Outdoors & Nature   

Explore the principles of permaculture and discover how to apply sustainable, regenerative design to a garden or other outdoor space. In this two-hour introductory class, participants will learn how to facilitate healthy, low-maintenance ecosystems that work in harmony with nature. Whether you have a small garden, a large yard, or a community space, this class will provide you with a solid starting point for making any green space more productive, resilient, and environmentally friendly.

No prior experience is required—anyone with an interest in gardening is welcome.

Suggested supplies: a notebook or paper, and a pencil with eraser.

This class is pooled with Edmonds College.

Step inside the world of Washington's salmon hatcheries and discover how science, culture, and conservation come together to sustain this iconic species. During this immersive field experience, you will follow the salmon's journey from tiny fertilized eggs to ocean travelers and their astonishing return to freshwater to spawn. Learn how hatchery biologists and tribal partners manage each life stage through careful broodstock selection, spawning techniques, rearing practices, and strategies that protect genetic diversity. Whether you are curious about ecology, fisheries, or tribal stewardship, this visit offers a deeper understanding of the science and culture behind healthy salmon runs. 

Class comes to completion with a short hike through the forest adjacent to the hatchery which has been fertilized and fed by years of Salmon carcasses.

Located in North Kitsap. Address will be sent to class participants. Washington Educator STEM clock hours are available for this course. To request clock hours, please let the instructor know and email continuinged@olympic.com. 
 

What are fungi? 
What kinds can you find around the Kitsap Peninsula? 
Which are edible and which are toxic?

Sable Burgess, President of the Kitsap Peninsula Mycological Society, will share an overview of the basics of fungi, tips to learn fungi identification, and key characteristics for popular wild edible mushrooms!  All in preparation for KPMS’s annual Wild Mushroom Show, which takes place November 1st this year! Attend this class to increase your fungi literacy and attend with some foundational knowledge in time for our wildly popular community educational event.

Hidden beneath the mossy forest floor, Pacific Northwest truffles are one of nature’s most elusive and extraordinary culinary treasures.  Truffles grow underground, give no visible sign, and are worthless if harvested early — which is why the best truffle hunters in the world work with a dog. 

This session goes inside that partnership: what a dog is actually smelling, how to read one at work, and what it takes to train your own. Includes live footage of working dogs, an honest look at which dogs make good candidates (hint: it isn't about breed), and what a changing climate means for where we hunt this season.

This course will introduce you to iNaturalist, the leading tool in Community Science, and show you how to contribute to real scientific data with your everyday observations of plants, mushrooms, birds, bugs, and everything in between! 

We’ll cover how to actually navigate through the app and website, how to take good photos for identification, and how to search through iNaturalist’s robust observation database to learn more about the life around you. 

This wonderful tool, being presented by a certified iNaturalist Ambassador can help you figure out where to hunt for Chanterelles or where to go to spot Kingfishers, or whatever form of life you’re hoping to encounter!

In this one day workshop Coral will teach you how to make your own mushroom log using fresh cut logs and mushroom spawn plugs. You will be able to take home and keep your log once inoculated and grow your own edible mushrooms at home.

This course will teach you how to build and inoculate your homemade mushroom logs. Learn how to develop your own series of mushroom logs for year round culinary mushrooms.

The instructor will supply Alder and some Douglas Fir.  If your plugs thrive in another species, please feel free to bring in your own log:

• Lion's Mane, Shitake and Oyster can grow on Maple.
• Shitake and Lions Mane can grow on Douglas Fir.
• Shitake and Oyster can grow on Alder.
• Oyster, Lion's Mane and Shitake can grow on Apple and most Fruit Tree Wood.

If you have a cordless drill, please bring it to class along with a 3/8" drill bit.

Students are responsible to supply their own spore plugs, and can be purchased at the Olympia Farmer's Market or online at North Spore.

This class is approved for Washington Educator STEM clock hours. To request clock hours, please let the instructor know and email continuinged@olympic.com. 

This is an educational lecture about the hallucinogenic and psychoactive mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. The Northwest corner of the United States is a hotbed of "active" species of mushrooms.

Join Aaron Hilliard-mycology educator and YouTube personality as he explains what these mushrooms are, their history and origins, and the specific species that grow in the beautiful evergreen state.

Some of these non-assuming mushrooms contain extremely powerful chemicals but can be tricky to identify. Aaron will elucidate these species with colorful photos and vivid descriptions, as well as some anecdotal stories.

Hidden beneath the mossy forest floor, Pacific Northwest truffles are one of nature’s most elusive and extraordinary culinary treasures.

Early November is the front edge of our truffle season, making this a practical primer for anyone who wants to get out and look. 

We'll cover the species worth knowing, the habitat signatures that mark a promising site, and the skill nobody teaches— judging ripeness by aroma and other important factors, which is the difference between a prize and a worthless lump. Plus harvest ethics, kitchen handling, and a frank word about truffle oil.

Capture the colors, textures, and quiet beauty of autumn on this guided photography walk through Illahee Forest Preserve.

As part of Mushroom Week, this outdoor class invites you to explore fall foliage, forest canopies, wildlife, and fungi through your lens.

Learn how to take sharp, well-exposed photos in natural light with tips from an experienced instructor. Be ready to hike easy, unpaved trails and embrace the changing weather.

Nature doesn’t pose for your shoot, but it always performs in all its beauty.

Explore Kitsap County’s last remaining old growth forest at the Rhododendron Preserve.  This class will consist of an outdoor hike of approximately 1.5 miles (round trip) down a deeply forested valley to the banks of one of the County’s most pristine and productive salmon streams. 

You’ll see local Chum and Coho salmon completing their epic life cycle, observing their migration and spawning behaviors up close.

Explore the magical kingdom of fungi!

Join us and acquire a basic understanding of fungi ecosystems. This class is for outdoors lovers, scientists, naturalists, herbalists, foragers, and chefs.

Day 1 =  Dive Into the Science - What are fungi
Day 2 =  Wild Mushrooms -  Foraging & Mushroom Identification
Day 3 =  EthnoMycology -  Mushroom Cultivation, Current and Historic Uses of Fungi

After the first three classes are completed Aaron will guide a foray into the forest to get your feet on the ground and your hands on the mushrooms!

The class will consist of three in-classroom sessions on Wednesdays, then a final Saturday hike. The mushroom foray will be located at a park in South Kitsap on the scheduled Saturday.  Address will be sent to class participants.