July continued to provide rainy days and evenings, so the mushrooms continued to show off! We wild harvested so many delightful edibles and encountered such an array of fungal diversity! We also continued to educate myco-curious people and planned for some larger upcoming events.
The mycophiles on the Collar City Mushrooms team are not just pan hunters! The beauty and uniqueness of every mushroom body is so wonderful to encounter! Here are a few of our favorites from July!
The Asian Beauty Toothed Crust (Radulodon copelandii)
The Vomiter (Chlorophyllum molybdites)
Old Man of the Woods (Strobilomyces strobilaceus)
Crown Tipped Coral (Artomyces pyxidatus)
Berkeley’s Polypore (Bondarzewia berkeleyi)
The American Slender Caeser (Amanita jacksonii)
The Sickener (Russula emetica)
The Helderview Garden Club learned how to grow mushrooms at home and visited the shroom patch to see some fungi fruiting!
Avery also taught a mushroom cultivation class in the tasting room. Interested guests ate some snacks provided by the new Lead Baker for Indian Ladder Farms, did a Blue Oyster transfer, and visited the shroom patch.
The Indian Ladder Farms barn school program has continued through the summer teaching young farmers about life on the farm. The students who took the Mushrooms and Me course have continued to incorporate mushrooms into their summer explorations.
With the Mushroom Experience Dinner at the Adirondack Experience Museum coming up, we are preparing some new mushroom art! A brand new Larger scale mushroom sculpture incorporating some of the wild mushroom finds from the past year that have been coated in resin to preserve them!
We’ll be vending at Wayward Lane Brewing on Sunday, August 16th from 12 – 4. Come on out for some great music, delicious beverages, and amazing dumplings!
Mr. Blue Sky is getting some finishing touches! We’ll be growing more mushrooms in August!
Foraged Finds and Fabrications
July was an incredibly bountiful month for wild crafting! The Flora and Fungi of the Capital Region were certainly showing up in style!
We harvested some Immature Juglans (Black Walnuts) in order to make some delicious Black Walnut syrup.
Wild berries are in season! They are always such a delight to grab while walking a trail.
Black Raspberries (Rubus occidentalis)
Elderberries (Sambucus canadensis)
Our favorite wild edible experience was certainly the dinner we made after an incredible wild harvest. We sauteed up a variety of wild mushrooms we just pulled out of the forest (chanterelles, saffron milkies, chestnut boletes, lilac boletes, and black trumpets) and made a mushroom gravy. Then sauteed the Frost’s Boletes separately in just some light oil. Served atop some delicious spaetzle and alongside steamed Kale and a vegan “chik’n” patty. Wow! The richness of the mixed mushrooms medley, and surprising citrus of the Frost’s was so delightful!
Frost’s Bolete (Exsudoporus frostii)
Saffron Milky (Lactarius deliciosus)
Chestnut Bolete (Gyroporus castaneus)
After Sauteing the mushrooms, garlic scapes, and onions, we added a packet of our mushroom gravy mix and a splash of water.
Delicious!!
Immature red oak acorns (Acer rubrum)
Acorns are starting to come in! We’re planning an acorn processing workshop with Mark and Sage from the Giving Trees. It will be October 1st and 2nd. Day one will include harvesting acorns, and day two will be about processing them and tasting some delicious treats made from last year’s bounty. Stay tuned for details.
PSILOCYBIN CORNER
During our July meeting we talked about our planned actions for the next 6 months while we build momentum towards the 2027 legislative session.
Watch the full meeting HERE.
Follow THIS LINK to fill out an individual Statement of Support for our psilocybin policy efforts.
Follow THIS LINK to fill out an Organizational Statement of Support.
For our August NYMHA Monthly Member meeting we will be joined by representatives from New Approach and the Psychedelic Science Funders Collective.
Tamar Todd is a lecturer at Berkeley Law, where she teaches psychedelics and cannabis law, and an attorney specializing in legislative drafting, statewide political campaign strategy, regulatory implementation, and non-profit management in the areas of drug law reform, marijuana law, psychedelics law, and public health. She is the former legal director of the Drug Policy Alliance, where she was responsible for developing and overseeing the organization’s legal work as it related to legislative drafting, policy advocacy, litigation, and public education in local, state and federal jurisdictions. She has expertise in marijuana and psychedelics decriminalization, legalization, and regulation, and she has co-authored many state and local ballot initiatives and statutes, including in California, Colorado, Oregon, South Dakota, Montana, and Mississippi. She authored Colorado’s Proposition 122 in 2022, which decriminalized certain psychedelics and created a regulatory framework for their therapeutic use. She has advised governments internationally on their efforts to legalize the production and distribution of marijuana, and she has testified in numerous legislative and government bodies in the United States and abroad on the issue of drug policy and the intersection of state and federal law. She served on the California Cannabis Advisory Committee, which advised the California Bureau of Cannabis Control on the implementation of California’s marijuana legalization law.
Todd received her B.A. from the University of Vermont and her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center. After law school, she clerked for the Hon. Emmet Sullivan on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and she spent several years representing people on death row as a staff attorney with the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta.
And Sarah Harpold, Community Engagement Manager of the Psychedelic Science Funders Collective.
Sarah serves as the Community Engagement Manager for PSFC, leveraging over 10 years of experience in operations, communications, and event production. Sarah produces the behind-the-scenes efforts that unite our community, such as events, webinars, affinity groups, and newsletters, while also managing our rapidly expanding member base.
Sarah has a dynamic professional background ranging from producing corporate events for The Boeing Company, to managing event operations and communications for Burning Man Project. Her passion for organizational development and creative production stems from her upbringing in Alaska, where she was raised on the values of community, resiliency, and creative problem-solving.
Political Action Committee New Approach
https://ballotpedia.org/New_Approach_PAC
COMING SOON
New Yorkers for Mental Health Alternatives Monthly Meeting, Tuesday, August 11th 7pm – 8pm. This monthly meeting we’ll be hearing from two country wide funding organizations that have been working to create legal access in several states. Representatives from New Approach and the Psychedelic Science Funders Collective will discuss their efforts.
Join remotely via zoom here:
A Mushroom Experience Dinner at Scarlet Knife featuring Chef Paul Dimm, Thursday, August 13st, Scarlet Knife in Latham. Multi course dinner with omnivorous and Vegan options will available. Call Scarlet Knife at 518-808-4100 to reserve your spot. Pre-purchase only. $!25 per seat. Price includes beverage pairings.
A Mushroom Experience Dinner at the Adirondack Experience Museum featuring Chef Matt Olley, Friday, August 21st, ADKx Museum. For tickets: HERE .
What to do with Mushrooms Hour, Thursday, August 27th 5:30pm – 7pm Learn about the ways mushrooms are being used around the world (and in space!)! We’ll share a few snacks and a mushroom tea. Event will be in the Indian Ladder Farms Tasting Room. $20.
Get Tickets HERE.
A Mushroom Festival at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library, Saturday, September 12, 1pm – 4pm. This celebration of all things fungi will feature book talks, film screenings, workshops, and foray walks! Mark your calendars now! Stay tuned for details HERE.
New Moon Mycology Summit, Friday, September 11 – Sunday, September 13. A gathering of all things fungi. While this is not our event, it is really exciting to have multiple fungi forward festivals happening in our area!
https://www.themyceliumunderground.com/newmoonmycologysummit2026
Identifying Mushroom Hour, Thursday, September 24th 5:30pm – 7pm Learn how to identify mushrooms! We’ll even go on a walk to find fungi! Event will be in the Indian Ladder Farms Tasting Room. $20.
Get Tickets HERE.
A Mushroom Experience Dinner Featuring Chef David Stein @ Indian Ladder Farms. Friday, September 25th 6pm – 8pm. A 4 course plant and fungi based dinner. Suggested pairings will be available for purchase.
Get tickets HERE.
NYMHA Fall Fungal Frolic Fundraiser @ Indian Ladder Farms, Saturday, Nov 21. Details to follow. But will include an educational panel, live music, and food! SAVE THE DATE!
Collar City Mushrooms 