Mushroom Mania: A Fungal Foray Further Afield

Toadstools, puffballs, chicken of the woods, witches' butter, stinkhorns, turkey-tail, earthstar, shaggy manes...fungi have such fabulous common names!

Join us for a wild mushroom identification walk, but this time, let's go a bit further afield. We'll walk just over a mile/1.5 miles over mostly packed gravel and dirt trails. Deeper into our campus the trails turn a bit more rugged, and have a lot of roots and twists and turns.

This hike is great for ages and abilities of folks that can walk/hike up to two miles and are sure-footed due to the uneven terrain.

Our 250-acre forest is a great example of an intact forest ecosystem like you'd see anywhere in the western WA lowlands, with lots of woody debris for our favorite decomposers!

You’ll learn where to look for different species and gain identification tricks of the trade from seasoned foragers.

Mushrooming is a fun and addictive hobby! Your guides will share information on how you can get involved and stay connected to other enthusiasts and the best resources and tools to learn more.

• $20/adults and $12/kids
• This program is designed for a general audience of adults, children and youth ages 6 years and up. Please note that children or youth must be able to walk/hike around 1.5 miles on uneven terrain and less maintained trails than our upper campus.
• Enjoy cookies and hot cocoa after the hike, as you mix n' mingle with other mycological enthusiasts and learn more about educational mushroom-themed events in our area!
• Learn how to safely discover and identify mushrooms in your own backyard!
• We will not be harvesting fungi for take-home, but we will introduce you to the techniques of ethical and safe foraging.

IslandWood has been so grateful to partner with our buddies and mentors at the Kitsap Peninsula Mycological Society for over a decade to bring you Mushroom Mania! Special thanks to their volunteer guides and instructors for illuminating the forest floor (and stumps, and trunks) for us. We recommend you check them out if you're looking to learn more, as they have great events all year long. We love you KPMS!

We work to ensure that all reasonable accommodations are in place so that everyone can fully participate and learn during their time on our campus. All indoor spaces and many of our outdoor spaces and field structures were built and are continually maintained to meet ADA code, adhering to WAC 51-50. Learn more about the physical accessibility of our campus here.

Service animals only, please.

If you are feeling unwell, please stay home and rest up! We care about you.

IslandWood Community Education is grateful for the support of the Fletcher Bay Foundation, which supports low-cost and free public programs on our Bainbridge Island Campus each year.

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