Mushroom Training and Speaking
Enable your organization to offer engaging masterclasses on local mycology, foraging, gourmet cultivation, history, and health benefits!
Hire certified forager and educator Ben Ashpole to give in-person, online, or hybrid courses.
Introduce Your Community to
Hundreds of Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms
that Have Always Grown in Yards and Woods Nearby
Connect to the Land
Mushroom education is about much more than only identification, safety, cooking, wellness, and economic opportunity. Bringing expert mushroom education to your organization teaches ever-deepening skills, appreciation, sense of place, and connection to community.
Endless Discovery
With hundreds of edible and medicinal mushrooms growing throughout the Midwest, there is an incredible volume of knowledge to uncover. Each species has its own unique story, from complex identification markers and look-alikes to specific preparation methods and therapeutic properties.
Learn with the Seasons
Because different fungi emerge at different times, our training evolves with the seasons. From the first Morels of spring to the medicinal Reishi of summer to the late-fall Hen of the Woods and Winter Oysters, there is always fresh, relevant material to explore every single month. There are at least 3,000 species of fungi native to the MidWest, but we'll focus on the most interesting and useful ones.
What Is There to Learn?
There's a lifetime of wonder
from the mushrooms of every woods!
About the Instructor
Benjamin "Ben" Ashpole is the founder of NourishCap, a mushroom education network, video channel, and marketplace. As a forager, grower, and marketer, Benjamin brings a deep passion for mycology and a wealth of experience about mushrooms.
Ben also leads weekly mushroom foraging walks and is the author of mushroom education courses from which he draws the content for his in-person mushroom training courses.
About the Training Courses
Duration: Up to 90 minutes for each class
Frequency: Monthly
Time: Predictable like "Second Tuesdays at 4pm"
Begin: Start offering training any month; the courses are on-going because there are hundreds of mushrooms to cover, each with new information emerging all the time!
Price: Generally free to participants if paid for by the host
organization (contact Ben for options)
Subjects: Mushrooms that will be in-season soon, natural to your locality, cultivatable at home, healthy, useful, and enable new economic opportunities (see the table above and schedule below).
Background needed: None. Ben provides introductions from the ground up yet will also deepen the knowledge of experts.
Venue: Ben can travel to your facility or make presentations through online meetings.
Content: The types of mushrooms will align with NourishCap's Mushrooms of the Week per our printed calendar and covering selected topics from the table above.
Materials: Students will see on-screen presentations and be given access to digital versions of the covered mushrooms.
PGP Points: Teachers who pass our monthly quizzes will receive a will receive certificates for Professional Growth Plan (Continuing Education Unit) points.
"The depth of knowledge Ben shares about Midwest medicinal fungi is incredible!"
We left the first training feeling empowered and already asking when he’d be back next month.
Ben breaks down the complex world of mycology into fun, digestible, masterclasses!
Let's Talk!
Contact us to discuss training and speaking options.
2026 Course Outline
January
Wood Ear
Chaga
Witch's Butter
Red Belted Polypore
Split Gill
February
Enoki / Velvet Shank
Turkey Tail
Elm Oyster
Mica Cap
March
Oyster Mushroom
Pheasant's Back
Button Mushroom
Banded Agaricus
April
Yellow Morel
Cordyceps
Black Trumpet Chanterelle
Black Morel
Lilac Bolete
May
Wine Cap
White Fungus
Yellow-staining Brittlestem
Agarikon
June
Beech Mushroom
Smooth Chanterelle
Veiled Oyster
Fairy Ring Mushroom
July
Chicken of the Woods
Reishi (Hemlock)
Birch Bolete
Ringless Honey Mushroom
Hedgehog Mushroom
August
Chestnut Mushroom
Silky Straw Mushroom
Green-cracking Russula
Dotted-Stalk Suillus
September
Hen of the Woods
Parasol Mushroom
Comb Tooth
Pig's Ear Gomphus
October
Lion's Mane
Cauliflower Mushroom
Lobster Mushroom
Fly Agaric
Giant Puffball
November
Blewit
Bear Head Tooth
Poplar Mushroom
Common Puffball
December
Late Fall Oyster
Birch Polypore
Shaggy Mane
Yellow-foot Chanterelle
Amber Jelly Roll
Find Out First, Here
See how we educate and entertain the public as a community of high quality members who are committed to integrity:
Copyright © 2026 NourishCap. All rights reserved.
NourishCap is a sister division of PromoterMotor.com at Bashpole Software, Inc. We co-market with our members and the Center for Better Communication.
Disclaimers:
NourishCap does not provide legal advice. NourishCap does not provide mental health, clinical, or medical services. NourishCap is not responsible for the actions of its members.
NourishCap does not encourage or condone any illegal activities, including but not limited to the use of illegal substances. NourishCap is not a substitute for medical, psychological, or psychiatric diagnosis, treatment, or advice.