Pinckney welcomes new mushroom shop, workshops on safe foraging

What began as a beloved outlet for homeschooled students in Livingston County has evolved into its own retail location, aimed at renewing public interest in foraging. 

"Completely fascinated and also terrified that I would pick the wrong mushroom and die," said Erin Hamilton, owner of The Mushroom Conservatory. 

Hamilton said she stumbled across a foraging class on her way to work one day and ended up hooked. 

"I tried growing them. I started out with pink oyster mushrooms, which taste like bacon, and it was such an incredible experience to see that process and see how fast they grow once they start to pop up. My first thought was that if I had this as a science kit as a kid, I would have gone straight for a microbiology degree," she said. 

A science kit is precisely what Hamilton decided to do next, and they took off. 

"They went viral in the homeschool world," said Hamilton. 

Now people can visit this new retail location in Pinckney and purchase a kit, which comes with a syringe of the mushroom variety and instructions on how to grow mushrooms. 

"You can use them to grow up to five-gallon buckets of mushrooms," Hamilton said. 

She also offers workshops where members of the community can learn all about mushrooms, foraging and safety. 

"You really need to know what you're eating before you attempt it because there are mushrooms that are out there that you won't realize you got the wrong kind for a couple of days, and by the time you know it's too late, you'll have organ damage and other issues," Hamilton said. 

But don't let that scare you off foraging completely. Hamilton said her advice is not to eat any mushroom you find right away; look it up, ask an expert and make sure you're preparing it correctly for consumption, too. 

"It's not that difficult to start learning your mushrooms, and then once you know one mushroom really well, it really cuts out a lot of the questions," she said.