FFSC Events Archive

The focus of the walk will be on identifying mushroom habitat and some basic mushroom identification. We will NOT be foraging or removing mushrooms out of the park. The walk will not be strenuous.

There's lots of stuff popping up in the park right now, and with more rain in the forecast, this should be a great opportunity to check out some of the local mushrooms!

With our attention on the ground, and the excitement of treasure hidden in the duff, it is easy for us mycophiles to become direction-disoriented (i.e.lost). Then too, injury or weather can make return travel impossible. It has happened to a number of us and poses a threat to our safety. This map and compass workshop is designed to help you use a map and compass to find your way. It is suitable for first-timers and for those looking to refresh their skills for the season.

This class will be limited to FFSC members at first. If it doesn't fill, the enrollment will be extended to non-members. Enrollment is limited to 12.

This year, there will be a $20 fee. That fee includes a liquid-filled compass with a moveable faceplate and lanyard. If you have a compass of your own, please do bring it. I will refund $15 of your fee at the time of the class if your compass is suitable for the class (see photo).

Your instructor, Susan Labiste:

I taught this class for East Bay Regional Parks for several years and for FFSC last year. I’m an outdoor enthusiast who has done quite a bit of off-trail backpacking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Seeing you develop your skills really makes my day.

Curriculum:

• Parts of the compass

• Longitude, Latitude

• Magnetic and true north

• Declination

• Topographic maps

Plan on learning by doing. We will be using map, compass, and topographic three-dimensional sculptures as we hike and pinpoint our progress on the map.

This workshop lasts 4.5 hours (with a 30 minute lunch break). It is not appropriate for little kids or pets. Participants should be 15 or older and anyone under 18 requires a parent in attendance that agrees to be responsible for supervising their offspring. I will be far too busy instructing to keep anyone, adult or child, from making an error in judgment. You will be walking in an area with poison oak, steep ledges, and encounters with snakes are possible. Be responsible. Consider your fitness level. Although our progress will be slow with many stops, the trail incline is steep at times, narrow at times or near cliffs and ledges. The hike will be in excess of a mile, the total length being a question of time available.

What to bring:

It will be up to you to bring several items to class; Bring a liter of water and your lunch in a day pack. Please bring a pencil for use with your map. Wear comfortable hiking shoes/boots and weather-appropriate layered clothing. This is an outdoor hiking class. A hat and sunglasses are suggested. Don’t forget reading glasses if you need them.

As mushroom foragers we travel off-trail often in steep and remote terrain so this workshop is designed to introduce participants to survival tactics that might save their lives if they get lost or stranded on a foray. Besides, it’s also just plain fun.

This class will be limited to FFSC members at first. Last year this workshop filled within hours. If it doesn't fill, the enrollment will be extended to non-members. Enrollment is limited to 18.

This year, there will be a $20 fee. That fee includes a practical survival kit small enough to fit in a ziplock bag. I hope to include ferrocerium bar and striker or lighter, fail-safe tinder, water treatment tablets, 550 Paracord, 3 mil. contractor bag, and a whistle. (You most likely would pay more than this if acquiring these items individually.)

Your instructor, Susan Labiste:

Forget about that image of a battle-tested military survival instructor busting with muscles. I am just an old lady with attitude. Actually I taught this class for East Bay Regional Parks for several years and I teach primitive skills at primitive gatherings... Winter Count, Rabbitstick, Buckeye... etc.

Curriculum:

• Prioritization of needs

• Avoiding panic

• Thermal Threats

• Shelters

• Water

• Getting found or getting out

Plan on learning by doing. I hope you will have fun trying fire by friction with hand-spindle and bow-drill methods, but we will also employ modern methods. Knot-tying, shelter building, signaling, and water treatment will also be hands-on activities.

This workshop lasts 5 hours, so it is not appropriate for the little kids or pets. Participants should be 15 or older and anyone under 18 requires a parent in attendance that agrees to be responsible for supervising their offspring. I will be far too busy instructing to keep anyone, adult or child, from making an error in judgment. You will be handling a knife, fire, ropes, sticks... you get the idea. Be responsible.

What to bring:

It will be up to you to bring several items to class; a sturdy fixed-blade knife (with sheath) and your lunch. Layered clothing as this is an outdoor class. A hat and sunglasses are suggested.

Registration is now closed. You must have already registered for the full series to attend.

Douglas will present his study on the mushroom of Los Trancos, a local Open Space.

Read more about his study: D.I.Y. Mycoblitz

One of the good things in life is Coming Soon - The Wine and Mushroom Event

The Wine and Mushroom Event is always fantastic and is the highlight of our culinary activities. Jeff Emery of Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard brings together about six exceptional SC area wineries who allow us to sample their great wines.

Amanitas, Boletes, Chroogomphus, Suillus, Trametes and Tremella have all been found here, just to name a few. While there is no guarantee as to how the low levels of rain fall will affect the kinds of fungi we find this year, it promises to be a beautiful hike through varying types of terrain: Shady Oak groves, grassy fields, Manzanita thickets, and Pine trees. Further within the park, one will find winding Redwood paths and sandstone wall formations that are part of the Sandhill habitat that lies between Ben Lomond and Scotts Valley. The trails vary in difficulty; very flat and easy to somewhat moderate.

Quail Hollow has given us permission to pick within the park but we cannot take anything we pick outside of the park. Parking at the Ranch is very limited so car pooling is recommended, as there is no street parking. Through the efforts of previous forays, the FFSC has created a good relationship with park leaders, and we ask that you please respect their requests.

Registration is now closed. You must have already registered for the full series to attend.

Registration is now closed. You must have already registered for the full series to attend.

Danny will talk to us about "Fungal Philosophies - Mythbuster, or Fungal Fables Debunked" - an entertaining look at common mushroom myths and the truth about them.

Danny first got interested in Mushrooms in 2007 after seeing strange colourful creatures in the forest all the time while hiking and skiing off trail, and finally decided he had to find out what they were. The more he learned, the more interesting they seemed, and it just hasn't stopped.

Danny is on the Board of Trustees for the Puget Sound Mycological Society (PSMS) as well as their Education Chair, helping to design and teach the curriculum for the club's mycology classes. He is also the club Librarian, and an ID Committee member and emergency poisoning point person for King County Washington Poison Control. Danny also belongs to the PNW Key Council, a group of amateur and professional mycologists and is a co-author of MatchMaker, the free PNW mushroom ID program for the PC and MAC. He has a big interest in taxonomy and figuring out where all of the mushrooms fit into the fungal tree of life.

Our next foray is higher into the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Last time we spotted many mushrooms, including beautiful Waxy Caps (Hygrocybe flavescens and coccinea), various Ramarias, Black Elfin Saddles (Helvella dryophila group), and Gyromitras (infula?), to name just a few.

All are subject to cancellation/possible location change.

Participants must be club members but since the class is free, the membership dues are the only fee for nonmembers. Come with fresh mushrooms from field or lawn, forest or mountains.

Registration is now closed. You must have already registered for the full series to attend.