For FRIDAY campers, as soon as you have arrived and parked, immediately go to the COVID testing table in the Spore Zone tent. Testing and registration will be Friday/Saturday 8-11 am and Friday 3-5 pm All attendees must be COVID tested prior to entrance at camp.

Check in, sign the liability waiver and pick up your badge.  Your badge must worn at all times while at Camp.

Lunch prepared by CYO services.

Chef Rebecca Peizer is a Professor of Culinary Arts  at The Culinary Institute of America. She bridges her love of growing the food she serves and building community to the hearts of my students and customers through the Farm to Table Program as well as the Wine Spectator Restaurant.

Rebecca will be making “Mushroom Four-Way Sliders”

Chicken Fried Lions mane Mycelium, Trumpet Royal Bacon, Bread and Butter Mushroom Pickles, Velvet Popini BBQ Sauce

Bring your fungal finds to the table for identification. Please bring anything and everything you find. Our specialists will help you figure out what you found, categorize it, and professionally photograph the best specimins.  Some finds may go out for DNA sequencing!  Monday morning please join us on the deck where we will discuss and review all finds. 

Friday Foray in Sonoma near Jack London State Park on 600 acre private property, lead by Dr. Gordon Walker (Fascinated by Fungi).  Parking very limited!  Exact address will be emailed to registered participants.
This foray starts onsite in Sonoma at 11am, concluding at 2pm (or so) and participants can proceed after the foray to CYO to check-in for Camp until 6pm.  

Friday foray at Pt. Reyes National Park.  Mikhael C. Selk, Gregg Miller, and Sigrid Jacob will co-lead groups going out to their favorite spots in the park. 

This foray starts onsite at Bear Valley Visitors Center in Pt. Reyes National Park at 11am. Foray ends at 2pm so you have time to get to CYO and check in by 6:00pm.

This class is for registration testing, and has max 2 participants.  Please edit/delete participants as needed for testing, using https://www.somamushrooms.org/_admin/classes/class_registrants_list.php

Optional class for first-time Camp attendees - describes class locations, CYO grounds, foray schedules and expectations, evening activities, etc.  All questions will be answered!

In this interactive deadly digest, Cat Adams will explore the world of deadly poisonous mushrooms, their toxins, and how to treat accidental poisonings. She will compare and contrast dangerous mushrooms that can be found locally with edible species, as well as teach about some understudied toxic mushrooms from around the world. Throughout the talk, audience members will play the Poison Games, choosing carefully between paired images of one poisonous and one non-poisonous mushroom. May the fungal odds be ever in your favor!

Come join Jill as she explores the diversity of mushrooms and their uses for your health - physical, mental and emotional. She will discuss some of the latest research about mushrooms for all these aspects of your life - for life enhancement.

In this workshop, attendees will learn how to confidently forage and prepare turkey tail tinctures. You will learn where to find turkey tail mushrooms, ways to confidently identify them, how to ethically harvest a batch, and you will be shown a number of poisonous look-alikes to be aware of. As we prepare the tinctures we will talk about medicinal benefits, and recommended ways of working with them. We will use the double extraction method to make a medicinal mushroom tincture that contains both the water- and alcohol-soluble medicinal properties of the mushroom. This is a hands-on medicine making workshop where we provide all the materials to make the tincture and bring one home, which can support attendees gaining tangible skills in processing and working with medicinal mushrooms. 

This presentation-conversation is about tending fungi for soil, gardens, medicine, mycophagy or plain ol' fun! All levels of interest welcome, for indoor or outdoor pursuits and we can discuss whichever species folks are interested in cultivating. We'll cover cultivation history, substrates, techniques, and the trials, tribulations, and tips learned from over a decade of cultivation experience.

Using fungi and lichen dyed wool, this class will explore the process of using a resist to create a felted hat. Participants can choose from project designs that can be whimsical, practical, or somewhere in-between. This introduction to wet felting class is a great jump off point for creating many beautiful and functional felted items.

From long-standing oral traditions to some of the first written texts, fungi have instilled everything from awe and reverence to fear and confusion in our ancestors, and continue to stir those same emotions in us today. In this presentation we will explore some of the many ways fungi have permeated folklore from all around the world. I will highlight stories from my own Scandinavian lineages, along with diverse tales from around the globe. From forbidden fairy rings to fungal storm Gods, from using moldy bread poultices to heal wounds to Amanita muscaria in flying ointments, we will journey into a fantastical, yet historically practical realm of how our ancestors related to fungi for generations.

Snow, fire, and desert. Suites of fungi are adapted to these seemingly inhospitable habitats. We will explore the species which exist in these habitats.

Medicinal mushrooms are not a new concept for humans and that can be seen in art and tradition for thousands of years and before that, for millions of years plants and animals have had positive relationships with fungi. Found within folk medicine and natural healing for inherently, these things are now being studied and utilized within the scientific and medical communities. Because of my extreme passion, interest, and research within these fields, I have been accumulating data. We are living in times within our human experience in which we are not only faced with physical and mental illnesses, but we seek sanctuary as a species from spiritual crises. We have challenges of addiction, trauma, as well as myriad other symptoms of an unguided and uninformed society. I propose that Medicinal and Entheogenic mushrooms are an answer to many of these and other scenarios within our own health and well-being. I will go into detail about some of the natural folk remedies, scientifically backed medicinals, and sacred psychedelic mushrooms used in ceremony and modern science. If we are thinking clearly and are physically healthy as individuals and our species, we can make better decisions for ourselves and the well-being of our planet.

Inoculate oak logs with shiitake spawn to take home. Inoculation demonstration using the wedding cake totem method for growing oyster mushrooms. Also how to make a backyard garden giant (Stropharia rugosa annulata) mushroom woodchip bed.

Wine, Beer, and Convivial Hobnobbing, in both the Main Hall and new Tent in the Spore Zone.  Music will be provided by local musician Michael Sallstrom in the Tent!

Friday dinner is catered Mexican food by Andre at the CYO Main Hall.  Join volunteers and staff for this informal dinner on the first night of SOMA Camp.

Patrick Hamilton will make Sangrias!

Join the SOMA staff and foray leaders for a walk around the CYO grounds with UV Flashlights.  Many fungi, lichen, and insects will glow brightly from UV light, which is best viewed in the evening.  Bring your UV flashlights if you have one.

Breakfast Service - Muffins, Fruit, and Coffee

As soon as you have arrived and parked, immediately go to the COVID testing table in the Spore Zone tent. All attendees must be COVID tested prior to entrance at camp.

Check in, sign the liabilty waiver and pick up your badge.  Your badge must worn at all times while at Camp.

View and bid on Silent Auction items displayed in the main hall.  Bidding will close around 6pm.

Bring your fungal finds to the table for identification. Please bring anything and everything you find. Our specialists will help you figure out what you found, categorize it, and professionally photograph the best specimens.  Some finds may go out for DNA sequencing!  Monday morning please join us on the deck where we will discuss and review all finds. 

Learn to make mushroom tamales using fresh masa. Then using the flavor of black trumpet mushrooms to enhance and develop a flavorful mole sauce.

Lunch prepared by CYO kitchen crew.

An introduction to what mushrooms are, their role in ecosystems, and most importantly what features do you need to know in order to identify them

We will look at all the significant features of fleshy fungi (mushrooms) used in their macroscopic identification.  And talk about all the major groups of these fungi.

Then we will get hands-on with using mushroom "keys" found in books and on-line to identify some representative specimens.

A hands on workshop, diving deep into the world of fermentation using koji a filamentous fungi, beans, and a seasonal wild mushroom. We will go over what is koji and miso, and then talk about best fermentation practices while working with this ferment. This class will specifically focus on miso fermentation, with an emphasis using local seasonal mushrooms.

First 30 to sign up will be able to taste samples of our savory morel and sweet chanterelle miso to learn more from a deeper sensory experience. Next, we will all wash our hands and get fermenting together. Participants will take home a jar of mushroom miso that will ferment over time, and the knowledge to ferment something else on their own in the future.

You can attend this presentation if you're on the wait list, but you just won't be getting to try the samples or take home your own jar of miso.

This foray will roam the grounds of CYO in search of fungi that yeild pigments for dyeing.  But, you never know what you will find!

Great foray for beginners!

A Saturday morning mushroom collecting foray/talk in the CYO woods around SOMA Camp with a focus on the cultivation.  Mushrooms collected will be used in the Saturday Afternoon mushroom cultivation class, both co-taught by Ken Litchfield and David Gardella.

Optional class for first-time attendees - describes class locations, CYO grounds, foray basics, evening activities, etc.  All questions will be answered!

First 60 minutes:  Medicinal Mushrooms: Finding, Identifying and Preserving Popular Medicinal Mushrooms
Learn how to find, identify, harvest and preserve your favorite medicinal mushrooms: turkey tail, reishi, chaga, hericium and more.  

-break-

90 minutes: Medicinal Mushroom Preparation and Tasting
Learn how to prepare single and double extract tinctures, dried powders, freeze drying techniques as well as prepared teas and recipes.

Come learn about the basic nutritional and medicinal properties of mushrooms. Why they matter in your life and the forms in which you can have them daily. There will be a discussion about mushrooms as food and more.

For the past several years our lab has been experimenting with Cordiceps using a new cultivation technique that shortens the time from inoculation to harvest by 4 weeks and produces a remarkably tasty result.

Learn how to spin from wool into yarn with just a drop spindle.

Tapestry weaving has been around since at least the 3rd century B.C. Some tapestries are simple, others have elaborate pictures woven into them. In this class, students will create their own simple tapestries on little acrylic looms using mushroom-dyed wool yarns and natural color wools. We can weave in feathers, sticks, and other natural materials (some provided or bring your own).

Make an eight strand braid using a Kumihimo disk with mushroom and natural dyed yarns.

We will make paper using a variety of fungi plus other paper making fibers. Pulp painting and adding inclusions will be demonstrated.

Are you a first-time forager or consider yourself a beginner and finding it challenging to know where to start on your mushroom journey? We will cover the safest and easiest edible mushrooms to identify, including chanterelles, boletes, oysters and more. Learn what season, habitat, and specific trees where you are likely to find these friendly fungi. Intended for beginners, but all are welcome.

This presentation will give an overview of some of the most potent and transfomative drugs derived from the fungal Kingdom and some of the ways fungi are uniquely interesting from a chemical perspective. The latter portion of this presentation will focus on ongoing cutting edge research on bioactive metabolites from Cordyceps and related fungi.

Langdon Cook is an award-winning author and culinary adventurer who's dedicated his life to exploring the Pacific Northwest’s backcountry in search of the most sought after wild foods for the table.
Langdon will guide us through edible mushroom hunting and cooking on the West Coast, with slides of fungi in their natural habitat and on the table in finished dishes, the talk will have you reaching for your boots, baskets, and sauté pans. Q&A at end of presentation.

Let's make spore prints and discuss how spore color helps direct us to identification based on spore color. There will be a Thermal Laminator machine available to preserve a spore print to take home.

Rhizopus microsporus is an ecologically diverse fungi. It is used in Indonesia to make tempeh, it's a plant pathogen, and it is also an opportunistic human fungal pathogen.

As you walk through the forest for SOMA forays, you’ll (hopefully) see many fungal species producing mushrooms. But not all fungi beneath the surface sprout mushrooms every year. Some fruit only under certain environmental conditions, such as fire. In this talk, UC Berkeley postdoc Cat Adams will attempt to blow your mind with just how many fungal species are truly out there, small, hidden, and biding their time. She’ll end the talk with some unpublished data on fungi that crop up after soil from different forests around the area is burned.

This creative and engaging educational presentation is being offered in an effort to promote understanding of DNA sequencing in the minds of community scientists. Starting off with a review of the principles of molecular biology, the basic tenets surrounding genetic information will be outlined. Extraction and amplification methods alongside the latest DNA sequencing technologies will be explained within the context of mycology, including both Nanopore and Sanger processes. The scientific importance of this work will then be demonstrated using cutting edge evidence from your peers, including the most current published literature. With the ultimate aim of uncloaking the mystery surrounding DNA sequencing of fungi, the presenter will strive to make biomolecular concepts accessible to anyone, regardless of their educational background.

Learn how to make mushrooms from air dry clay. They are inexpensive to make and fun to give as gifts. You will make and go home with a Chanterelle or Bolete earrings.  If time permits Sandy will also demonstrate some of her tips and tricks on how to sculpt and paint other mushrooms like morels, amanitas, and shaggy parasols.

Please take only one of these offerings to allow others to learn this technique

Take a look at photos of the tiny features of fungi, hyphae, spores and other key micro features used to distinguish species as you work to identify what you are holding in your hands. Spend the second half of the workshop making your own slides and looking at these structures under a light microscope.

Inoculate oak logs with shiitake spawn to take home. Inoculation demonstration using the wedding cake totem method for growing oyster mushrooms. Also how to make a backyard garden giant (Stropharia rugosa annulata) mushroom woodchip bed.

Foster your observation skills and connect with your surroundings with Nature Journaling, a practice of observing and recording your observations, thoughts, and feelings in nature. Join Sierra on a walking foray to immerse yourself in nature and record your observations of the fungal world. You will be taught the basics of nature journaling, provided with optional page templates, and spend time observing and journaling in the surrounding forest (foray + outdoor journaling if weather permits). No previous art experience or tools required. Recommended supplies: mixed media paper (a bound journal is ideal), watercolor brushes and paints, colored pencils, pens, pencils. Limited supplies will be available for share.

Extract a rainbow of colors using the best local dye species. Students will receive an informational booklet that talks about the history and process for getting bold dyes, a recipe card detailing the procedures used in class, and a rainbow of samples to display. This class gives you the tools you need to continue your own experiments at home.

Come learn about plants to add to the menu or to your medicine chest while you are out in the woods looking for fungal friends. These include California Bay, Yarrow, Huckleberry, Stinging Nettle, Oaks, Elderberry and more. Learn how to identify and use the local edible and medicinal plants that you may be walking by on your search for that perfect mushroom.

How do fungi move? In this presentation we will explore the dispersal strategies of fungi and how the move through the environment.

A hands-on workshop demonstrating one of core techniques of modern Mycology. We will select important specimens from camp and extract DNA from them. We will then amplify the DNA using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).

Fungi have the solutions to many of the harmful processes humans have created. Not only can fungi break down pollutants, but they can replace technologies that are harming the planet with sustainable solutions that we can grow from our waste. We are growing a healthier world by pairing with ancient methods that mycelia demonstrate.

Let’s explore how these technologies are being created before we do a hands on workshop of growing our own planters or lampshades.

Learn how to make realistic mushrooms from air dry clay with Sandy Patton from the Cascade Mycological Society. These are inexpensive to make and fun to give as gifts. Each participant will make and go home with a Chanterelle ornament. If time permits Sandy will also demonstrate some of her tips and tricks on how to sculpt and paint other mushrooms like morels, amanitas, and shaggy parasols.

Wine, Beer, Cheese and Convivial Hobnobbing, in both the Main Hall and new Tent in the Spore Zone.  Music will be provided by local musician Michael Sallstrom in the Tent!

Mark Todd will introduce the local cheese selection at 5pm.

First few tables for silent auction will close, highest bidders will be announced and can pick up and pay for their items.

Dinner Extravaganza!  Mushroom-themed dinner cooked onsite by Jennifer Levine and the SOMA Culinary Crew

Final tables for silent auction will close, highest bidders will be announced and can pick up and pay for their items.

Dr. Chris Hobbs discusses the unfolding world of medicinal mushrooms, and his latest book, Medicinal Mushrooms: The Essential Guide.

Bring your UV flashlight and join the after-hours foray on CYO grounds looking at all the fungi and fauna that reflect UV light. 

Breakfast - Self service by CYO

Prepare your packed Sunday Lunch. There is no other lunch provided at CYO on Sunday.

Bring your fungal finds to the table for identification. Please bring anything and everything you find. Our specialists will help you figure out what you found, categorize it, and professionally photograph the best specimens.  Some finds may go out for DNA sequencing!  Monday morning please join us on the deck where we will discuss and review all finds.

Chef Demo by Dr. Gordon Walker of Fascinated by Fungi

Ken Litchfield will discuss and demonstrate preserving mushrooms by candying, salting, adding to alchohol, making syrup, fermenting, and other interesting techniques for using fresh or dried mushrooms.

Group will depart CYO around 9am (make your lunch at CYO main hall to bring with you), and should arrive at Salt Point State Park and the Woodside Day Use area around 10am.  The group will explore the central trail for wild mushrooms, which usually are abundant this time of year.  Moderate uphill hiking approx 2 or 3 miles, bring good hiking shoes, and dress in layers.  Bring fungi back to CYO and drop off at ID table for the experts to identify.  Join the ID session on Monday morning to learn about everything found during the weekend.

This is an all day foray to find edible mushrooms at Salt Point State Park. Please carpool and bring mushroom baskets and good walking shoes.

This is an all day foray to find edible mushrooms at Salt Point State Park. Please bring mushroom baskets and good walking shoes. You will pack a lunch at CYO for yourself before leaving.

Jessica Holloway will be the LandPaths Docent, and Mikhael Selk will be your mushroom guide.

This is excellent habitat. Many edibles were found last year on this walk.

Parking is very limited, carpooling is recommended.  The entrance path is a very steep 1/2 mile hike, and terrain is fairly hilly.

CYO Grounds has 700 acres, and hiking is fairly easy.  Why not explore it?!  We'll take folks out on some lesser-used trails at CYO, and try to be back by 1pm so you can attend some afternoon classes.  

Westminster Woods main trail has abundant mushrooms and is fairly close to CYO camp.  Trail is fairly steep but there is good parking and restrooms.  Good location for beginners.

Travel to the orchard (46 miles from CYO Camp), touring the orchard to talk about truffle cultivation with a hands-on type of experience. We will discuss soil management, tree management, cover crops, weed issues, water/irrigation issues, rodent abatement, Electroculture experiments, BioChar experiments and answer your questions. Hopefully we will cover it all. We will be back to CYO camp by 4pm for Happy Hour. 
We will carpool to the orchard due to limited parking.

This foray will NOT involve collecting fungi or truffles.  We are going to visit a private truffle orchard, to see and discuss the trees, soil, irrigation, and management challenges.

Morning Yoga with Erica and Justin Reyes

This workshop includes the basics of needle-felting for beginners. Included are needles and other supplies to make 2-D and/or 3D projects using roving and yarn.

Learn to make surface designs on two silk scarves using resist dyeing techniques. We will be utilizing various methods of tying and pleating to create different patterns on the fabric. Learn the basics of natural dyeing with mushrooms and how to expand your palette. All materials included. No experience is necessary. Materials Fee: None Materials Provided: 2 Silk Scarves

Imagine the future of fungi conservation: every foray collection is vouchered and sequenced, several thousand fungal species are on the endangered species list, and households receive weekly updates from trusted organizations that paint data visualizations about the phenology of their local funga. What if every person knew how to track fungal biodiversity on their land throughout the seasons? What if high schoolers had fungal DNA sequencing as a regular class activity? What if people were paid to collect fungi outside of universities? Join Sigrid Jakob, President of New York Mycological Society, and Gabriela D'Elia, Director of Fungal Diversity Survey, to inoculate our dream together.

Anyone who lives on the west coast of the continental US has probably experienced the effects of fire in some way or another. Fire has lived on these lands since time immemorial as an integral part of the ecological and cultural history. Amidst the heartbreak of increasing catastrophic wildfires, there is also the emergence of profound insight and opportunity to heal our relationship with place. We are beginning to draw our awareness down into the rhizosphere and ask how fire is shaping not just our above ground ecosystems, but our below ground communities as well. 

How do fungi respond to fire? How do fungal communities shape how an ecosystem will rebound? How can we ally with fungi to help decontaminate toxins left over from burned structures and restore ecological health to post-fire soil systems? In this presentation we will explore the complex and awe-inspiring relationships between fire and fungi. I will share about my work with CoRenewal doing post-fire mycoremediation research, insights from tracking post-fire fungal succession, as well highlight the findings of other researchers who are doing amazing work investigating pyrophilous fungi.

Join us for a presentation on the current events on TRUFFLE CULTIVATION in the USA.  This presentation will show you how to cultivate Truffle fungi on oak and hazelnut trees in an orchard setting. Included will be an in-depth update on Truffle Cultivation in the USA - California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, North Carolina, Virginia and other areas. You will also be updated with North American Truffle Growers Association News. We will briefly go over how to set up your orchard with a budget and what your regional needs will be based on soil types, topography, equipment and labor shortages of where you live. Irrigation is a primary issue that deserves greater detail of discussion - depending on the various stages of an orchard. We will touch on the on-going management of an orchard and the skills needed to get your orchard up to production.  Ending with a Q&A session as a discussion on how well this industry is doing and the current direction it is headed.

Sign up for the Truffle Orchard tour at the Montage Resort in Healdsburg following the morning truffle cultivation presentation.

Workshop designed to provide both experienced microscope users and those new to microscopy with the skills and knowledge necessary to use a compound microscope as a tool in fungal identification. The workshop will begin with a lecture and review of the microscopic characters that are commonly used to identify fungi, and will proceed into hands-on demonstrations on how to properly use a compound light microscope. The remainder of the workshop will consist of directed activities designed to teach the participants how to properly view and identify fungi using a microscope and identification keys, as well as ample time to explore the diversity of fungi available. All materials, identification keys and other pertinent literature will be provided. Drop-ins welcome permitting space. Class is co-taught with Michael Wood.

If you are a crafter of a certain age, there is a good chance that there has been a macrame project or two in your life. Macrame has experienced a resurgence of popularity in the past couple of years, you may be discovering macrame for the first time. Either way, it’s a wonderful craft. Macrame dates back to Arabic weavers in the 13th century. From the Middle East it traveled to Spain, Italy, and then throughout Europe. Sailors traditionally made extra money by creating macrame objects while at sea, then selling them when they came into port. Wildly popular in the 1970s, it faded away for forty years. Lucky for us, it’s back! In this class you’ll learn to make an adorable macrame mushroom keychain. All materials are supplied, and no prior macrame experience is required. It’s a great beginner project!

Mushrooms grow in abundance in the West nearly year round. Some are poisonous, many of no culinary value and a select group are some of the best food to enjoy. Daniel will present in detail our choice edible mushrooms such as chanterelles, hedgehogs, king boletes, morels, bear's head and pig's ears mushroom which are easy to identify, helping one to overcome fungophobia and truly appreciate wild mushrooms. However, there are many more very enjoyable mushrooms that need much more experience for safe identification. In this richly illustrated presentation Daniel will help you get to know, identify and find many great edible mushrooms while steering you clear of dangerous look-a-likes. You will be advised how to properly collect, carefully transport, safely prepare and reliably store your mushrooms. Key in finding prime mushrooms is getting to know their preferred habitat and their seasonality.

Daniel will share lots of new insights from his new book “Fruits of the Forest – Handbook to Edible Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest that includes North coast mushrooms. In addition, Daniel is mixing in some fungal fun & facts from his ethno-mycological research and Mushroaming adventure travels.

Heyday is a nonprofit publisher of nonfiction book about California. We've been based in Berkeley for nearly 50 years and have published iconic books that tell stories and share knowledge about California's natural world since the beginning. I will pull back the curtain on how we develop books with authors, and encourage members of the mushrooming community to consider how they can translate their knowledge into a book for a larger readership. One important thing to remember is that you can’t have community science without accessibility. That comes in many forms, from economic accessibility, to welcoming the public in instead of taking a fortress like approach to conservation, to valuing perspectives that have been dismissed in the academy. Our goal for our books is that they give every citizen of California access to a basic level of environmental literacy that would allow them to know what common plants and fungi are edible, how to read a landscape, and how to feel comfortable in their understanding of the land they live on. It’s hard to value a landscape or feel your place in an ecosystem when you don’t know how to read the land, how to live off it, or even if it’s healthy. These basic skills are sorely lacking in many Californian’s lives. We want to feed the growing desire for hands-on, practical knowledge with books that instruct, give real life skills, and in doing so, make citizens more able to engage in the living world around them We also know that books and writers are often the heroes that shape the minds of the next generation. How many young men vowed to protect the desert after reading Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire or went to the Sierra for solace after reading John Muir’s, The Mountains of California? To create a diverse new generation of ecological heroes, we must amplify the voices of Latino, Native, Asian, Pacific Island, and African American naturalists, scientists, outdoorswomen and writers. Publishing has the power to reshape how we see ourselves and the world around us. We are passionate about reshaping California so that a connection to protecting the land is the birthright of every person, in their own way, based on their own traditions, regardless of ethnicity. If you like to teach, or to share your knowledge on instagram, iNaturalist, or a blog, you are already used to translating your expertise for the beginner's mind. In this talk I will discuss why and how to organize your knowledge into a book structure, and what a publisher is looking for in a proposed book and in an author, as well as the step-by-step of how a book gets developed from idea to being available in bookstores.

Home cultivation of mushrooms using plastic tubs, taught by Wyatt Bryson of Jewels of the Forest

William will review the legal landscape, state ballot initiatives, city resolutions, and drug policy reform movement happening around psilocybin containing mushrooms in Santa Cruz, California, and across the globe. We will discuss what next steps in the psychedelic mushroom community look like. 

Ireland is blessed with an abundance of rainfall and a diversity of habitat that give the Emerald Isle a rich and diverse abundance of mycota. This presentation will discuss the mushrooms found in the woodlands, demesnes, burrens, and heaths of Ireland and the burgeoning mycological milieu in Ireland today.

Explore the possibilities of California fungi through natural dyes and handmade inks. This workshop will focus on three different locally collected species to yield a variety of colors for use on both fabric and paper.

Join us for an exploration of the backstory and the current capitalistic explosion revolving around Psilocybe mushrooms: the ancient, fortuitous and tragic phenomena that led to the research, home cultivation, use and awareness of the dubiously dubbed "Psychedelic Renaissance." Ryath will also touch on Psilocybe ecology and identification.

Spores are the offspring of the mushroom! We'll look at how they get into the world, what adaptations they might have or not to be successful, and also whether fruitbody size and shape make any difference.

Fungi have the solutions to many of the harmful processes humans have created. Not only can fungi break down pollutants, but they can replace technologies that are harming the planet with sustainable solutions that we can grow from our waste. We are growing a healthier world by pairing with ancient methods that mycelia demonstrate. Let’s explore what technologies are being created, why they are important, who is working on them, and the time frame before they are commonly accessible.

Make a magical forest house out of rounds of wood, Twists of branches, Acorns, Bark, and treasures. Roofs are bark or tiles of pine cone. Lights are marbles in acorns, and mushrooms are various acorns over stick stipes. No previous experience needed. All ages. Bring your own collections and treasures to work in if you like.

Note:  Ten forest houses will be made during class.  If you would like to bring a friend and work together on a single house, only one of you will need to register.

You may have heard about the ‘wood-wide-web’ – an interconnected mycelial network through which trees transfer information and resources, potentially helping each other survive. More than two decades after it was first proposed, this concept has reached so far into American culture that you can hear about it in multiple best-selling fiction and nonfiction novels, Star Trek, Ted Lasso, and Joe Rogan’s podcast. But – do mycorrhizal networks actually work the way we think? What are all those fungi up to down there? Join Professor Laura Bogar for a celebratory romp through the forest of published literature and share in her basket of assorted mysteries about fungi, trees, and the connections among them.

Participants will make their own mushroom bags to take home and fruit. John will demonstrate how you can grow oyster mushrooms at home on pasteurized straw. Timing is open between 2:00PM and 4:00PM

The Mind, Body, and Spirit are connected. And so, we dive into some of the Science, Spirituality, and Tantric perspectives of how different fungi can not only heal our bodies and connect us to our Planet Earth, but also with each other. There is much disconnect in today’s age, whether it is within family, community, interpersonal, or intimate relationships. It is important to take a closer look at the connections we have to ourselves and all of those around us, starting within our own mind, body, and spirit to understand how Fungi & Plants can play such important roles in our personal lives and the communities we participate in. It is becoming increasingly known that mushrooms play a key role in the health and well-being of not only our Environment, but the role they play in the significant function of health and well-being in our bodily systems. From Holistic, Shamanic, and Scientific viewpoints, fungi not only help cure illnesses, but they seem also to have the ability to connect us to our environment and to each other. New scientific findings and studies and a deeper look into the traditions of our ancestors, we will take a titillating dive into how mushrooms not only affect the brain & nervous system with their nootropic attributes, but how they affect us also on sexual and spiritual levels.

We will check the results of our PCR amplification using Gel Electrophoresis and discuss the process of data analysis using NCBI BLAST

Farming practices that increase ‘soil health’ are a major focus of modern agricultural science. Soil microbes – bacteria and fungi – drive most biochemical and nutrient transformations in agricultural soils. Could they also control soil moisture and structure? How important are microbial communities to agricultural resilience in an era of greater climatic uncertainty? And – can farmers select for a better microbial community? Researchers have observed that microbial communities change in response to drought, and that plants grown with these microbes are more resilient to drought than plants grown with unaltered microbial communities. Come hear some of the preliminary results from a survey of 68 agricultural fields from Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, plus follow-up greenhouse and microcosm experiments! We’ll discuss the current state of science in soil health, some specific roles of bacteria and fungi in agricultural soils, and some (potentially) surprising results!

Wine, Beer, Cheese, and Convivial Hobnobbing, in both the Main Hall and new Tent in the Spore Zone.  Music will be provided by local musician Michael Sallstrom in the Tent!

Bring your mushroom books to have authors sign them.  Or buy them from the Camp bookstore.  We expect to have about 10 authors available to sign their books.  And also, some foragers may have photos in books, so you can ask them to sign their photos!

Jennifer Levine and the SOMA culinary crew prepare a mult-course mushroom feast for Sunday night!

STARTS AFTER DINNER & DESSERT
A diverse panel of Community Scientists share their experiences and discuss how others can join them to contribute to research on Fungi and Conservation Science.

Panel moderators are Dr. Gordon Walker and Mikhael C. Selk.

Bring your UV flashlight and join the after-hours foray on CYO grounds looking at all the fungi and fauna that reflect UV light. 

Breakfast - Self service by CYO

George Riner and other expert ID folks will discuss the finds at SOMA Camp 2020. (All are welcome to ask questions and participate in discussion.)

Lunch - Self service by CYO

Clean up all Cabins and take down Camp.  All Cabins must be cleared and cleaned by 2pm.  Thanks everyone for participating in SOMA Camp!!

Making Scents of Fungi, from Stench to Perfume If you've ever gone on a walk with an old-time mushroom picker, you've probably noticed that they often lift mushrooms to their noses as soon as they pick them... Why is that? Besides being intriguing, alluring, and surprising, aromas can be extremely important clues for identification. Come take an olfactory tiptoe through the world of fungi!

Hawai'i is home to a high number of rare endemic species of plants, insects, birds, etc. Mushrooms are no exception, yet have received relatively less attention & scientific work to the other organisms here. Since the publication of "Mushrooms of Hawai'i" in 2002 by Don Hemmes & Dennis Desjardin, many questions have been posed & little to no additional follow-up work has been done. Unfortunately, no institution, academia or otherwise, is dedicated to studying these rare, and in many cases, endangered fungi. All the while, the arrival of introduced species is occuring. This talk explores what we know about the mushrooms of Hawai'i, but more importantly, what we don't!

A colorful excursion into the fungal realms of northern Italy, with comparative discussion of how European material, perceptions, and knowledge interface with what we know and have here in the New World

It has been estimated that indigenous Mexicans consume about 300 species of edible mushrooms country-wide throughout its eight climate regions, one of the most climate diverse countries in the world. All of Mexico’s climates are found in the Southern State of Oaxaca.

Despite its inclusion geographically in North America, the country of Mexico is quite foreign when compared to the US and Canada in its attitudes toward mushrooms and mushroom foraging. The difference, even more pronounced in Oaxaca, is more than just a language barrier, though that plays a significant role: despite Spanish being the dominant language, there are more than 15 official languages and dozens of dialects spoken throughout this state alone.

More than half of the political regions in Oaxaca are self-governed autonomous democracies. This governance naturally extends into a sustenance-based relationship to the land itself–land that has been continuously occupied in some places by the same people for over 12,000 years. There are no mushrooms picking permits: nothing can be removed from the land–nor even access granted–without express permission of the community.

In this presentation, Chef Zachary Mazi attempts to tackle the barriers in understanding this delicate relationship, and discuss the intricate web of food-life-forest-community that underlies the unique management of these diverse and incredible ethnomycological regions whose wisdom holds so much potential for learning for the rest of North America."

Shibori is a Japanese tie-dye technique and the Dead Man’s Foot mushroom produces a coppery brown color that can be darkened with an iron mordant.

Gourmet Mushrooms Inc. has been a consistent and extremely generous donor to SOMA.  Justin Reyes, President of SOMA, and Director of Sales and Marketing for Mycopia Mushrooms, will give us a tour of the Gourmet Mushrooms operation.  A fun thing to do on your way out of Camp!  Check out their website at www.mycopia.com for new and interesting information about mushrooms!

Tour starts at 1:30pm at Mycopia, 2901 Gravenstein Hwy North, Sebastopol, CA 95472

PLEASE DO NOT REGISTER IF YOU HAVE TAKEN THIS TOUR BEFORE.