Fungi fans fill Carriage House for mushroom class

Saturday event part of parks commission winter programs.

Chris Swinson of Mycophile’s Garden leads a discussion about mushrooms at the Carriage House at the Felt Estate, 6597 138th Ave., on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025.

Michigan mycophiles should know there’s more to mushrooms than just morels in May. Chris Swinson, with freshly harvested fungi stacked in front of him, told a packed Carriage House at the Felt Estate, 6597 138th Ave., in Laketown Township on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, that there are over 150 edible mushrooms from more than 2,500 species across the Mitten State.

“Take your time, look around when you’re first starting,” he advised the about 75 participants in the free class sponsored by the Laketown Township Parks and Recreation Commission.

Chris Swinson of Mycophile’s Garden explains information about mushrooms at the Carriage House at the Felt Estate, 6597 138th Ave., on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025.

Swinson is from family-operated Mycophile’s Garden in Grand Rapids that started in 2014. The business is online at mycophile.org and at the Holland Farmers Market which has indoor hours January through April from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. the first and third Saturdays at the Holland Civic Center Place, 150 W. Eighth St.

A mycophile is someone who is passionate about mushrooms.

Participants in the Wild Mushroom Identification class led by Chris Swinson look over mushroom-related items on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, at the Carriage House at the Felt Estate, 6597 138th Ave.

At the Laketown Township event, Swinson explained when, where and how to find mushrooms in the wild, how to prepare them and how to use mushrooms in tinctures and teas. He also fielded questions from the capacity crowd.

A full house for the Wild Mushroom Identification class led by Chris Swinson, left, on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, at the Carriage House at the Felt Estate, 6597 138th Ave.

This is the second in a series of free winter classes sponsored by the Laketown Township Parks and Recreation Commission.

The first was a hands-only CPR class taught by the Graafschap Fire Department in January.

On Saturday, March 29 at 10 a.m., join West Michigan CISMA and the Allegan Conservation District to learn how to identify and manage common woody invasive species and explore the impacts of hemlock woolly adelgid on West Michigan.

An April program on butterfly gardens is pending.

Chris Swinson of Mycophile’s Garden brought samples of mushrooms and related items for his class on Wild Mushroom Identification at the Carriage House at the Felt Estate, 6597 138th Ave., on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025.