SATURDAY, DAY 1
Intro to Mycology
10am-12pm
We will start the day off with a presentation all about fungi! We will explore who they are, where we can find them, where they fit in the web of life, what roles they play in global ecologies and so much more.
12pm-1pm
Lunch break and discussion. Feel free to bring your own food and snacks. There will be food available for purchase from Bounty & Bloom Kitchen.
Mushroom ID & Community Science
1pm-3pm
We will close the first day with hands-on “field mycology” exercises. We will guide you through the process of identifying mushroom specimens using anatomical features, various tools, field guides, helpful ID keys, and most importantly, your senses! We will also talk about community science and the myriad ways you can get involved in the field by contributing meaningful observations and data.
We encourage you to bring in any mushroom specimens you find in the days prior to the event!
SUNDAY, DAY 2
Medicinal Mushrooms
10am-12pm
To begin our second day together, we will dive deep into a comprehensive overview of medicinal mushrooms, their biochemistry, different medicinal species in California and some simple ways you can work with them to make your own myco-medicinal concoctions.
12pm-1pm
Lunch break and discussion. Feel free to bring your own food and snacks. There will be food available for purchase from Bounty & Bloom Kitchen.
Fungal Cultivation
1pm-3pm
We will close the immersion with 2 hours of fungal cultivation skill building. We will have a 30 min presentation followed by learning hands-on, accessible, low cost, DIY cultivation techniques fit for all ages! Everyone will get to take home a jute bag oyster kit and/or an inoculated mushroom log.
MEET YOUR TEACHERS
Taye Bright
Taye Bright is an applied mycologist, ecological regeneration practitioner, educator, artist, medicine-maker and mythopoetic dreamer orienting her life’s work around fungi, fire/forest ecology, marine biology, symbioses and how to be in reciprocal, inter-species participation with our respective ecologies.
Taye holds a degree in Biology, has certifications in Permaculture Design and Ecosystem Restoration Design, and is a certified California Naturalist. She teaches mycology-focused classes and guides fungal ecology walks around Northern/Central California with the intention of providing accessible and embodied scientific education outside of conventional academia. She is the owner and founder of Symbiiotica, a small business offering mycological services, art, medicine and education as well as a co-owner of Moon Fruit Mushroom Farm, an outdoor, log-based mycoforestry operation. She also works as a post-fire restoration and mycoremediation researcher for CoRenewal and is in her 4th year as secretary for Bay Area Applied Mycology.
Outside of her scientific work, you can find her in the garden talking with birds, painting with mushroom ink, surfing in frigid Pacific waters, studying Scandinavian mythology, cooking up delicious wild foods and reading poetry by the fire.
Ryath Beauchene
Ryath Beauchene started studying mushrooms, plants, and soil 15 years ago and is ongoingly obsessed! He studied ecology and environmental education at Sonoma State University where he received an interdisciplinary BA engaging the cross-sections of outdoor leadership and ecological translation.
It is fair to say these pursuits have thoroughly inculcated his ways of being and tweaked his brain to think differently. As such, Ryath is a mushroom seeker, cultivator, and myco-centric ecological educator, as well as a co-steward of Moon Fruit Mushroom Farm and Symbiiotica. Ryath is also a horticulturist, tree pruner, medicine maker, estate manager, and mycological consultant for mushroom growers and medicinal formulations.
Ryath is curious and enchanted by the world and its myriad expressions, hooked on this life through the lenses of nutrition, ecology, fungi, plants, soil, semantics, scuba diving, endosymbiosis, herbalism, photography, cooking, and the maintenance of human-made thingamajigs.
