Join David Paton for an introduction to the amazing world of wild fungi, featuring a wide variety of mushrooms that reside locally, including species that are beautiful, edible, medicinal, and even deadly!

Presented in partnership with the Salisbury Association Land Trust and with generous support from the Friends of the Scoville Library.

Learn how fungi are vital to the overall health of the environment, decomposing organic material to make soil and forming symbiotic relationships with trees to nurture them and help forests thrive. We will talk about the "deadly dozen" mushrooms to avoid, the so-called "foolproof five," and why there is no such thing as "foolproof." Many species will be featured, including the Asian golden oyster mushroom, which escaped from an indoor farm in Pennsylvania and is now a delicious but invasive species in Connecticut (Dave will show how to tell them apart from the highly toxic jack-o-lantern mushroom). Of course, we will include the ever elusive and coveted morels that will be coming out in late April and early May in our area. 

David Paton is a musician, whitewater kayaker, and avid mushroom forager. He lives in Lakeville, Connecticut, and leads foraging tours in the Northwest Corner area. For scenes from David Paton's foraging adventures, please visit https://www.instagram.com/davepatonmusic/. 

Registration is required for this event.