COLRAIN — Local mushroom farmer and mycologist Paul Lagreze invites residents to an educational mushroom walk on Saturday, Aug. 6.
The walk, which will start where Charlemont Road meets Main Road (Route 112) in Colrain, will last from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Lagreze is planning for at least 10 guests and a maximum of 20. In the event of rain, the walk will be moved to Sunday, Aug. 7.
Lagreze has been living in Franklin County since 1986, having moved to the area from Santa Barbara. A 25-year veteran of occupational therapy, he said he has always had a hobby of foraging for mushrooms. For years, he has been selling wild porous and shiitake mushrooms, as well as teaching beginner’s mushrooming courses at Greenfield Community College and the University of Massachusetts. Nowadays, Lagreze cultivates mushrooms with his son, Elijah, at New England Wild Edibles in Heath, and is trying to build up an education based on permaculture and the cultivation of other wild edibles.
Although Lagreze had planned to offer at least one workshop for each of the summer months, he was forced to cut back due to the lack of mushrooms this season, caused by the severe drought. Nevertheless, he hopes there will be enough rain to allow for a meaningful and productive walk on Saturday. Following this walk, he is planning four more until mushroom season ends in late October.
Lagreze believes that observing the ground for mycelium — a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae — is an underrated method of studying the overall health of an ecosystem. He references an article in the New York Times about biologist Merlin Sheldrake that notes most plants are dependent on mycelium.
“In the same way that people from the plant world and the animal world go out and do a survey,” Lagreze said, “nobody’s really looked at the mushroom species out there and done a good survey of all the species out there.”
Lagreze said he has noticed a general decline in the number of wild mushrooms locally due to climate change, even from the previous season. However, he is still optimistic, noting that mushrooms have survived millions of years, including several previous mass extinctions.
“They’ve adapted to all kinds of weather changes and still do really well,” he said.
On Saturday’s walk, Lagreze wants to discuss the sustainability of not overpicking mushrooms. He noted that, while individual mushrooms are closer to a fruit than a flower, and picking one of them won’t affect the crop, walking over mushroom groves will do severe damage to the organism.
Lagreze recommends that guests take pictures, noting there are several apps — such as iNaturalist, Google Lens and Mushroom Observer — that can help attendees find out what species of mushroom they photographed.
To reserve a spot, email pclagreze@gmail.com or text 413-522-3896.