The Mushroom Foray – October 29th : Possible projects include hops tincture (sleep aid), dandelion tonic or edible greens, lambs quarters greens, and the antioxidant-rich immunity booster, elderberry syrup. If we are lucky, wild maitake (hen of the woods) or chicken of the woods mushrooms will be available to make a soup or stir-fry. (we will do one or two of these). Ethical, forest-friendly harvesting methods will be discussed.
Come prepared for a fun walk in the woods to observe and forage for wild edible plants and possibly mushrooms, depending on what is available and in season. We will prepare a shared dish or two featuring wild edibles and possibly a tincture made of wild-forged herbs.
This class is good for a newbie, but if you have them, bring your favorite manuals and books so that we can share our knowledge, experience, and favorite wild-foraged foods and medicines. Bug spray, layered, protective clothing, and shoes or boots suitable for walking through the woods are recommended.
Facilitator:
Marie Erb-Crow has gathered and prepared wild edible plants and herbs since childhood. For seven years she ran a landscape design company specializing in eco-friendly design and woodland property preservation.
A firm believer that food is medicine, she makes her own sleep aids and tonic tinctures and she harvests and prepares wild mushrooms and edible plants for her family.
September sees some wind-down in the garden and an upswing in idle hands for foraging at the farm. Black Walnuts, Chinese and American Chestnuts, Autumn Olive, Nannyberry and Paw Paws are all having their moment! There are so many delicious things we could make like Roasted Chestnut Dukkha, Nannyberry Spiked Water Kefir, Rosy Autumn Olive Muffins, Black Walnut Bitters – and what the heck do you do with Paw Paws? A good pair of hiking shoes and gloves will find you deep in a foragers haul.
Facilitator:
Lacey Walker manages the education garden and builds community programs at Fox Haven Learning Center, but considers her true career to be that of a lifelong student. Her studies include herbalism, farm based education for adults and children, plant based cuisine, meditation, caring for and expanding the troop of ferment “children” she raises for gut health, the science of soil and composting, the mysterious life of companion plants, monthly wanderings to new corners of the country and the indispensable, incomparable joy of community potlucking.
Lacey engages with her passion for writing by authoring Fox Haven’s monthly contribution to The Environment is You in the Frederick News Post and can sometimes be seen toting her camera around, a throwback to her time in art school pursuing a BFA in Photography at Shepherd University. More often these days she likes to keep her hands free for playing in the dirt.
Kristen Dorsey, shamanic herbalist and owner of Divine Journeys, will lead participants in a useful plant walk. Wild harvesting tools, techniques, safety and ethics will be discussed. Edible, medicinal and poisonous plants will be identified, and some medicinal plants will be harvested. In August, we may find medicinals to harvest such as Burdock root, Yellow/Curly Dock root, Echinacea Root, Elder Berries, Alliums, Wild Bee Balm, Yarrow, Boneset, Gravel Root, Pleurisy Root, Motherwort, Mugwort, St. John’s Wort and many more. Following the harvest, we will prepare medicine from our finds. Medicine preparation may include infusions, decoctions, oil extractions, tinctures and glycerinates.
Facilitator
Kristen Dorsey has been studying shamanism and plant medicine since the 1980s. Kristen has been a full-time practicing shamanic herbalist since 2004. She makes her own medicines and has an herbal apothecary of over 200 herbs, tinctures and oils. She wild harvests many of the herbs herself each year.
Kristen has attended over 120 hours of core and advanced shamanism training programs with Michael Harner’s Foundation for Shamanic Studies (FSS) and is a graduate of the 126 hour Advanced Shamanic Training Program “Next Steps” offered by FSS staff Dana & Shana Robinson. She continues her study of shamanism by working with her own Guides and by working directly with Peruvian shamans several times per year.
Kristen is a graduate of the Green Comfort School of Herbal Medicine and holds certificates in medicinal herbalism and herbal apothecary. She continues her herbalism training by studying under many of the great herbalists of the day. Kristen has also completed a 2 yr aromatherapy course of study with the American College of Healthcare Sciences. She is a member of the American Herbalists Guild.
Quantum Touch energy healing and EFT blend well with shamanic healing practices. She has completed Quantum Touch & EFT training and has hundreds of hours of hands-on energy healing experience.
Interested in learning to identify local fungi?
In this beginner’s workshop of mushroom identification basics, you’ll learn some of the “do”s and “don’t”s of wild mushroom hunting, then spend time in the woods collecting mushrooms to practice identifying. Once we have our gathered mushrooms, the instructor will take us through some of the basic language and taxonomy of mycology, and we’ll spend some time applying these terms to identify our specimens. Learning will also include how to use a field guide, and the ethics of collecting wild mushrooms.
Please bring drinking water, a knife, a small trowel, small-to-medium paper bags, a collecting basket, and some way to keep time so you don’t wander too far during the gathering portion.
If you are sincere about pursuing mushroom knowledge, it is recommended that you acquire at least one field guide and bring it to the workshop.
**This workshop is limited to 15 participants**
Workshop Date: July 9, 10am- 12pm Cost: $30
Location: Hunt Valley, MD Instructor: Daniel Kemp
**Notice of cancellation must be given 48-hrs in advance of any of our workshops or events in order to request a refund. Cancellations are subject to a $5 restocking fee. **
About the Instructor
Daniel has spent years among indigenous cultures in North America, Asia and the South Pacific, living with various medicine men and women being the recipient of both their healing and knowledge of the natural world. Returning to the environment of his youth after many years abroad, that longing to stay connected to the natural world lead him to seek out the woods whenever possible. In this reconnecting to the forests of his youth, its bounties opened up to him. Especially alluring were the myriad fungi that appeared and reappeared year after year. This foraging has blossomed into a lucrative job at certain times of the year as local chefs are turning more and more to the forgotten tastes of our wild foods. When Daniel is not out in the woods foraging for mushrooms and other edibles, he can be found administering acupuncture or massage to his patients or guiding his yoga students to connect breath with body and mind. He has also completed his permaculture design course and has a special affinity for natural building.
Some of the most common weeds are our best medicines, and they’re almost always available for free at our doorsteps. Herbalist Holly Poole-Kavana will lead a walk to explore the medicine inside the plants we take for granted, with attention to plant identification, harvest considerations, and preparation. After the walk we will gather for a hands-on demonstration of processing some of the plants we have found. Students will leave having experienced the entire process of finding and making medicine from local weeds.
About the facilitator: Holly Poole-Kavana is a botanist and herbalist practicing in Washington, DC. She is a lifelong plant enthusiast and has a bachelor’s degree in botany. In 2005 she shifted her focus to herbal medicine and studied with a series of experienced herbalists in the classroom, clinic, and outdoors. Since 2010 she has operated Little Red Bird Botanicals, a small business that provides individual herbal consultations, an herbal CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), locally-grown herbal products, and education. Holly also works as a birth assistant and labor doula.
Sunday, June 5th from 9am to 11am
$20
Michael Weese leads a mushroom foray and walking class over Fox Haven land.
What will we find on this mushroom foray? Who knows! Mushrooms fill different niches in different areas and arrive as fruit at different times of the year. Every foray is a treasure hunt! Experienced forager and grower Michael Weese will lead this foray to discover the species that are present on June 5th at Fox Haven Learning Center. For each species found on this foray Michael will give a thorough discussion on its life cycle, ecological niche, and culinary, medicinal and ethnobotanical uses. Join the hunt!
Michael will be vending his own mushroom merchandise after the class!
Register with Lacey at lacey[at]foxhavenfarm[dot]org
