About me, Marina

I'm Marina, and I have been foraging since I was a kid with my parents. My family and I were born in Russia where foraging, especially for fungi, is a huge part of our culture. Like many traditional Eastern European foragers however, the knowledge my parents had was a bit limited and to an extent outdated.

The moment that got me to expand my horizons was in my early adulthood. I'd been out horse riding and spotted some absolutely enormous big brown mushrooms. I took them home and asked my parents if they knew what they were. My mum told me they were Svinushka (Свинушка), and they were edible. I managed to find the name for them in English - brown roll rims (Paxillus obscurisporus). And of course, the main thing I read about them is the spate of deaths attributed to them across Eastern Europe.

Whilst they were considered edible for many years, they turned out to contain an unidentified toxin that accumulates and over time and causes autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, named Paxillus syndrome. People could eat them for many years with no issues until they died - I've encountered some people who sadly still insist they're fine and who eat them.

After that, I kind of came to the realisation that there was so much more out there I could learn, and the hyperfocus did the rest. Now, fungi and foraging is a big part of my life, and I still learn every single day and will do so for the rest of my life!

Every autumn when I have free time, I spend it in the woods. Whilst fungi is my main love, and boletes in particular, I also do a lot of plant foraging in the spring and summer too! Though, I will admit, I am not as big a fan of the often bitter wild greens that come about :D

To date, I've mainly been exploring fungi through Facebook groups and Reddit, where I share my finds and help identify. I currently moderate on Mushroom Spotters UK and Mushroom identification UK groups! You can see a lot of my historical discoveries and posts there and on other groups. Social media is a huge part of my life, and so exploring fungi there just makes sense. Whilst books are often a go-to recommendation on learning fungi, and there are some incredible ones out there, social media like Facebook is also a great platform for people to learn more, since even just seeing how to ask for identification properly and then what is suggested and why, is a great way to learn, especially since you can ask questions (so long as you're in a reputable group!)

The Foraging Mermaid is my passion project, one that I have been meaning to do for a while now, and have finally done!! It's partly a way to encompass everything I've shared on all the various groups in one place, but also as a way to bring my personal experiences into the mix and perhaps give a different perspective. The courses are also my way of wanting to share that knowledge in a practical way, since simply seeing things online or in books just doesn't always work for people.

I'm a web developer / software engineer / programmer as a day job. As a consequence, I have big plans for this website, to make a new fun learning tool that I'm really hoping will be a game changer for those of you who are interested in learning more about fungi in particular and don't know where to start or who don't get on with more traditional learning methods. As soon as I manage to have time to do the programming, that is! I am hoping to make it a collaborative effort, but only time will tell :)

If you can't tell, the name came about from the fact that I'm a mermaid. Just kidding, though I wish :) It's because of my super long hair that is basically a big part of me now!! I kind of wanted to make clear this business was about my experience with foraging, rather than a more anonymous sounding authoritative name. Since I'm based in Hertfordshire, there's not much in the way of ocean nearby, but I do adore coastal foraging. I'm hoping to be able to do some of that with you all in the future!

P.S. the wild foods in my logo are a Suillelus luridus (lurid bolete mushroom), Heracleum sphondylium (common hogweed), and Rubus sp. (blackberries).

P.S. I am trained to level 3 in food safety, level 3 in outdoor-specific First Aid, and have public liability foraging-specific insurance.

Why no foraging or identification certifications? That's simple - we have no such accredited or reputable qualifications in the UK. Whilst there have been some attempts to push for a standardised certification here, they haven't been successful so far. In the meantime, I aim to fully demonstrate my knowledge by being open and sharing my extensive history with foraging plants and fungi, and continuing with identification work online where I have recognition from reputable peers that I darn well know my stuff! :)