Picking mushrooms is attracting a new crop of curious people who want to pick their own food.

Brian Hogue has been picking and studying Manitoba mushrooms for a decade and wants to share the joy of his hobby.

Saturday he offered a course for beginners on where and how to find mushrooms, and help identify what's safe.

"A lot of the older people picking mushrooms don't really want to share their info and what not, so I've been kind of pushing the info out to people,” said Hogue.

Hogue said mushroom picking is easily accessible in Manitoba and has a long season from spring until the snow falls. He said there are also plenty of sprawling forests filled with fungi to explore.

First-time mushroom picker Kathleen Gould said foraging from mushrooms was exciting.

"Time outside together and the opportunity to forage which is getting back to where your food comes from and natural," she said.

Eating wild mushrooms is a risky activity and can even be deadly. Hogue encourages first time foragers to avoid eating them altogether, and do a lot of research.

There are many varieties of mushrooms, but only certain varieties of mushrooms are edible.

Brandy Nicholson is a professional cook and has made dishes with lobster mushrooms. She watched one get harvested from the ground.

“It’s awesome,” she said.

Before people left the course, Hogue inspected the mushrooms so people didn’t take anything dangerous home.