Olga Katic of Mushroom Mountain
Title of Class:
"Fungi and Forest Ecology: The Hidden Network Beneath Our Feet"
- Explain the role of fungi in ecosystems, including nutrient cycling and symbiotic relationships with trees (mycorrhizae).
I grew up mushroom hunting with my relatives in Bosnia and Hercegovina. When our parents were at work, our grandma watched my sister and I and we had the freedom of being in the woods all day long. At one moment we would be digging up leeches out of the fresh water well and feeding them to chickens, and the next moment, we would get chased by grandma’s rooster. But we also spent a lot of time picking boletes, milk mushrooms, and other varieties of mushrooms. We’d bring them to grandpa, and he would get rid of the ones he thought were not edible, the rest we would cook on the wood stove and eat them.
Skip to now. I am the proud owner of Mushroom Mountain, and have an amazing team working with me. We produce mushroom spawn for many different edible and medicinal varieties. We also make several different medicinal mushroom extracts and medicinal mushroom honeys under the name Mycomatrix. Mushroom Mountain also runs a Wild Mushroom Food Safety Certification Program. This program was accepted by Health Departments of 7 states and counting, and also endorsed by the FDA.
In my free time, I love to be in the woods, picking mushrooms and wild plants, and of course taking tons of pictures of anything I find. I am fascinated by nature in every possible aspect.