Author and mushroom man Tradd Cotter will return to Sterling College, June 7-10, 2018, to lead an immersion course that dives into mushroom ecology, basic identification, farm reproduction methods, cultivation, mycoremediation and medicinal mushroom extracts and tinctures.
Cotter is a microbiologist, professional mycologist and organic gardener who has been tissue culturing, collecting native fungi in the Southeast and cultivating both commercially and experimentally for more than twenty-two years. He is the author of Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation (Chelsea Green, 2014). In 1996, he founded Mushroom Mountain, which he owns and operates with his wife, Olga, to explore applications for mushrooms in various industries. He currently maintains over 200 species of fungi for food production, mycoremediation of environmental pollutants and natural alternatives to chemical pesticides.
Participants in this short course, held on the Sterling College campus in Craftsbury Common, VT, will gain knowledge and skills on how to cultivate fungi on small and large scales, incorporate edible mushrooms and beneficial fungi into garden designs, identify wild mushrooms, cultivate and prepare medicinal mushrooms, and clean contaminated soils and polluted water through mycoremediation.
Online registration is now open, but spaces are limited. Students are encouraged to apply as early as possible. For more information this course and to register, visit https://www.sterlingcollege.edu/course/mushrooms-molds-mycorrhizae-cultivation-permaculture-funghi/
This class is being offered through The School of the New American Farmstead (SNAF), Sterling College’s continuing education program. Classes represent the ideals of the College’s undergraduate principles of environmental stewardship and experiential learning while offering multifaceted ways for agrarians, culinarians, entrepreneurs and traditional craftspeople to hone valuable skills. Learning experiences are offered in the form of workshops, short-courses, symposia, and professional development opportunities.
The School of the New American Farmstead at Sterling College is generously underwritten by the following Vermont businesses: Chelsea Green Publishing, the preeminent publisher of books on the politics and practice of sustainable living; Vermont Creamery, an award winning creamery offering fresh and aged goat cheeses, cultured butter, and créme fraîche that combine the European tradition of cheesemaking with Vermont’s terroir: the Cellars at Jasper Hill, Vermont’s award winning cheesemakers and affineurs. Partner businesses share a deep commitment to the environmental stewardship mission of Sterling College.
