Mushroom Foraging for Beginners

Wednesday, August 7, 2024
5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Tuition: $30  Materials: $15
*Sliding Scale Available

Are you interested in learning to confidently identify edible mushrooms that grow in and around our bioregion? Do you know which mushrooms are poisonous? Come learn about the ethics and tips for foraging, the life cycle of a mushroom, the physical parts and purpose of mushrooms, and how to begin to confidently identify both edible and poisonous mushrooms. We will cover the 'Safe Six' edibles and discuss ways to preserve and use them. Tastings will be available dependant on the season. This is a beginners class.

Herbalism classes taught through the Ely Folk School are led by instructors who have sought out training or education about herbal medicine and are not intended to replace care from medical professionals. These classes are strictly educational, and do not provide treatment, diagnosis, or medical guidance. Attendees acknowledge their responsibility for personal choices.

About the Instructor: Sue Wille is new to Ely, but not so new to the area. She grew up spending most of her summertime at her family's primitive island cabin on Lake Vermilion and since 2020 has lived summers there full time. Although rural Northwest Wisconsin has been 'home' for the past 12 years, Sue is now is excited to call both Tower (summer) and Ely (Winter) her home. Sue has been a practicing massage therapist for close to 29 years. Her continuous curiosity and studies in the healing arts and modalities led Sue to complete her 1600-hour Masters of Herbalism from the Green Wisdom School of Botanical Medicine in 2019. In full complement to the herbs, her life-long appreciation and fascination with mushrooms (finding, photographing, identifying, foraging, eating) came full circle. So much so that her final master thesis project was a book titled " Fruits of the Forest: The What, Why and How of Medicinal Mushrooms Made Easy". Sue is the sole proprietor of "MuttShrooms" - a small scale business of homemade mushroom dog treats containing medicinal mushrooms. Sue has a passion for sharing her knowledge and empowering other people to achieve wellness. For seven years she taught both hands-on and administrative courses at Minneapolis School of Massage and she currently presents as an instructor for Green Wisdom's Intermediate Level Certificate. Sue especially enjoys offering her hands-on, make-and-take courses which include the always popular Elderberry Syrup Class!