ANDY'S NOTE: Geesh, how lucky I am to know Mycol. Seriously, I am grateful. Combining wit and wisdom, Mycol goes out of his way often to share his love of nature. I feel that, via direct observation, he has come to know the inner workings of some of our important ecosystems. From native plants to fungi, from grasses to simple living, look to him as a true mentor, and be sure to attend any workshops or wild walks that he may lead in your area across the state. You will return home with a better understanding of our natural world. Thanks bro, I am happy to call you friend.
ABOUT MYCOL
Mycol tells us that he has “been teaching ethnobotany since 2002.” He goes on to say… “I'm passionate about our native diversity and also teach ecological restoration from personal experience on Finca Mycol and 7 years across the state of Florida with the FWC as a professional restoration ecologist/botanist. I experiment with non herbicide techniques. I also have spent 3 years throughout Latin America for various ecological and cultural endeavors. I am an "uncertified" organic ecocentric permaculturist. I love diversity in primarily perennial food forests, from near tropical in Sarasota, semitropical in St Augustine and semitropical/temperate species in N Fl. I also am an opportunivore and am known to take some road kill and process and preserve such foods. Having lived off the grid since 2002, I also try to minimize my ecological footprint where I love my gopher tortoise and snakes on my homestead. I also am an avid backpacker and spend most summers migrating to WNC mountains which is also a second home to me having a great deal of botanical and mycological studies under my belt. I backpacked with Frank cook several times in WNC and travelled to Africa with him to study ethnobotany/traditional healing/ecotourism."
MYCOL  STEVENS’  "MUSHROOM BIO"
Mycol Stevens has been a lover of fungi since a child as his Uncle Ralph would gift the family wild harvested mushrooms every year.  Mycol has been a wild forager of plants since a child but had no mentors to teach him about mushrooms.  In 1992 he started going to mushroom club meetings in the Olympic peninsula of Washington state and was able to discover an introductory world of mushrooms.  Since being so inspired, he has taken on the pun-name of Mycol (from Mycology) and named his off-the-grid permaculture homestead after mushrooms (Finca Mycol) where he founded and hosted the first 3 Florida Earthskills Gatherings.  Mycol has an undergraduate and graduate degree from UF in environmental engineering and wetlands ecology, respectively, and has worked as a botanist for the FWC for 7 years.  He is greatly self taught from his extensive fungal library, but has learned much from fungal friends including Robert Hunsucker, Ken Crouse, Oliver Moore, Alan Muscat, James Kimbrough, Mateo Rayal and Chad Ananda.  Mycol also is a WWOOF host that teaches via experiential living such that mushrooms are almost daily cooked over the fire.
 Mycol has eaten around 150 species of mushrooms and has been teaching mushrooms at events such as the FL Mushroom Intensives (going on 5th year), FLESG, FL Herbalism Conferences, Hostel in the Forest, Florida Rare Fruit Council, Wildcat Educational Center and various other events.  He is an avid mycophile and seeks to inspire .