Mycology is the branch of botany that deals with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy, and their use to humans as a source for tinder, medicinals, food and entheogens, as well as their dangers, including poisoning. There are many mushroom experts throughout Vancouver Island. Some of them have the official title of mycologist while others have gained their wisdom by reading mushroom field guides and books and by spending years in the woods observing and recording Mother Nature’s offerings. Falling into the latter category is Brother Michael, a Benedictine Monk from the Solo Deo Monastery near Duncan.

Teaming up with the Amusè Bistro restaurant at Shawnigan Lake, Brother Michael spends several Saturdays in October and November leading small groups of budding shroomers deep into the forested hills surrounding the Koksilah River, south west of Duncan.

During the morning educational hunt, Brother Michael, who is extremely knowledgeable about local flora and fauna, teaches his students how to identify the habitat and characteristics of about four or five common edible specimens.

Participants in the expedition scour fallen logs, mossy hillsides, and moist bogs while Brother Michael explains how to harvest mushrooms sustainably. In order to limit the ecological foot print on the pristine forests a limited amount of spaces are offered for each tour.

Unlike many, Brother Michael is willing to take others to the sacred sites he has been harvesting for decades.

“I go by the honour system. I bring them to learn how to identify mushrooms and find out where the spots are and most people are respectful of that,” he said.

Brother Michael is not a mycologist but he has been picking mushrooms for about 25 years and said it started out as a hobby.

“I was always interested in natural plants and fungi. When I found out at one point that you could make money picking pine mushrooms, I thought it would be a fun way to raise money to help support community. I started with pines, then chanterelles and since have increased my repertoire of mushrooms.”

He admitted he doesn’t take people to where he picks commercially. He sells his mushrooms to restaurants and buying stations on the Island. Wild mushrooms are abundant in these parts but are a rare treat overseas where people pay up to $100 per pound for the delicacy.

After a few hours of hawk-eyed hunting looking for evidence, which an untrained eye can easily miss, the trainees are then ready to pack up their spoils and return to the restaurant for a mushroom-centric three-course lunch prepared by the Amusé Chefs. Amusé proprietor and Chef Bradford Boisvert said they also guide people through the process of properly cleaning and preparing wild mushrooms.

He said Brother Michael has mushrooms already picked to show the group before they head out so they have a better idea of what to look for.

He said they usually find some choice edible mushrooms, such as the yellow and white chanterelles, lobster and maybe if they are lucky even the matsutake or pine mushroom.

“There are so many good ones. It depends on the time of year,” Boisvert said.

Chefs tend to speak of certain mushrooms with a kind of hushed reverence. Maybe it's because they possess such deep, complex flavours – or maybe it's because they're so hard to find.

Skilled mushroom hunter Ingeborg Woodsworth has possessed a knack for finding mushrooms ever since she was a young child growing in Germany.

The 77-year-old university educated mycologist has for a long time espoused the bounty of the Cowichan Valley.

Woodsworth’s property on a lush five acres at Mayo Creek Gardens, eight kilometres east of Lake Cowichan, is an abundance of natural plants that flourish around largely untouched habitat.

Her belief in locally grown food and her passion for mushrooms (she estimates she has close to 60 varieties of mushrooms on her property) led her to initiate the annual Salmon & Mushroom Festival in Lake Cowichan.

“I started the festival to share the bounty,” she said, adding that while it involves a lot of work by volunteers it is for a good cause. “I’m doing this because I’m a member of the Lake Cowichan community,” said Woodsworth.

The community is lucky to have her. When she came from Germany to the Pacific Northwest for six months to study she decided to make Vancouver Island her home.

That was 56 years ago.

“I stayed. We have more varieties than anywhere else (Central Europe or the British Isles, for example). We have fewer people but we have the fungi.”

The Salmon and Mushroom Festival has been going strong for 12 years now and if the mere mention of chanterelles gets you salivating you should consider a trip to the two-day event which runs Saturday Oct. 29 and Sunday Oct. 30 at the Centennial Hall in Lake Cowichan.

If you’ve always wondered what the difference between a shitake and portabella mushroom is, or wanted to sniff a freshly picked pine mushroom, this event is where you will gain a whole new vocabulary on what lurks in the forests and fields of BC.

The weekend is full of activities including a salmon BBQ, a gala dinner, wild mushroom meals, mushroom identification, cooking demonstrations, a mushroom slide show and Sunday field trips.

Woodsworth said the festival keeps getting bigger and better and this year she has agreed to have two large tables to display not only edible mushrooms but poisonous ones as well.

She said it is important to show all species because a big part of the festival is education.

Woodsworth started her mushroom education early and said she pursued mycology in her younger days growing up in Germany because she had wonderful people around her who shared her fascination with nature.

“It intrigued me as a youngster. It started on my grandma’s estate in Pomerania. I have memories of wonderful teachers before I was ten.”

She said she was also affected by an experience at age ten that today makes her adamant about promoting safe mushroom picking.

“I went to funeral of a botany teacher who ate poisonous mushrooms.  A friend cooked a meal and they didn’t know it was poisonous. It was an accident, but it affected me. That is why I try to make people understand clarity is required to ensure everything is safe. You can’t afford a mistake. You can eat everything once,” she stated.

As a mycologist Woodsworth has been called to many mushroom poisoning cases and she said safety is always number one with her.

“I have seen cases of mushroom poisoning in the past. It is incredible what people will get into.  The longer I live the more cautious I get.”

Woodsworth has just published a mushroom cookbook that includes 10 pages of safety before getting to the recipe section. It can be purchased at the festival.  She said they will also be showing mushroom look-a-likes at the event so people can see how easy it is to make a mistake.

She admitted it takes a lot of work to gather up the specimens for her display but there are many volunteers who lend a hand.

“I am lucky to have friends who help me by picking the ones at the higher elevations. I need to get my show pieces and I am after everything,” she said, adding “I will have a helper go out on Saturday morning to get what we haven’t picked the day before.”

Woodsworth said after all these years she still enjoys mushroom picking and loves being able to be in the woods at her age.  She said she hopes she can pass on her passion to young people who will continue the mushroom festival for many years down the road.

“I am still good for a few years. I want it to carry on and I hope it grows even when I am gone.”

For more information about the Salmon & Mushroom Festival 2011, contact MayoCreekGardens@shaw.ca or call (250) 749-6291. For more information on Amusé Fall mushroom tours, email amusebistro@shaw.ca or call (250) 743-3667. Stop by in person at 1753 Shawnigan-Mill Bay Rd, Shawnigan Lake, or visit www.amusebistro.com.

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This article was written by by Brenda Gough of Island Times Magazine.