Interested in spending more time in nature? Want a deeper understanding of local plants and fungi? Check out the local foraging resources below. Many offer workshops even in the winter months (hard-fleshed mushrooms can be foraged in winter, who knew!).
Ironwood Foraging
Tim Clemens of Ironwood Foraging leads approximately 100 classes each year. His winter school (like summer school, he says) begins in January. Subjects include edible conifer tea, an introduction to wild mushrooms, and beginning foraging. He’s also the consulting mycologist for the Minnesota Regional Poison Center (1-800-222-1222), which people can call if they think they've ingested a toxic plant or mushroom. You can catch Clemens around town giving talks at libraries, garden clubs, and universities. He was recently a panelist at the Guthrie event for Alexis Nikole Nelson’s cookbook, “Happy Snacking, Don’t Die!”
Four Season Foraging
I recently attended an urban foraging class hosted by Maria Wesserle of Four Season Foraging. Outside, we checked whether a particular leaf was serrated or double-serrated (like the local hazelnut leaf) and for other special markers. I tasted nannyberry and the succulent purslane, and saw the difference between edible wild grapes (whose leaves can be used for dolmas!) and their toxic lookalike, the Virginia creeper. Four Season Foraging offers both public workshops and private tours.
Jaime Rockney (center, first row) offers beginner-friendly foraging experiences through Chick of the Woods Foraging. (Courtesy of Chick of the Woods Foraging)
Chick of the Woods Foraging
Nature enthusiast and founder of Chick of the Woods Foraging, Jaime Rockney, wants her students to gain confidence identifying mushrooms and other wild edibles in a casual, fun atmosphere. On Dec. 12, Chick of the Woods will host its free Holiday Forest Fair in Chaska, with special guests Sam Thayer (author of several well-regarded foraging books) and the James Beard Award-winning Forager Chef, Alan Bergo.
Minnesota Mycological Society
The Minnesota Mycological Society is a nonprofit dedicated to appreciating and studying mushrooms and other fungi. MMS offers certification classes for those who want to sell mushrooms from land they control or own. MMS also offers a Mushrooms 101 class for members that includes basic mushroom identification such as “poisonous mushrooms that every mushroom forager should know” and “Safe Six” edible mushrooms: chicken of the woods, giant puffballs, morels, lobster mushrooms, black trumpets, and hen of the woods.
Community Education Resources
Another way to learn foraging is by finding a teacher to pass down their knowledge. Simone Rendon, an Ojibwe and Lakota forager, shares stories and traditional medicines through this Minneapolis Community Education class. During the Nov. 14 workshop, participants will mix harvested herbs with essential oils. Students will go home with an understanding of how specific local plants can help improve skin and body health.
