SOMA Camp > Class Schedule > Instructors
Faculty Biographies
Kristen Blizzard
This community was started as an effort to connect people. While many things are sacred in the world of wild food forage (especially GPS coordinates :), one thing is usually true – we love to share our experiences and excitement for the hunt!
Self proclaimed “mushroom geeks”, Trent and Kristen Blizzard, live in either Cable, Wisconsin or Reedsport, Oregon - depending on where the mushrooms are fruiting. They also devote time each year to trekking around Western Colorado and chasing burn morels across the Western US. Always accompanied by their crazy doodles Benzie and Lulu. At first a hobby, the hunt for fungi quickly became nothing short of an obsession for these two. They are not mycologists but love to utilize the science behind edible mushrooms to help them locate prime terrain. Beyond mushrooms, you might find them picking feral asparagus, ramps, huckleberries or capturing dungeness crabs.
Kristen was introduced to wild edibles and mushrooms while working at Walking Mountains Science Center in Avon, Colorado. Local friends helped to spread the enthusiasm and when she met Trent, they grew their love of foraging together. She thinks of mushrooming as hiking with purpose, and loves all of the peripheral benefits – stunning vistas & wildflowers, brisk mountain hikes, camping, discovering more of Colorado, honing her macro photography skills and even exercising that nutty dog.
Trent is an avid fisherman, and often ponders whether fishing can be classified as “foraging”. Is a fisherman a modern forager? We say yes – you may see some fishing posts spring up here and there on the site in the future! He is also a master of all things Google, including maps. Both Trent and Kristen are WordPress developers by trade.
Their fondest wish is that in some small way, they can help you discover the same joys of nature that they cherish.