Wild Mushroom Foraging Certification Course (SC, NC, GA, VA, AL, PA, NY, RI) – 5-Year State-Approved Permit Training - March 14-15, 2026

Earn your 5-year Wild Mushroom Foraging Permit, formally approved by state health departments for the legal harvesting and selling of wild mushrooms in: South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, Pennsylvania, New York, and Rhode Island.

Registrants will receive a study guide and slide deck approximately one month before class to help prepare for the training and exams.

Enrollment is limited to 30 participants. Due to the nature of this certification, no refunds are available, though we may be able to transfer your seat to another session in the event of an emergency.

Location

Mushroom Mountain
200 Finley Rd.
Easley, SC 29642

Accommodations: Click Here

Dates & Hours

March 14–15, 2026
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM both days

Instructor: Anne-Marie Bilella

Anne-Marie is the Farmer, the Baker, and the Medicine-Maker behind Bella Vista Farm in Georgia. With deep expertise in herbal medicine, wild weeds, mushrooms, and natural product formulation, she brings decades of hands-on experience to the classroom.

Her herbal foundation began through self-study and expanded in 2014 when she completed a 10-month intensive training with Patricia Kyritsi Howell of BotanoLogos School of Herbal Studies. Anne-Marie is certified as both a Wild Mushroom Forager and Seller, and she serves as an instructor for the Wild Mushroom Safety Course with Mushroom Mountain.

She is also the creator of the Forager Chick herbal product line, a seasoned homesteader, and a published author with bylines in Aroma Culture Magazine, Mother Earth News – Herbal Living, and her own long-running blog.

Certification Requirements

State laws require that all wild-foraged mushroom species intended for sale must be individually inspected and verified by an approved mushroom identification expert who:

(A) Has demonstrated the required knowledge and passed the appropriate exams, and
(B) Harvests only from the list of permitted species:
https://mushroommountain.com/approved-mushrooms-by-state/

This course provides the training and examinations necessary to meet those standards.

General Schedule

(Subject to change)

Day 1

9:00 AM – Arrival & Registration
9:15 AM – Permit Overview, Exam Guidelines, Handling & Storage, Packaging, Safety Regulations, Ethical Foraging, Forest Protection, Picking for Resale, State Regulations, Toxic Species & Treatments
10:30 AM – Guided Mushroom Hunt & Collections
12:00 PM – Lunch Break (bring your own), ID Photo Session
1:00 PM – Gallery of Tested Species & Lookalikes; Fresh & Dried Specimen Dissections
3:00–4:00 PM – Continued Dissections & Identification
4:00–5:00 PM – Review Session for Exam 1

Day 2

9:00 AM – Exam 1
10:00 AM – Gallery of Permitted Species & Key Identification Features
11:00 AM–1:00 PM – Lunch Break & Independent Study (looping slides available)
1:00–5:00 PM – Final Exam