungi and what conditions they prefer to grow in
Where to find fungi in different habitats and important plant associations
The importance of spore prints and how to make them
How to use a dichotomous key to support fungi identification
Fungi and survival skills - the history of mushrooms and fire!
Local favorite fungi to forage in the PNW that are beginner friendly
Books, tools and resources to help you on your journey
Sustainable harvesting practices & safety
Games and activities to meet other class participants
And more!
For this interactive lecture, we’ll be at one of our partner sites Post & Pour— a great place to grab a drink, food, and brush up on fungi skills before the season starts!
P.S. Looking for a beginner friendly Fungi-based field session at Squaxin Park? Click here to learn more about our visit to the Rose Garden on Oct 5, 2025 to study Fungi and Tree Ecology just north of Olympia!