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Outdoor Education
in The Farms: An Allerton Folk School
Intermediate Mushroom Foraging--Aug. 9
with Lee Schuler

Experience Level: Intermediate
Those who completed beginner mushroom foraging classes at The Farms or have experience in identification can continue their journey at Intermediate Mushroom Foraging on Saturdays, Aug. 9, 16 & 23 from 9 to 11 a.m. outdoors (rain or shine). Meet at the Greenhouse Cafè Patio (in case of rain meet inside the Visitor Center).
Instructor Lee Schuler will lead two-hour hikes to find, collect and come together to identify mushrooms from the property. Classes will also cover environmental and growth habit, morphology, and edibility for each species that is found. The class will also log every species found to begin a wild fungi survey for Allerton.
$120 for the entire series or $50/class*. Register here by Aug. 6 or three days prior to subsequent classes. All sales are final.
*Students should bring a knife or scissors for collecting samples and wear clothing appropriate for walking up to two miles in various weather conditions.
PLEASE NOTE: Foraging at Allerton is not allowed except as part of this Farms class.
Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu.
By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.
About the instructor
Lee Schuler recently moved from Illinois from Pennsylvania, where she taught fungal identification and edibility at environmental education centers for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and for private land owners. She is certified as a wild edible mushroom expert and licensed to harvest and sell to restaurants and markets in the State of Pennsylvania. Schuler is also a contributing culinary author for a wild mushroom trade journal.
A graduate of East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania, Lee has worked as a field biologist and environmental educator and currently works in public health. She is an artist and cook and enjoys acquiring new and useful skills as much as she loves sharing them.
About The Farms
The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, outdoor education, science, storytelling, and wellness. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.
Find the complete Summer Session schedule here.
Intermediate Mushroom Foraging--Aug. 16
with Lee Schuler

Experience Level: Intermediate
Those who completed beginner mushroom foraging classes at The Farms or have experience in identification can continue their journey at Intermediate Mushroom Foraging on Saturdays, Aug. 9, 16 & 23 from 9 to 11 a.m. outdoors (rain or shine). Meet at the Greenhouse Cafè Patio (in case of rain meet inside the Visitor Center).
Instructor Lee Schuler will lead two-hour hikes to find, collect and come together to identify mushrooms from the property. Classes will also cover environmental and growth habit, morphology, and edibility for each species that is found. The class will also log every species found to begin a wild fungi survey for Allerton.
$120 for the entire series or $50/class*. Register here by Aug. 6 or three days prior to subsequent classes. All sales are final.
*Students should bring a knife or scissors for collecting samples and wear clothing appropriate for walking up to two miles in various weather conditions.
PLEASE NOTE: Foraging at Allerton is not allowed except as part of this Farms class.
Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu.
By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.
About the instructor
Lee Schuler recently moved from Illinois from Pennsylvania, where she taught fungal identification and edibility at environmental education centers for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and for private land owners. She is certified as a wild edible mushroom expert and licensed to harvest and sell to restaurants and markets in the State of Pennsylvania. Schuler is also a contributing culinary author for a wild mushroom trade journal.
A graduate of East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania, Lee has worked as a field biologist and environmental educator and currently works in public health. She is an artist and cook and enjoys acquiring new and useful skills as much as she loves sharing them.
About The Farms
The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, outdoor education, science, storytelling, and wellness. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.
Find the complete Summer Session schedule here.
Bee Hive Observation 8/17
with Maggie Wachter

Join us on a bi-monthly basis as we observe how honey bees manage hive activity during the summer at Bee Hive Observation on August 17. Classes will include an overview of seasonal influences, followed by a peek inside the hives to observe honey bees at work. Traditional and Flow Hives will be discussed.
Participants should wear long sleeves and pants, loose-fitting garments and no open shoes. You should also bring a protective bee veil and unscented rubber gloves.
$20/class. Register two days before each individual class. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.
About the instructor
When Maggie Wachter began her social work degree at the University of Illinois in 2008, she had no idea that she would become a beekeeper. As for honey, she kept a single jar in the back of her kitchen cabinet for recipes. Today she is a master beekeeper who never eats sugar.
Maggie received her first hive as a gift in 2008. By 2010, she was enrolled in the Master Beekeeper course at the University of Florida. From there, things happened quickly to turn her life around. In 2012, she started teaching beekeeping for Parkland Community Education and today she is a beekeeping teacher, honey judge, mead maker and master beekeeper.
She has also participated in honeybee research at the University of Illinois and the USDA.
About The Farms
The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, wellness, outdoor education, storytelling, and science. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.
See the complete summer session here.
Intermediate Mushroom Foraging--Aug. 23
with Lee Schuler

Experience Level: Intermediate
Those who completed beginner mushroom foraging classes at The Farms or have experience in identification can continue their journey at Intermediate Mushroom Foraging on Saturdays, Aug. 9, 16 & 23 from 9 to 11 a.m. outdoors (rain or shine). Meet at the Greenhouse Cafè Patio (in case of rain meet inside the Visitor Center).
Instructor Lee Schuler will lead two-hour hikes to find, collect and come together to identify mushrooms from the property. Classes will also cover environmental and growth habit, morphology, and edibility for each species that is found. The class will also log every species found to begin a wild fungi survey for Allerton.
$120 for the entire series or $50/class*. Register here by Aug. 6 or three days prior to subsequent classes. All sales are final.
*Students should bring a knife or scissors for collecting samples and wear clothing appropriate for walking up to two miles in various weather conditions.
PLEASE NOTE: Foraging at Allerton is not allowed except as part of this Farms class.
Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu.
By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.
About the instructor
Lee Schuler recently moved from Illinois from Pennsylvania, where she taught fungal identification and edibility at environmental education centers for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and for private land owners. She is certified as a wild edible mushroom expert and licensed to harvest and sell to restaurants and markets in the State of Pennsylvania. Schuler is also a contributing culinary author for a wild mushroom trade journal.
A graduate of East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania, Lee has worked as a field biologist and environmental educator and currently works in public health. She is an artist and cook and enjoys acquiring new and useful skills as much as she loves sharing them.
About The Farms
The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, outdoor education, science, storytelling, and wellness. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.
Find the complete Summer Session schedule here.
Bee Hive Observation 8/31
with Maggie Wachter

Join us on a bi-monthly basis as we observe how honey bees manage hive activity during the summer at Bee Hive Observation on August 31. Classes will include an overview of seasonal influences, followed by a peek inside the hives to observe honey bees at work. Traditional and Flow Hives will be discussed.
Participants should wear long sleeves and pants, loose-fitting garments and no open shoes. You should also bring a protective bee veil and unscented rubber gloves.
$20/class. Register two days before each individual class. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.
About the instructor
When Maggie Wachter began her social work degree at the University of Illinois in 2008, she had no idea that she would become a beekeeper. As for honey, she kept a single jar in the back of her kitchen cabinet for recipes. Today she is a master beekeeper who never eats sugar.
Maggie received her first hive as a gift in 2008. By 2010, she was enrolled in the Master Beekeeper course at the University of Florida. From there, things happened quickly to turn her life around. In 2012, she started teaching beekeeping for Parkland Community Education and today she is a beekeeping teacher, honey judge, mead maker and master beekeeper.
She has also participated in honeybee research at the University of Illinois and the USDA.
About The Farms
The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, wellness, outdoor education, storytelling, and science. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.
See the complete summer session here.