- May 2024 – Edible Mushrooms of the Spring and Early Summer – Wendy So
- April 2024 – Fry, Thrive or Die? – Spring Mushrooms and Ecosystems Importance – Dr. Mike
- March 2024 – My Journey with the Oregon Health Authority Psilocybin Therapy – Glenda Goodrich
- February 2024 – The Roll of Soil Biology in Healthy Ecosystems – Brian Vagg
- January 2024 – Wait, don't eat the truffle! – Heather Dawson and Rye
- December 2023 – Discovering Psilocybe azurescens – Paxton Hoag
- November 2023 – Fungal Fruits of the Forest: PNW Edible Mushrooms.- Daniel Winkler
- September 2023 – Fungal Permaculture: Cultivating food and regenerative systems using fungi- Charlie Bruder
May 2024 – Edible Mushrooms of the Spring and Early Summer – Wendy So
Competition can be strong when so many mushroom hunters are looking for morels and porcinis in the spring. What if there are other mushrooms to search for and enjoy? Wendy So was a long time member of the Mycological Society of San Francisco. She has chased mushrooms from California to the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, American Southwest, Europe, Asia and Africa. Now she spends her free time experimenting in the kitchen with underappreciated mushrooms and sharing stories with other mushroom enthusiasts.
April 2024 – Fry, Thrive or Die? – Spring Mushrooms and Ecosystems Importance – Dr. Mike
Mushrooms attract people of all ages and diverse personalities. There are wild mushrooms that make a splendid meal, wild mushrooms that can improve your health—or potentially save your life, alter your mind, and wild mushrooms that can end your life. My presentations are fun and informative. In over 40 years of researching and collecting fungi I have accumulated world-class pictures and stories of fungi and their uses. I will share with your audience. common, delicious, hallucinogenic, medicinal, and poisonous mushrooms of the Western United States. The talk prepares readers to hunt wild mushrooms and to serve them up, and will delight the reader with stories, history, possibilities, recipes and much, much, more. I will focus on mushrooms that occur in the spring.
March 2024 – My Journey with the Oregon Health Authority Psilocybin Therapy – Glenda Goodrich
Glenda Goodrich, artist, art doula, and practitioner of the ceremony of the wilderness vision quest, will share her recent experience with OHA’s psilocybin therapy program. Glenda will present her journey with psilocybin in the traditional 3-stage format of vision questing: preparation, threshold, and incorporation. She will also discuss and compare differences between her psilocybin journey and four other types of mind-expanding experiences she has undertaken in her search for Truth including vision quest fasting, MDMA, 3-MMC and Ayahuasca.
February 2024 – The Roll of Soil Biology in Healthy Ecosystems – Brian Vagg
Discover the beneficial microorganisms residing in soil and their pivotal roles within healthy ecosystems. Our discussion will encompass the soil food web, elucidating the intricate relationships among plants, fungi, bacteria, protozoa, and other soil-dwelling organisms. Exploring the biological mechanisms within soil, we’ll delve into nutrient cycling, pest and disease suppression, and enhancements to plant growth and vigor. Additionally, we’ll cover methodologies for assessing microbial populations in soil and the requisite tools for ecosystem restoration. Concluding the presentation, a live demonstration employing a microscope will unveil the vibrant life thriving within soil.
January 2024 – Wait, don’t eat the truffle! – Heather Dawson and Rye
Truffle dogs are gaining popularity in the Pacific Northwest because they can easily be trained to find the native Oregon white and black truffles. What happens when a dog finds more than just culinary truffles? Rye the truffle “diversity dog” will find any truffle with an aroma, good or bad. While truffle dogs are well established as the best method to harvest top quality culinary truffles, their high-powered scenting abilities are rarely employed for exploring the diversity of the hundreds of truffle species that don’t have a place in the kitchen. Rye is proving that dogs can find them all. Learn about truffle dog training and take a tour of the amazing truffle diversity to be found in the Pacific Northwest. There will be a short demonstration with Rye at the end of the presentation.
Click here to view Rye’s demonstration.
December 2023 – Discovering Psilocybe azurescens – Paxton Hoag
In the mid 1970s Paxton Hoag was living next to 115 acres of bottom land cow pasture in Astoria, Oregon and took up picking Psilocybe semilanceata. In 1975 his family went to the First International Conference on Psilocybin Mushrooms where he met many of the early principals of Psilocybin research. In the fall of 1977 Paxton ran across an unknown Psilocybe mushroom on the shores of Astoria Oregon. The story of getting a name for a mushroom is quite interesting, especially if that mushroom is Psilocybe azurescens. This is that story; plus of course a few side stories.
November 2023 – Fungal Fruits of the Forest: PNW Edible Mushrooms.- Daniel Winkler
Note: Audio is missing starting at mark 57:30, but returns at 1:05. Sorry for the technical difficulties.
Mushrooms grow in abundance in the Pacific Northwest nearly year around. Some are poisonous, many of no culinary value and a select group are some of the best food to enjoy. Daniel Winkler will present a few of the 100 edible mushrooms that are presented in his new book. Daniel will help you get to know, identify and find many great edible mushrooms while steering you clear of dangerous look-a-likes. You’ll be advised how to properly collect, carefully transport, safely prepare and reliably store your mushrooms. Key in finding prime mushrooms is getting to know their preferred habitat and their seasonality. Daniel will share lots of new insights from his new book “Fruits of the Forest – A Field Guide to Pacific Northwest Edible Mushrooms”. In addition, Daniel is mixing in some fungal fun & facts from his ethno-mycological research and Mushroaming adventure travels.
October 2023 – CMS did not hold a normal CMS meeting in October 2023. We did host David Arora at the Lane Events Center the week prior to the Mushroom Festival. That event was not live streamed or recorded.
September 2023 – Fungal Permaculture: Cultivating food and regenerative systems using fungi- Charlie Bruder
This talk will cover the many benefits of cultivating fungi, from a home scale to a commercial agricultural scale. Listeners will go home with a practical understanding of how to grow edible fungi by themselves, and also how these fungi can be fit into a systems of regenerative communal design (permaculture). Listeners will also learn about how fungi are being incorporated into food systems and regenerative soil management practices.