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Mushroom Walks
Each Monday from November 17 - December 22
from 12:30PM to 3:30PM
with Naturalist and Mycologist Mario Abreu at the MCBG Farmhouse
​​Take a guided tour of the MCBG Mushroom Collection! The Gardens is home to more than 160 species of wild mushrooms during fall and winter. Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of macrofungi. Generally hidden underground, these reproductive structures lie dormant until the rainy season, when they sprout above the soil from organic material.
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Enjoy this introduction to mushroom identification, followed by a guided walk with Naturalist and Mycologist, Mario Abreu, each Monday from November 17 through December 22. Mario will begin with an approximately 45-minute introduction, followed by a 2-hour guided field walk that involves standing for long periods of time and venturing off the main trails. Please remember, mushrooms found at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens should stay at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens... DO NOT PICK OR COLLECT from our botanical collection!
The Details​
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Registration is limited, advanced reservations are required.
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Walks gather at the MCBG Farmhouse for a 45-minute introduction followed by a guided field walk.
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Walks available on Nov 17, Nov 24, Dec 1, Dec 8, Dec 15, and Dec 22.
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We recommend bringing along a refillable water bottle, a notebook, and a pen.
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Be prepared for the weather with appropriate layers and wear good walking shoes.
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If you are sick, please stay home.
Registration
Class size is limited! Registration for this walk must be completed in advance online or at the MCBG Store. All fees are non-refundable unless the walk has been canceled or rescheduled by the Gardens. ​​​​Proceeds support our nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.
Registration – $31.90 ($30.00 price + $1.90 service fee) per participant, includes Gardens admission for the day
Member Registration – $21.60 ($20.00 price + $1.60 service fee) per current MCBG Member – sign in to access discount​
About the Instructor
Mario Abreu retired from the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens as the Plant Propagation Supervisor, Natural Areas Coordinator, and Collections Curator after 20 years. Mario holds degrees in Natural History, and Liberal Arts and Science. He has interned for the California Department of Fish and Game Mesocarnivore Assessment, Denver Botanical Gardens Applied Plant Conservation Program, and the College of the Redwoods Plant/Lichen Herbarium.​
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Mario has led guided mushroom walks at the Gardens for more than 18 years and Mushroom Identification classes for the past 15 years. Additionally, he has provided mushroom walks for the California State Parks/Mendo Parks New Year’s Day Event, Visit Mendocino County Mushroom Festival Events, and private tours.
​Mario is a passionate natural history volunteer docent for the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, California State Parks, MendoParks, Dorothy King Young Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, and the UC Berkeley Sudden Oak Death Blitz Citizen Science Program. He also finds time to manage natural history displays at the Ford House Museum in Mendocino that include wildflowers, mushrooms, and the local Ecological Terrace Staircase and its associated Pygmy Forest plant community.