Foraging for fabulous forest fungi on Haida Gwaii - Action News
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British Columbia

Foraging for fabulous forest fungi on Haida Gwaii

Mushroom picking is a popular past time for many islanders.

It's mushroom season on Haida Gwaii, and mushrooms are harvested and sold to markets around the world

The season for foraging for mushrooms has begun on Haida Gwaii. (Flavien Mabit/Facebook)

It's mushroom season on British Columbia's Haida Gwaii islands.

From August to late October, mushroom pickers and buyers descend on B.C.'s northwest to harvest the fungi.

Flavien Mabit has been foraging mushrooms aroundSkidegate Lake one of the best known spots for mushrooms for the past seven years.

"This year it's only just starting ... [because] it's been a dry summer. Mushrooms need a lot of water to start to spread out."

The most abundant mushrooms on the islands are the chanterelles which come in golden, white and rarely blue.

Mabit admits they're not the tastiest mushrooms, although they be some of the prettiest.

They also ship well.

Chanterelles are the most abundant crop mushroom from Haida Gwaii. (Flavien Mabit/Facebook)

Mabit explains wild mushrooms are the main crop from Haida Gwaii.

The mushrooms are harvested and sold to agents who come to the island. Then they are either sent by plane or ferry to Vancouver where they are sold to domestic markets and markets in Europe and Asia.

Forest foraging as a way of life

Mabit is a passionate advocate of wild foraging in fact, he started the Sandspit Wild Harvest Festival to celebrate local products like seaweed, berries, and of course, mushrooms.

A man picks mushrooms near Sandspit on Haida Gwaii. (Flavien Mabit/Facebook)

Ultimately, Mabit hopes the festival can help transform the way people view the forest.

"We see the forest just for the trees, but there's more to it than just the value of the timber," he said.

"Maybe we can generate revenue by actually tending to the forest so that they give more mushrooms, and we can get some revenue that is more sustainable."

Safe picking!

But before you head out into the forest yourself, a word of caution.

Mabit who is originally from France says he's known the difference between safe and unsafe mushrooms since he was a child picking mushrooms with his family.

Many different kinds of mushrooms grow on Haida Gwaii, and it is recommended that you travel with an expert and consult a guide before picking and eating the fungi you find. (Flavien Mabit/Facebook)

He adds there's a much stronger mushroom picking culture in Europe compared to North America, and people are more experienced in identifying which mushrooms are safe to eat.

It's not to be taken lightly the provincial government recommends inexperienced or first-time mushroom collectors go mushroom picking with an expert.

Foragers take a closer look at a tree with "chicken of the woods" or laetiporus mushrooms near Sandspit on Haida Gwaii. (Flavien Mabit/Facebook)

With files from Daybreak North


To hear the interview, click on the link labelled Flavien Mabit, mushroom picker on Haida Gwaii