For students, faculty, personnel from federal and state agencies, museums, environmental organizations and consulting firms and amateurs
Mushroom Identification for New Mycophiles: Foraging for Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms July 31 - Aug 6 Instructors: Greg Marley and Michaeline Mulvey Location: Eagle Hill Institute, Steuben, Me Mushrooms bring up many different and divergent associations. For the ecologist they are invaluable decomposers (nutrient recyclers), as symbionts with green plants, or even as parasites. To the taxonomist they are an ongoing puzzle of relationships to explore, with the ultimate goal of tidy, understandable order. In North America, the public associate wild mushrooms primarily with the risk of poisoning and avoid even a touch. However wild mushrooms have a long history as a valued food, and the increasing value placed on locally sourced and sustainable foods, along with greater appreciation of the flavor and variety of wild edible mushrooms has led to increasing interest in foraging mushrooms for food. This seminar will address the mushrooms of Maine, assisting participants to learn the skills of field identification by use of features easily seen with the naked eye or a hand lens. We will use dichotomous keys and field guides as tools to build skills to identify common mushrooms. We will discuss representative divisions of the Kingdom Fungi, investigating biology, ecology and cultural elements. The theme of theweek will be the use of mushrooms as food and medicine, exploring the place of fungi in diverse cultures. During the week, we will add great wild edible mushrooms to the menu, offering the opportunity to develop cooking skills. The seminar is for the amateur mycologist and others who want the opportunity to expand their knowledge of the world of mushrooms. A list of suggested resources and items to bring will be included with the syllabus. Greg A. Marley (mushr...@midcoast.com) has been exploring mushrooms for over 40 years. He shares his love of mushrooms with others through walks, talks and classes across New England. He is the author of Mushrooms for Health; Medicinal Secrets of Northeastern Fungi, (Down East Books, 2009) and Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares; The Love Lore and Mystique of Mushrooms, (Chelsea Green, 2010). Marley is a volunteer mushroom identification consultant to Poison Centers, providing identification expertise in mushroom poisoning cases. Michaeline Mulvey (mjpmm9...@gwi.net) has been wandering field and forest since before her mother thought she could find her way back home. She believes that many mushrooms are best identified by careful observation of field characteristics and the use of keys. More recently, she has dabbled with creating fabric dyes from mushrooms, and mushroom cultivation. She has been an active member of Maine Mycological Association for over 25 years. For general information, go to http://eaglehill.us/programs/nhs/natural-history-seminars.shtml For course calendar and course descriptions, go to http://www.eaglehill.us/programs/nhs/nhs-calendar.shtml For application information and cost breakdown, go to http://www.eaglehill.us/programs/general/application-info.shtml For more information, contact mari...@eaglehill.us, 207-546-2821 x 1
