Sydney Morical and Cathryn Raan are both passionate and longtime gatherers of wild food and medicine. They’ve served on the Board of Directors for the Western Montana Mycological Association for the last four years, planning events, teaching a wide variety of mushroom classes and keeping the fungal community engaged and connected. They both have experience in herbal medicine and agriculture (they will teach you about all the wonderful “weeds” around town), and a deep love of this land and all the plants living in their midst. They are humbled and delighted to be two of many on a long strand of plant-loving humans sharing their experience and knowledge with others.

Shane Sater is a scientist with a passion for the landscape. He’s done field botany and biology work for the Smithsonian Institute, the Montana Natural Heritage Program, and the US Forest Service. In 2022 he finished his BA in Environmental Science at Carroll College (Helena, MT, USA). His thesis was a guide to some of our local insect diversity. Since 2017 Shane has led volunteer bird monitoring on a local stream restoration site. Every summer he does a Breeding Bird Survey route near Big Sandy, MT. Over the next few years, he has dedicated himself to continuing his studies of the local flora and fauna, particularly the insects. His writing focuses on the landscape where he lives: currently, Helena and Missoula, MT, within the traditional territories of the Blackfeet, Salish, and Kootenai tribes. His approach is one that honors living and learning on and from this landscape, which has a rich cultural history extending back for millennia.  You can view Shane’s recent work on his “Wild With Nature” website.

Sam Maynard is a peer support specialist for Many Rivers Whole Health, and also volunteers at St. Paul’s Methodist Church as a community recourse coordinator.

In her positions at Many Rivers and St. Paul’s she works as an advocate for individuals who are working their way out of homelessness, and working toward recovery from addiction and mental health struggles. “Peer support specialist” is a rather new employment title, and not everybody is aware of what it is that peer support specialists do. To this end, Sam plays a role that allows the broken healer to help heal the broken.  According to Sam:

“I am privileged enough to have overcome my traumas and past lived experiences and can now help my peers also overcome those same issues in life.  I have ADHD, anxiety, depression and had three previous suicide attempts. I’ve also lived with pretty constant food and housing insecurity throughout my entire life. I have had to learn a wealth of knowledge on how to navigate the services around me for survival. I’ve learned how to gain access to public housing, food resources, mental health services, how to forage for food off the land in the most desperate times and so much more!”

Sam believes everything needs to be a give and take relationship and nothing should ever be taken for granted; not even hardships and struggles.