EAT, DRINK & LEARN

2024-2025 Speaker Series

Join us for an evening of delicious food and drink, great company, and an engaging presentation!

Thursday, April 24: Mushrooms & Merlots

FunGal Eyes in the Forest

Mushrooms are a ubiquitous entity throughout environments that contribute to the overall success of an ecosystem. These fungi are not only one of the most diverse sources of beauty, but they serve many beneficial purposes beyond that. Join us as self-taught forager, Sarah Oktavec shows us the ways fungi can improve your life.

Sarah Oktavec loves all things in the natural world- whether that be plants, animals, insects, or mushrooms. This started at a very young age and when most kids were watching TV, Sarah was outside playing in the woods and reading books about science. This passion became vocational when she majored in Biology in college and then took a job at Ladew Gardens, as a gardener. After 17 years as the lead gardener at Ladew, Sarah started her own estate gardening company, Back to Eden in March of 2021. On the side, Sarah loves to forage and would rather go hiking than almost anything. In the spring of 2023, she started FunGal Foraging Tours and shares that passion with others, while also creating community. The way everything is connected in the natural world never grows old and acquiring this inexhaustible knowledge is endlessly fascinating.  

Time: 6:30-9:00 PM

Location: Irvine Nature Center

Price: $55 Members (Pacesetter Level or above) / $65 Non-Members