Yachats Mushroom Festival talks are opportunities to delve into many aspects of the world of mushrooms. Learn about mushroom foraging and identification basics, hear about cooking techniques, and get a download on the latest scientific research involving mycology. All talks are free!
Saturday Talks
Saturday 10-11:30am - How to Identify Mushrooms: The Basics | Jon Sommer
Location: Lions Club
Mushrooms: What they are and what do you need to know to reliably identify wild mushrooms.About the speaker: Jon Sommer has led mushroom forays, given lectures on a range of mycological topics, and taught mushroom identification across the United States for more than five decades. He is a well-known speaker and presenter for mycological societies and forays across the country. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Botany at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California and two Master’s Degrees from the University of California, Davis (Botany & Plant Pathology). He has studied mushroom identification with notable mycologists including Drs. David Largent, Orson K. Miller Jr. and Harry D. Thiers. A resident of Colorado for 30 years, and now living on the Oregon coast, Jon has in-depth knowledge of fungi across the US and particularly northern California and Oregon. He is the immediate Past President of the Colorado Mycological Society and is the current President of the Lincoln County Mycological Society in Oregon.
Saturday 10:30-11:30am - Transform Your Brain Through Mushroom Foraging | Steve Jonas
Location: Yachats Commons
Step into a forest and magic instantly happens. Our senses become heightened, we start to physically exert ourselves, but there is also magic happening in our brain and central nervous system. When foraging for mushrooms, our brain shifts into a deep, primal state of active perception. It quiets modern-day stress and triggers a release of dopamine when we find the mushrooms we are seeking. This treasure hunt activates specific networks linking intense focus, spatial memory, and pattern recognition.
Steve Jonas is an active mushroom forager and enjoys introducing and educating new people to the joys of foraging. He is a retired educator, and for over the past ten years has been the co-owner and neurofeedback practitioner at Eugene Neurofeedback. There he helps facilitate client's brain health through regulating their brain and central nervous system, helping people overcome trauma, anxiety, depression, focus issues, memory, ADHD, sleep dysregulation, and a host of other symptoms. eugeneneurofeedback.com
Saturday 12-1pm - Wild Harvesting & the Healing Qualities of Mushrooms | Sherrie Hansen
Location: Lions Club
Sherrie of mymushroompeople.com has spent many years researching and applying Mushrooms for Medicine with great results. In this session, she will cover:
- Where specific healing mushrooms grow.
-How to properly harvest while keeping the ecosystem intact using the "seventh generation" method.
- Identifying individual mushrooms used for health and healing.
-Different methods of processing mushrooms for medicinal use.
- The joy of the harvest and the essence of mushrooms for healing.
Sherrie of mymushroompeople.com has been in the mushroom field for over twenty years. From researching mushrooms many health benefits, their effects on disease to wild harvesting, organic cultivation and creating mushroom extract powder blends for health & wellbeing. She shares her knowledge through speaking engagements and education events.
Saturday 1:30-2:30pm - Native and Cultivated Truffles in Western Oregon | Dr. Charles Lefevre
Location: Lions Club
There are seven indigenous truffle species with recognized culinary value harvested in North America. Four of these are found along the west coast in Oregon. Come to this talk to learn more about these native truffles and how cultivated truffles are grown.
About the speaker: Dr. Charles Lefevre is the founder of New World Truffieres, Inc., a pioneering company dedicated to the cultivation of truffles in North America. He is also a co-founder and organizer of The Oregon Truffle Festival. Dr. Lefevre earned his Ph.D. in Forest Mycology from Oregon State University in 2002, where he conducted research on the host associations of the American Matsutake mushroom. You can reach Dr. Lefevre at info@truffletree.com or www.truffletree.com.
Saturday 2-3pm - Psilocybin in a legalized setting: Beyond Therapy | Cathy Jonas
Location: Presbyterian Church
Join us for a talk and Q&A with Cathy Jonas, LCSW, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Trauma Specialist, and Licensed Oregon Psilocybin Facilitator. As the CEO and founder of EPIC Healing Eugene—the nation’s first legalized service center—Cathy will provide an overview of Oregon’s Psilocybin Program. Drawing on over three years of experience since EPIC was opened and forty years of working in the human services field, she will share key professional and personal insights gained from her own personal growth journey, and guiding clients through the preparation, high-dose psilocybin experience, and integration journey.Cathy Jonas is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Trauma Specialist trained in a myriad of therapeutic modalities. She is also a Licensed Psilocybin Facilitator, and the CEO and founder of EPIC Healing Eugene—the nation’s first legalized service center. Cathy is also the author of two personal growth books, an avid gardener, and loves hummingbirds.
Saturday 3-4pm - Galerina Species Diversity in the Pacific Northwest | Dr. Jessie Uehling
Location: Lions Club
Come check this talk out if you are interested in how diverse and or toxic our species of Galerina are in the Pacific Northwest. She will present molecular, morphological, and biochemical data on the Galerina marginata sensu lato complex in Oregon and the PNW. About the speaker: Jessie Uehling is an associate professor at Oregon State University in The Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, curator of the OSC fungal collection and the mycologist for the Oregon Psilocybin advisory board. You can learn more about her lab's research at Uehlinglab.com
SATURDAY 3:30-4:30PM - Fungi in the Environment: What are they doing out there? | Matt Trappe
Location: Presbyterian Church
This presentation will give an overview of the many roles fungi play in the environment, some well known and some you probably haven't considered.Dr. Matt Trappe is the lead author of the Field Guide to North American Truffles, and led forays for the North American Truffling Society for 20 years as Trufflemaster. He earned his Master’s degree studying the habitat and host associations of Winter Chanterelles, and his Ph.D. studying the effects of disturbance on fungal communities at Crater Lake National Park. He has published papers on post-Fukushima radiocesium accumulation in chanterelles, the fossilized fungus Prototaxites, and the enigmatic Sedecula pulvinata, as well as formally naming and describing the culinarily valuable Oregon Brown Truffle, Kalapuya brunnea.
Sunday Talks
Sunday 10-11am - Medicinal Mushroom: Your Path to Wellbeing | Sherrie Hansen
Location: Lions Club
Sherrie of mymushroompeople.com has spent many years researching and applying Mushrooms for Medicine with great results. Her goal is to inspire and bring hope to people who wish to include medicinal mushrooms into their lives for health and wellbeing. She will speak on using mushrooms for healing, the benefits of individual mushrooms species for physical, mental, and emotional healing, as well as touch on Mushroom Essence and Energetics.
About the speaker: Sherrie of mymushroompeople.com has been in the mushroom field for over twenty years. From researching mushrooms many health benefits, their effects on disease to wild harvesting, organic cultivation and creating mushroom extract powder blends for health and wellbeing. She shares her knowledge through speaking engagements and education events.
Sunday 11:30am-1:00pm - MUSHROOM PRESERVATION AND COOKING DEMONSTRATION | JON SOMMER
Location: Lions Club
How to preserve that bountiful harvest of your favorite wild mushrooms. Jon will also be doing a food demo (Matsutake Corn Chowder) along with the talk.
About the speaker: Jon Sommer has led mushroom forays, given lectures on a range of mycological topics, and taught mushroom identification across the United States for more than five decades. He is a well-known speaker and presenter for mycological societies and forays across the country. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Botany at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California and two Master’s Degrees from the University of California, Davis (Botany & Plant Pathology). He has studied mushroom identification with notable mycologists including Drs. David Largent, Orson K. Miller Jr. and Harry D. Thiers. A resident of Colorado for 30 years, and now living on the Oregon coast, Jon has in-depth knowledge of fungi across the US and particularly northern California and Oregon. He is the immediate Past President of the Colorado Mycological Society and is the current President of the Lincoln County Mycological Society in Oregon.
Sunday 1:30pm-3pm Truffle Taxonomy can be Tricky! | Dr. Dan Luoma & Joyce Eberhart
Location: Lions Club
Presented by Dr. Dan Luoma and Joyce Eberhart for the North American Truffling Society Learn the characteristics of truffles that will help you identify these underground beauties. We will share images of some of the many species of truffles, and show you what to look for in order to identify your findings. We will have some microscopes available so you can see microscopic features of spores and other structures.
Founded in 1978, the North American Truffling Society is a non-profit organization based in Corvallis, Oregon, that brings together amateurs and professionals who are interested in hypogeous (belowground) fruiting fungi. The mission of NATS is to enhance the scientific knowledge of North American truffles and truffle-like fungi, and promote educational activities related to truffles and truffle-like fungi.
