Lectures, field days offer plethora of mushroom information
Multiday workshops in Delta Junction and Palmer will give participants the tools to identify, gather and prepare mushrooms, such as this large mushroom in Fairbanks.
Julie Stricker
907-474-5406
July 19, 2024
Mushroom enthusiasts will have several opportunities to learn more about Alaska’s fungi — and get their hands dirty — via lectures and field trips in August.
Mycologist Gary Laursen will lead a three-day workshop in Delta Junction on Aug. 16-18 and another in Palmer on Aug. 30-Sept. 1. The workshops are hosted by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service.
The weekends begin with a three-hour lecture on Friday night, during which Laursen will share his wealth of information on wild mushrooms, their eco-physiological roles and ways to identify them in the field. Participants will learn how to collect, identify, prepare and/or preserve wild edible and non-edible mushrooms. Participants can register for these Friday night lectures as standalone events or as the introduction to the full workshop, which includes two days in the field and lab gathering, identifying and preparing mushrooms.
Both Friday night lectures are scheduled for 6-9 p.m. and cost $20. The field and lab sessions are from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Participants are asked to bring a sack lunch and water. The cost for the full three-day workshop in each community, which includes the Friday night lecture, is $100.
The Delta Junction workshop will be held at the Delta Career Advancement Center, 1696 N. Clearwater Ave. Registration will close at 5 a.m. Aug. 16 or when full. For more information, contact Eve Karczmarczyk at 907-895-4215 or eekarczmarczyk@alaska.edu.
The Palmer workshop will be at the Matanuska Experiment Farm & Extension Center, 1509 S. Georgeson Road. Registration will close at 5 p.m. Aug. 23 or when full. For more information, contact Melissa Clampitt at 907-745-3551 or mrclampitt@alaska.edu.
Registration links for all four options can be found online.
Accommodation requests related to a disability should be made five business days in advance to Karczmarczyk in Delta Junction and Clampitt in Palmer. Language access services, such as interpretation or translation of vital information, will be provided free of charge to individuals with limited English proficiency upon request to Alda Norris, amnorris2@alaska.edu.
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