Next Workshop: Oct. 1st, 2023 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM | Dead Man's Flats, Alberta
Identifying Edible And Medicinal Mushrooms In Alberta And BC
Come learn how to identify edible and medicinal mushrooms growing in the forests of Alberta and British Columbia.
Have you ever wondered whether those mushrooms you see on your walks in the forest are edible or medicinal?
The season of the mushroom is upon us and it’s the ideal time to start learning to identify all the incredible edible and medicinal mushrooms growing in the forests of Alberta and BC.
This Edible And Medicinal Mushroom Identification workshop will help you learn to find fungi, identify them and begin a fascinating journey down the rabbit hole into the healing power of mushrooms.
And rather than just learning from a book, an app or something you saw on the Internet… why not learn from a knowledgable guide who can help you learn from the forest itself?
What You Will Learn:
You will learn through all your senses on a unique sensory immersion adventure in one of the most beautiful forests in the Canadian Rockies along the Bow River Flats just outside of the town of Canmore, Alberta.
You will discover a series of mindful walking practices for immersing yourself in the stillness and awe of the forest so you can relax your mind and more fully tune into the living, breathing, animate world of plants, trees and fungi.
Finding mushrooms is as much an art as a science. It comes down to learning where they like to grow and the patterns of growth and decay, warmth and coolness, rainfall and lightning that line up to cause large clusters of mushrooms to bloom.
Mushrooms are actually the fruiting reproductive bodies of underground “fiber-optic”-like networks of mycelium that interconnect the trees and plants through their roots systems in what’s been called the Wood Wide Web.
In a way they are the crucial part of the web of life that makes terrestrial life on Earth possible and when you start learning to identifying common edible and medicinal mushrooms that grow abundantly it can be a catalyst for rewilding your senses and health.
You’ll learn to let go of what you think you know, from all those thoughts spinning in your head and start to quiet your analytical mind so you can tune your feeling sense into the forest and discover the joyful playfulness of mindful mushroom hunting.
Why Mushrooms?
There’s a fascinating billion year long story of fungi. As the linchpin of nature’s organic recycling and detoxification system, they are crucial for the health of soils, forests and human beings.
Yet very little is known about them… they are one of nature’s enduring mysteries and studying the living wisdom of fungi and forests ecology may offer the missing link to a more regenerative approach to restoring our environment and healing ourselves.
Along with mindful sensory immersion practices, you’ll also learn about the key role of fungi in the evolution of life and the latest scientific research into medicinal mushrooms and their healing compounds that are adaptogenic, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, immune-stimulatory, trauma-relieving, gut-balancing and mood-elevating.
This Fall Mushroom Identification Workshop Agenda:
1. Identifying Fall Mushrooms
Gain an understanding of the important edible and medicinal mushrooms found in the fall in our local forests.
Learn to identify 5-10 of the most common edible and medicinal mushrooms that grow this time of the year.
2. Ethical Foraging
Learn essential practices for ethical mushrooms foraging that can actually increase biodiversity and where you can do it safely and legally in Southern Alberta.
During this workshop, we won’t be picking any mushrooms as it’s not allowed in municipal and provincial parks. You’ll learn where to find Crown Land and PLUZ land locally where you can find mushrooms.
3. Adaptogenic Mushrooms
You’ll learn how fungi are crucial for both a healthy soil microbiome that leads to healthy forests and a healthy human gut microbiome that is crucial for our health and longevity.
The adaptogenic properties of many medicinal mushrooms help our bodies adapt to stress by reducing inflammation, increasing energy and boost our natural immunity.
4. An Ecological Internet
Learn about how mycelium creates what’s called the “Wood Wide Web”, a kind of ecological Internet that interconnects plants and trees in the soil through their root systems.
A better understanding of these mycelial webs will be crucial for regenerating our depleted soil, restoring forest biodiversity and reversing the climate change.
5. Ignite Awe And Wonder
This experiential learning experience is designed to ignite a sense of awe and wonder about fungi to motivate continued lifelong learning.
Come learn through direct experience, meet other mushroom enthusiasts and make new friends for better group foraging adventures in the future.
In addition, all participants will get these 3 bonuses for continued lifelong learning.
Take your ecological awareness to the next level.
1. Digital Field Guide To Common Mushrooms of Southern Alberta
Get our digital field guide for identifying for the most common fall edible and medicinal mushrooms found in Alberta and BC as well as an app for cataloging your mushrooms with your smartphone so rapidly develop your pattern recognition skills.
2. Essential Fungi Documentaries To Broaden Your Ecological Knowledge
Get our learning guide covering best documentaries you can watch to broaden your knowledge of fungi. Learn more about the critical role fungi has played in the evolution of life on Earth and how they can help create regenerative culture.
3. Mushroom Ecology Learning Guide
Get our 80-page guide on mushroom ecology and the important role they play in soil biodiversity as well as human health and longevity. Learn about the most potent medicinal mushrooms and how they have been used in traditional medicine for millennia.
About The Instructor
Kyle Pearce is a flow seeker, awe enthusiast and experience designer who helps people build mindful habits that stick through his experiential learning company DIY Genius since 2011.
One of his favourite mindfulness practices is mindful walking and mushroom hunting and he has been leading mushroom ecology workshops and retreats since 2016 in Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica.
He started Mindful Ecotourism in 2016 leading forest meditation workshops in Stanley Park near his home in Vancouver and today he leads mindful hiking adventures in the mountains of Western Canada in the summer and South America in the winter that explore mindful ecotherapy, peak experiences and local ecotourism projects
He is a certified interpretive hiking guide, mindfulness-based ecotherapy practitioner and mindful business coach who works with social impact startups.
He has a B.A. in History from the University of Victoria with a specialization in ancient civilizations, animism and the history of the modern world. He has a decade of experience in digital marketing and has graduated from a series of startup incubators in Canada, the United States and Chile.
Identifying Edible And Medicinal Mushrooms In Alberta And BC
Next Workshop: Oct. 1st, 2023 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM | Dead Man's Flats, Alberta
Get your early bird tickets for $35 until Wednesday, September 27th
Join The ExperienceAbout The Location
We will be meeting in Dead Man’s Flats just outside of the town of Canmore on the edge of the Canadian Rockies.
The exact location will be email to all participants the day before the workshop.
Dead Man’s Flats, Alberta (location on Google Maps)
What 5 Previous Workshop Participants Have Said
Mindfulness, Flow States And The Art of Peak Experiences
Join our other live workshop happening in September in Canmore.
Learn a series of powerful mindful practices for triggering states of mindfulness, flow and effortless awe and wonder.