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Science
in The Farms: An Allerton Folk School
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.
Learn to Spin Yarn - Aug. 19th
with Stephanie Block
Experience Level: Beginner
Learn the basic mechanics of using a spinning wheel to make your own yarn at Learn to Spin Yarn on Tuesday, Aug. 19th from 5 to 8 p.m. in The Studio.
After a brief introduction from instructor Stephanie Block, students will have time for hands-on spinning practice and the opportunity to spin alpaca fiber into yarn using Ashford scotch tension Traditional or Traveler wheels. Discussion of fiber production and preparation methods will also be included.
$130/person. Register by Aug. 15. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.
About the instructor
Stephanie Block is the co-owner of Sundrop Alpacas near Bement. She has been producing popular yarn from her own alpacas for more than eight years. Stephanie’s spinning style is self-taught, and she is continuously learning so that she can share that knowledge with others.
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.
Trees, Shrubs, and Vines at Allerton
with Fran Harty
Experience Level: Beginner
Learn to identify trees and other woody plants in the forest at Trees, Shrubs, and Vines of Allerton on Saturdays, Sept. 20 (in The Studio) and Sept. 27 (at the McDonald Family Trailhead) from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
In the first class of this two-part course, instructor Fran Harty of the Land Conservation Foundation will teach students how to use leaf, twig, fruit and bark characteristics to identify trees, shrubs and woody vines at the Park. Students will also spend time outside to apply what was learned.
Class on Sept. 27 will be spent outside on the McDonald Family Trailsidentifying trees, shrubs and woody vines. (In case of rain the class will be held in the Music Barn.)
$45/person*. Registration will close Sept. 12 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.
*Students should dress for hiking/the weather and bring a water bottle, bug spray and snacks. Binoculars are encouraged.
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
Fran Harty has taught dendrology at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and similar classes for Allerton Park Corps of Discovery in 2009 and the Illinois Audubon Society in 2015. He currently works with the Land Conservation Foundation.
Soap Making Demonstration
with Sally Walsh
Experience Level: Beginner
Learn to make your own soap at a Soap Making Demonstration on Saturday, Oct. 18 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Greenhouse Auditorium.
Artist Sally Walsh will lead students through the process of making soap, including the science, safety, ingredients used and the herbal benefits. Students will take home a bar of soap in addition to a booklet of instructions and recipes.
$45/person*. Registration will close Oct. 11 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.
*Students should wear old clothes.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at 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
Sally Walsh is a retired art teacher from Richland Community College in Decatur. She has more than 30 years of teaching experience and has led previous art classes at Allerton.
Learn to Spin Yarn (Oct 29)
with Stephanie Block
Experience Level: Beginner
Learn the basic mechanics of using a spinning wheel to make your own yarn at Learn to Spin Yarn on Wednesday, Oct. 29 and Thursday, Dec. 11 from 5 to 8 p.m. in The Studio.
After a brief introduction from instructor Stephanie Block, students will have time for hands-on spinning practice and the opportunity to spin alpaca fiber into yarn using Ashford scotch tension Traditional or Traveler wheels. Discussion of fiber production and preparation methods will also be included.
$130/person. Registration closes one week before each course begins, or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at 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
Stephanie Block is the co-owner of Sundrop Alpacas near Bement. She has been producing popular yarn from her own alpacas for more than nine years. Stephanie’s spinning style is self-taught, and she is continuously learning so that she can share that knowledge with others.
Food for Thought: Are You Willing to Make That Trade?
with Jack Paxton
Experience Level: Beginner
Learn more about the ethics of agriculture at Food for Thought: Are You Willing to Make That Trade? on Wednesday, Nov. 12 from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Mansion Library.
Retired professor and lecturer of plant pathology Dr. Jack Paxton will talk about agricultural ethics and correct farming practices, using clips from “The Price of Bounty,”a video produced by the University of Illinois Department of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES).
$15/person. Registration will close Nov. 5 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at 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
Dr. Jack Paxton is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign after serving as a Professor of Plant Pathology from 1964 to 1996. He earned his bachelor’s degree from University of California-Berkeley and his PhD in Plant Pathology from University of California-Davis. He was also a lecturer at University of California-San Diego from 1997 to 2020.
Learn to Spin Yarn (Dec 11)
with Stephanie Block
Experience Level: Beginner
Learn the basic mechanics of using a spinning wheel to make your own yarn at Learn to Spin Yarn on Wednesday, Oct. 29 and Thursday, Dec. 11 from 5 to 8 p.m. in The Studio.
After a brief introduction from instructor Stephanie Block, students will have time for hands-on spinning practice and the opportunity to spin alpaca fiber into yarn using Ashford scotch tension Traditional or Traveler wheels. Discussion of fiber production and preparation methods will also be included.
$130/person. Registration closes one week before each course begins, or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at 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
Stephanie Block is the co-owner of Sundrop Alpacas near Bement. She has been producing popular yarn from her own alpacas for more than nine years. Stephanie’s spinning style is self-taught, and she is continuously learning so that she can share that knowledge with others.