"A Colorado transplant with a lifelong passion for the outdoors..."
About ORION
Hello! Welcome to Forage Colorado, thanks for stopping by! I’m Orion - like the constellation - and I am the person behind Forage Colorado! I’m a Colorado transplant with a lifelong passion for the outdoors and anything there is to do in them. I love to hunt, fish, forage, camp, wander and wonder, bushcraft, look at trees, you name it!
My interest in the outdoors was cultivated at a young age when my dad would bundle me up and take me ice fishing in northern New Mexico where I grew up. However, it wasn’t until several years later that I learned about foraging, specifically mushroom hunting, when we joined a friend for a day of searching out porcini, hawk wings, and chanterelles in the Rockies! I remember being in awe, finding beautiful king boletes one after another, like a treasure hunt in the woods! I was hooked.
In 2008 I moved to Fort Collins where I attended Colorado State University to study Natural Resource Management and Fisheries Biology - shaped by my passion for the outdoors. Then in early 2015, wanting a place to share localized foraging information, I created Forage Colorado.
"This is what I wanted to do! Educate people about my passions..."
About Forage Colorado
Originally, Forage Colorado was slated to become a simple internet forum; a place for people to share in the passion for this hobby. However, it quickly became clear that Forage Colorado was headed in a different direction.
I taught my first foraging class in the spring 2015 to a large group of hopeful morel hunters. That was the “ah hah” moment for me; this is what I wanted to do! Educate people about my passions, watch them become fascinated by the same things that have intrigued and interested me since I was young. Seeing someone find their first “choice” edible mushroom is one of my favorite things to experience, and something I hope to be a part of many more times!
My hope is that Forage Colorado becomes a resource for anyone who is interested in foraging in Colorado, the southern Rockies, or even just foraging in general! If you’re having trouble finding something specific, or you have an idea for something you'd love to see on there, feel free to let me know using the Contact Page! I’ll do my best to steer you in the right direction or add it to my list of ‘future content’ for Forage Colorado.
If you’re new here, take a look around! I’m always working on building up my collection of posts about foraging in Colorado, so give some of those a Read! I've started a great section for beginning foragers, as well as sections for mushrooms, plants, and more! I regularly post on both my Facebook and Instagram pages, so follow those if you're interested in seeing what I'm up to. Finally, if you're interested in taking a class with me check out my Classes Page for more information, or get in touch to set up a foraging class!
Happy foraging!
-Orion