Mushroom Identification Course

Garrett College Continuing Education and Workforce Development has scheduled a course, ?Mushroom Identification from in the Classroom to the Forest? at the Northern Outreach Center in Grantsville. The course will be held October 11 from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. The course begins with a slide show presentation that explains how to identify a wide variety of mushrooms found in the local area. The class covers mushroom foraging fundamentals, including the following topics: where to look for different species, habitat preferences, non-edible look-alikes and poisonous mushrooms to avoid, tasty recipes for common edible wild mushrooms, ethical harvesting and how to steward gathering areas, storing and preserving edible wild mushrooms, and a review of useful resources, including books and websites on mushrooms. The course concludes with a mushroom foraging hike (transportation is not provided). The course will be held rain or shine and participants will be responsible for his or her lunch. The course is being taught by John Plischke, an identifying mushroom expert for the Western PA Mushroom Club (WPMC), the Northeast Mycological Federation (NEMF), and the North American Mycological Association (NAMA). Plischke is the author of two cookbooks, ?More Mushrooms and Their Poisonous Look a Likes? and ?Good Mushroom, Bad Mushroom?.