ABOUT US Forage Mendocino operates on the unceded ancestral homelands of Northern Pomo, Coastal Pomo, Cahto, and Yuki peoples, who continue to care for these lands as they have since time immemorial. It is part of our mission to advocate for access to ancestral foraging grounds that are
now privately held for the local tribes of Mendocino County.
Recommended reading: When Native Americans Were Forcibly Removed From A Mendocino Indian Reservation
FOUNDING MEMBERS:
Founder/Executive Director
Jenna Hinshaw is a professional forager, foray guide, illustrator, jewelery maker, rock hound, passionate Citizen Scientist, and mother, born and raised on the Mendocino Coast. She grew up foraging with her Uncle
Bruce (of blessed memory) and her artistic leanings were nurtured from an early age by her late Grandma Vye. It is in their honor, as well as her experiences growing up on the Mendocino Coast deepy connected to the land, and her Indigenous class mates that Jenna felt called to create Forage Mendocino as a non-profit, based off of the popular Facebook group she owns and admins, “Forage Mendocino” (13.8K active members and rising.) She is a frequent guest, foray leader, and vendor at various mushroom festivals such as the Mycological Society’s Annual Fungi Fair, MSSF’s Mendocino Woodlands Camp Foray, and the Mt. Shasta Mushroom Festival.
Esther Liner/Co-Founder
Esther Liner is a journalist, writer, photographer, and web communications specialist, who grew up on the Mendocino Coast. Like Jenna, the bulk of her childhood was spent playing outdoors, exploring and foraging with friends. Esther’s most treasured memories of grade school involve the outdoors: from Nature Day Hikes at Jughandle in Grammar School, to Bi-Annual Retreats to the Woodlands State Park through Mendocino Community High School- she believes the best way to learn about the importance of biodiversity is to get out into it. She has worked with various non-profits in both the Mendocino and Alameda Counties, including the Mendocino Coast Children’s Fund, Girls Moving Forward (Oakland), The Boys and Girls Clubs of Oakland and San Francisco, and now Forage Mendocino. Esther holds a BA in English with dual emphases in Journalism and Fiction, and a Minor in Spanish Language from Mills College in Oakland. Ella habla español.
EMAIL:
communications@
foragemendocino.com
Your donations are greatly appreciated and will go to pay our operational and legal costs, hire staff, and organize educational events that serve the Mendocino Community. Your donations are 100% tax deductible, our Tax ID #93-4483853
Forage Mendocino is an events and education organization emphasizing sustainable, ethical foraging practices on the Mendocino Coast. The name came from the popular Facebook Group. Forage Mendocino is in the process of establishing itself as a Non-Profit Organization (501 C3). Our second annual Mushroom Symposium & Foragers’ Faire will be held Friday December 13th-Sunday December 15th, 2024, at Little River Inn. The proceeds of this event will go to fund Forage Mendocino as a non-profit educational + Foraging land access advocacy group.
Forage Mendocino’s Core Values + Purpose:
To host educational events & workshops that encourage and inform the public about sustainable foraging practices, wild food identification, preparation, and the costs to us all of habitat loss.
To improve public access to legal foraging land.
To advocate for tribal access to ancestral foraging grounds.
To organize community events and projects around habitat restoration.
To create greater ecological sustainability and economic opportunities for our vulnerable rural communities.
