Chick of the Woods Foraging

Wild & Wonderful: A Fall Foraging Retreat
2026-09-22 09:00 - 16:30 (America/Chicago) | Ainsley Sutton Lodge Retreat Center, 1680 373rd Avenue Northeast, Stanchfield, MN, United States
ABOUT THIS EVENT
Join Maria Wesserle of Four Season Foraging and Jaime Rockney of Chick of the Woods for a day of foraging fun! Learn all about edible fall goodies in the woods! The morning will be focused on all things plants! Maria will teach us about plants, berries, and nuts that are in season followed by a walk in the woods finding, identifying, harvesting, and even tasting some forest delicacies like white pine infused switchel.
A home-style lunch will follow and will be included with your ticket.
The afternoon will be mushroom-centric with a presentation by Chick of the Woods on common edible fall mushrooms, a tasting of wild mushroom jerky and pickled mushrooms, followed by a walk in the woods searching for, talking about, and picking the mushrooms we find.

APPROXIMATE ITINERARY
9-9:15am Registration
9:15-10:15am – Plant Talk
10:30-10:45am – Break
10:30-12:15pm – Plant Walk
12:15-1:15pm – Lunch (included with ticket)
1:30-2:30pm – Mushroom Talk
2:30-2:45pm – Break
2:45-4:15pm – Mushroom Walk
4:15-4:30pm – Wrap Up and Review

The mushroom presentation may cover mushroom like hen of the woods, shrimp of the woods, honey mushrooms, resinous polypore, velvet foot, elm oysters, as well as potential look-alikes and poisonous mushrooms. But we may encounter and discuss other species in the woods! The plant presentation will discuss hackberry, crab apple, stinging nettle, wild grapes, black nightshade, and white pine. There will be many other plants to learn about in the surrounding landscape.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS
Maria Wesserle has been gathering wild edibles since 2004 and loves sharing this skill with others. She has spent over 15 years organizing and teaching foraging programs in the Upper Midwest. Through her business Four Season Foraging, she offers sliding scale foraging workshops, creating spaces where people can learn to interact with urban and rural environments in meaningful and sustainable ways. She is a certified wild mushroom harvester in the state of Minnesota and holds certificates for Level III Trailing and Professional Track & Sign from CyberTracker North America.
Jaime Rockney, also known as Chick of the Woods, loves nothing more than sharing her passion of the forest and fungi with others. In doing so, she hopes they will gain appreciation for the fascinating world within the forest. She has been obsessed with foraging since 2008 and started Chick of the Woods Foraging, LLC in 2019. She is a member of the Minnesota Mycological Society, Wisconsin Mycological Society, the North American Mycological Association, and has three certifications for identification of and selling mushrooms.

REGISTRATION
Register by August 22nd. If you are reading this after August 22nd, please contact us to see if space is still available. Class will be canceled if minimum registration is not met.
Class will happen rain or shine. In the event of severe weather, the class will be held completely indoors.

Cost is $160.
Suggested age 14 and up. You must be 18 to register. People age 17 and under are welcome as long as they are accompanied by an adult; that adult should register on their behalf. Minors pay the same price as adults.
