Book a Mushroom Walk Leader by Location

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What is a Private Mushroom Walk?

A two-hour mushroom walk with an experienced mycology educator to learn about fungi you find in the forest.  We can delve deep into a particular subject of your choice or create an engaging experience for your group.

Private walks can be held on your land or a nearby woods that you would like to explore. If you are unsure of a location, we can help chose a place to walk.

We will bring bags, baskets, books, and magnifiers that we use to find, photograph, sustainably harvest, and identify the mushrooms on your land or designated location. Are you interested to learn which mushrooms are edible or medicinal, and how to prepare them? Would you like to know about the underground network that binds your forest together?  Would you like to cultivate mushrooms indoors or outdoors?  We will cover these subjects and more.  We can talk about the ecological value, historic uses, scientific importance, and future potential of the fungi we find. We can delve deep into a particular subject of your choice or create an engaging and educational experience for you and your friends.  

What is the cost?

2 Hours - $250-450 (depending on the walk leader) for 1 to 8 people of any age. $20 for each additional person. Maximum of 19 people. There may be an additional mileage charge. Special pricing/bartering may be available to educators.

 

Who should schedule a mushroom event?

Anyone who is interested in fungi! People who have booked private walks include farmers, home-school groups, neighbors with families, outdoor guides, party-throwing hipsters, famous actors, land owners, garden clubs, mushroom clubs, libraries, nature centers, foodies, permaculture groups, nature photographers, scientists, hippies, hobbyists, & homesteaders.  

We are committed to providing  an inclusive environment for all, regardless of gender, identity, age, race, health status, national origin, relationship status, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and religion.

Your Private Mushroom Walk Leaders:

John Michelotti

John Michelotti is the founder of Catskill Fungi, which empowers people through outdoor educational classes, cultivation courses, mushroom art, and health extracts made from mushrooms foraged and grown on and around the family farm in the Catskill Mountains. John is former President of the Mid-Hudson Mycological Association (MHMA), where he co-founded the Catskill Regional Mycoflora Project as well as the Gary Lincoff Memorial Scholarship. He serves as Medicinal Mushroom Committee Chair and is a Poison Control Consultant for the North American Mycological Association. He was chosen by the Catskill Center as a "Steward of the Catskills" for his contribution to the environment. He served on the Mushroom Advisory Panel for Certified Naturally Grown to develop ecological standards in mushroom production. John has presented at the New York Botanical Gardens, Telluride Mushroom Festival, National Mushroom Festivals, Colleges, and other events around the country. His goal is to educate and inspire people to work with fungi to improve their health, communities, and the environment.

 

Above photo by David Rainbird

Yael Bernhard

Yael is an amateur herbalist with many years of experience foraging wild plants and fungi, making her own medicines and nutritional infusions, and integrating wild foods into a healthy diet. With over 25 years experience teaching art and other subjects to children, she can host adults and kids alike. Yael Bernhard works in the Catskill Fungi kitchen, and is also a certified integrative health coach and children's book author/illustrator.

Erwin Karl

Erwin Karl is a farmer, mycologist and educator who has led walks and workshops for Catskill Fungi and Mid Hudson Mycological Association. He serves as site manager at the CycleX farm in Andes, NY where he has been involved in building maintenance, construction and agriculture for more than a decade. His projects in mycology, permaculture, beekeeping, canning, fermentation and wildcrafting build upon pursuits cultivated while growing up in a family that grew produce and kept livestock. He shares his interests by co-hosting the Farm Hour on WIOX (91.3 FM), writing plays about the Catskills for Preserve Players, and volunteering at the Michael Kudish Natural History Preserve.

Aubrey Carter

Aubrey graduated from Indiana University in 2016 with a BS in Biology. He has worked at several different ecological institutions in and around the NYC area, including the Central Park Conservancy, the Westchester Land Trust, the Stamford Land Conservation Trust, and Sleepy Cat Farm. Currently the Assistant Ecological Manager at Manitou Point Preserve near Garrison, NY, Aubrey became deeply fascinated with fungi after reading Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake, and has since devoted much of his life to cultivating that curiosity.  Aubrey publishes a newsletter every Monday, entitled 'Mushroom Monday', which features photos and a profile of a different mushroom he has found throughout his travels. All archived posts can be read on mushroom-monday.com. He also leads public and private mushroom walks in Central Park, and is an active member in the New York Mycological Society.  After five years in NYC, Aubrey has recently settled in Putnam Valley, NY and is spreading his mycelium in this fungal friendly part of the state.

Gabriela D'Elia

Gabriela D’Elia grew up in the Rocky Mountains, fell in love with fungi in the Pacific Northwest, and since 2022 has made home amidst the mycelium in the Catskills. Gabriela served as Executive Director for Fungal Diversity Survey (FUNDIS), North America’s nonprofit for fungal conservation, for over 3 years, for which she is now a board member. Through her fungal advocacy work she built the first state-wide government funded fungal diversity project (“CA FUNDIS”), initiated the campaign to designate Porcini (Boletus edulis) as Utah’s state mushroom, and contributes to fungal forward efforts in the Northeast with Catskill Fungi. Gabriela and John met magically at the Telluride Mushroom Festival and eventually myceliated a mycomarriage! Gabriela writes, teaches, and creates threads intended to connect us with ecological soulfulness, with a particular devotion to the wisdom of fungi. Learn more about Gabriela at gabrieladelia.com.

Sam Warren

Sam Warren is an owner and head mycologist at Food Forest Fungi LLC. He's a licensed NYS hunting, camping, and hiking guide and also a licensed mushroom forager. Sam has been an avid outdoorsman for as long as he can remember, and strives to expose people to and educate others in understanding and interacting with the natural world. Sam mycologically specializes in both indoor and outdoor cultivation, natural medicines, culinary aspects, species identification and citizen science ecological data collection. On top of his mushroom passions, Sam also has interest in ecological habitat management and regenerative agriculture.

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