Save The Morels
Every year I get tons of mail asking me to support everything from children to every creature on earth. My dad calls these begging letters. These organizations are counting on the generosity of caring individuals and companies to raise money for their cause, all of which are good. Who is trying to save the morel? Who is traveling the Midwest telling people about the mesh bag? Who is using the same mesh bag in Missouri as Michigan? I am. So this is my begging letter.
Each year I promote a morel club. Not one with huge benefits to you, but one where for a donation of $15.00 you receive a mushroom hunting certificate with your name caligraphied on it. Whatever amount is collected I put into a fund to help cover the costs of some of my goals and to offset the expense of the web site.
It is my goal to educate responsible parties at state and local levels in our parks departments, our DNR offices, and nature sanctuaries about the use of the mesh collection bag. If we could get everyone using mesh collection bags, more public land could be available to hunt because people would be doing the right thing, protecting our environment. In the spring their gift shops could use mesh bags for merchandise to remind people to use mesh while mushroom hunting. This would be a ‘green’ product with a dual message.
It is my goal to make mushroom hunting a badge for scouts. If we teach children to forage and cook something as delectable as morels, they might spend more time out of doors. They might explore other wild edibles. It may even interest them in environmental science. If you can help accomplish this, contact us.
I would love to have the funds to pass out freebies at the sport shows to children. Cards showing spring mushrooms and a little bit of information about them is just one idea. If you own a printing company and would like to donate the paper and printing or the printing, call us. If you have a company or know of one that can make washable tattoos or coloring books, or foam cut-outs or any other small gift to share with kids, contact us. If you want to sponsor mesh bags to pass out at the sport shows; contact us.
There are “going green” organizations popping up everywhere. I would love to be able to do seminars for these groups. Teach them about mushroom hunting, the green hobby, using mesh collection bags, protecting the environment, how to use this popular sport (over twelve million mushroom hunters in the US alone) in advertising going ‘green’. Mushrooms have a significant role in the environment. If you are curious read Paul Stamet’s book “Mycelium Running”. It is brilliant! It is not easy reading but this man gives hope that our planet can be saved if we can by-pass politics for the sake of the mushrooms and our planet. If you are a member of this type of organization and are interested, contact us.
It is my goal to teach the American Indians how to pick morels, dry morels and market them. Many of the forest fires are tucked away on their reservations. This is especially true in Alaska and Montana. If you are interested in this project, contact us.
I have kept field records for thirty years. This is how Larry Lonik, the Michigan Mushroom Man, and I became friends. I backed up his laboratory learning with my field records. People get grants to do the studies of what I already have. There are other edible mushrooms that I would like to study and write about. It takes time and money. I am not a scientist but I am a great observer.
Wouldn’t it be nice to pick up a new book in a few years that would make it easy for you to pick edible mushrooms year round? I need a publisher for my work, or the funds to self publish.
If you would like to sponsor any of these projects, donate a little or a lot to help get them rolling or just buy product to keep us on this ambitious path you can go to our contact us page for that information. If you are in a position to sponsor us in other ways, for instance gear to get to the back woods; that would also be appreciated. We need ATV’s; we each go through a pair of hiking shoes a season. We need a bigger trailer to set up a dryer and carry gear back from the forest fires. We need a portable boat and motor to reach areas others can’t. We always camp; last year the first few days we had snow. We aren’t really geared for that much cold. We would be great in advertising for the places we go to hunt morels. Burn hunting is hard work and very dirty.
We are a for-profit organization but we are a micro business. There are few people in America, or for that matter around the world, who help others find more morels. We have been at this for ten years, the first five helping Larry Lonik, the last five as our own business. We want to grow and to be successful. Pass our website onto a mushroom hunting friend. If you know anyone who is in a position to help sponsor us, pass us on. If you need what we do, call us. Any and all donations are appreciated, as is work. We’d love to guide your group, give seminars; cooking demonstrations as well as hunting and drying technique, or work with your company to educate you how to promote your products to mushroom hunters. We’re twelve million strong and growing.