Wild Mushrooms and the Mycology of Consciousness
With Jim Gouin and David Sumerlin
October 15 - 19, 2025
With Special Guest Paul Stamets
Save the world, one mushroom at a time. Fungi, particularly mushrooms, offer powerful, practical solutions to enhance both human and ecosystem health.
Through lecture, discussion, and foraging:
- Learn easy-to-grow cultivation methods using a hands-on approach.
- Gain the skills to identify at least twenty-five species of mushroom, both wild and cultivated.
- Delve into fungi’s historic and contemporary uses as food and medicine.
- Learn the secrets of cooking and preserving these delectable treats, as well as how to process them into fibre.
- Discuss the evolution of mushrooms in ecosystems and the crucial roles fungi play in destroying pollutants and up-channelling nutrients for the benefit of other organisms in the biosphere.
Testimonials
“The mushroom seminar with Paul Stamets and friends is an incredible way to see the forest and its functioning in a new light. As a professional Arborist and Forest Wanderer, I found the information not only useful and informative, but also inspiring on so many levels. I love Paul’s ability to enthusiastically weave in remarkable life philosophy into the identification and wonder of mushrooms and how they function in the forest and in world health! Would not hesitate to do it all over again!” – Gail Szostek, 2022 Participant
Special Guest Paul Stamets
Paul Stamets, D.Sc (Hon.), is the founder of Fungi Perfecti and Host Defense Organic Mushrooms, and has been a dedicated mycologist of 40+ years. He has written six books and pioneered countless techniques in the field of edible and functional food mushroom cultivation. Two of his books, Growing Gourmet & Medicinal Mushrooms and The Mushroom Cultivator have been heralded as the ‘bibles’ of the mushroom industry. His latest book, Mycelium Running, How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World, has propelled to the world stage his vision of using mushrooms to help save ecosystems and improve population health. His TED (2008) talk “How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World” has been rated in the top 10 of all TED talks, and viewed more than 8,000,000 times.
Daily Schedule
A detailed schedule will be emailed to you about 30 days prior to your program. Click here to view a sample program schedule.
Presenters
Jim Gouin is a mycologist from Olympia Washington where he lives and works for Fungi Perfecti. Passionate about all things fungi, he loves to spend time in the verdant forests for the Pacific Northwest collecting and identify all kinds of mushrooms. With a background in forestry and agriculture he brings…
Learn more about Jim Gouin
David Sumerlin has worked for Fungi Perfecti since 1984. He has been making mushroom extracts for the last 20 years and has been involved of all aspects of mushroom cultivation. David teaches many different mushroom workshops which include basic outdoor mushroom cultivation, mushroom tissue propagation as well as various mushroom…
Learn more about David Sumerlin