So, what do we have here in this photo? Mileva Huljev, coordinator of SU’s Outdoor Adventure Recreation (OAR) program, explains:
“A group of six students in SU’s Outdoor Adventure Recreation (OAR) program recently joined the Mountaineers’ annual Meany Lodge Mushroom Hunt. The lodge itself is ideally located in the Central Cascades near Snoqualmie Pass and the attendees are people from all over Washington who are excited to learn about Nature’s harvest. Representatives from the Puget Sound Mycological Association were also present and focused the enthusiasm on fungi education, including cultivation, hunting, identifying, and cooking mushrooms. As a group, participants learned to identify non-toxic, edible fungi, foraged around in the woods, then contributed to the community cook-up with a family-style meal! One of OAR’s student leaders and the organizer of this trip claimed to have not been a fungus fan before but is now converted!
OAR provides students the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful Pacific Northwest through outdoor recreation. OAR is an outdoor-based, leadership development program with a student leader heading each of OAR's program areas: Cycle, Climb, Service, Snow, Trail, and Water. Their primary functions are to provide collaborative leadership for the overall program, to serve as field staff for various types of outings, and to be trained in wilderness emergency response skills and safety management specific to their area. These students additionally serve as group facilitators, trip planners and leaders, teach/model environmental sustainability practices, educate trip participants about wilderness skills and safety management issues to reduce risks while in the field. Through the Service branch of OAR (which the Meany Mushroom Trip was organized under), students make connections with off-campus organizations where they can continue to find community and other outdoor enthusiasts after graduation.”