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Erwin A. KarlPresidentAlthough I lack business cards or a job title, I find I have settled into several general roles at this late stage in life, whether I am restoring a barn or leading a mushroom hike. Since childhood, I have gravitated towards the forests and farms in the Catskills, and have learned to responsibly achieve self-sufficiency by finding food, medicine and spiritual joy in nature. More recently, I have been called into roles in which I interpret and share information about our natural environment and personal health. Two trends that have emerged in my world view; firstly, that older ways that leave lighter footprints are healthier, and secondly, that the industrialized, profit-based systems which have accelerated since WWII have had a costly toll on our global and personal ecology. If pressed to assign myself a job title, I would chose ‘naturalist/educator’.
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I am honored to serve the Michael Kudish Natural History Preserve as volunteer, President, and farmyard handyman. The preserve is located on a piece of land that belongs to dear friends who are more like family, and became my first home when I moved back to the Catskills from Seattle in 2005. I have hiked the land frequently since, and my understanding and appreciation of the Catskills took off when I met Mike Kudish. Mike is both erudite and humble, and although I feel I should pay tuition to join him in the field, he always makes it seem like I am doing him a favor by lugging a few pieces of equipment and peat samples in my pack. He has fostered the spirit of the Preserve, in which academic and aesthetic experiences coalesce into not just learning but true appreciation of the treasures that surround us in the Catskills. We are tasked with preserving the natural balance on the land, while using it as a demonstration site and classroom to help others connect with nature without treading too heavily.
My other non-profit gigs supplement my work at the Preserve. As a trustee and volunteer for the Andes Sprouts Society, I learned of the power of gathering artists and farmhands in the surroundings of working farms, and the synergy possible when people share farm chores, meals, nature hikes and artistic creation in the Catskills. Joining the board of the Catskill Mountain Club, I learned of the importance of stewardship as a hiker and Catskills native. Folks from downstate do need some guidance getting out on the trails and public lands, but as hiking the Catskills grows in popularity, volunteers and non-profits are tasked with insuring public resources are used responsibly. Serving the Open Eye Theater as trustee, technical director, and janitor, I have engaged the world of theater deeply, and recognize the impact of theater in the tradition of Joseph Campbell to inspire learning, as well as the challenges of managing an elderly building and a mature non-profit organization.
As an on-air host of the Farm Hour on WIOX (91.3 FM in the central Catskills and www.wioxradio.org), I have reported on all aspects of the food supply from farms to foodies, and have studied and contextualized agricultural techniques, regional, national and international trends and policies, and the business and logistics of moving, processing and preparing foods and medicine. Monitoring news and research studies has given me some insights into what science and experience can teach us about how to maintain health from soil to plant to the human body. Unfortunately, large scale farming and the emphasis upon profits has harmed the planet, the soil, and the health of our populace. There is some hope in the pockets of interest in small-scale and organic farming and in wildcrafting. In addition to broadcasting on the radio, I have been presenting lectures on subjects such as the Role of Fungi in Soil Ecology and Gut Health for the Radical Convergence and Mid-Hudson Mycological Association.
Working in organizations as I have described above is important, but I remain most broadly informed by my time in the fields and forests, especially studying mycology. I have been hiking and nibbling plants in the woods since I was a teen, but a hobby in wildcrafting has grown into a near obsession since I have discovered the world of fungi. The culinary and medicinal uses of mushrooms common in the Catskills are astounding, delving deeper into the ecological role and biochemistry of fungi is truly a revelation. On hikes on the Preserve, and with Catskill Fungi and Mid-Hudson Mycological, I have learned how to ID some of the more common fungi (less than 10% of fungi have Latin names), how to gather and prepare edible and medicinal mushrooms, and the little understood ecological functions of the fifth kingdom. I have added to my previous knowledge on medicinal herbs, and come to appreciate the importance of ethical wildcrafting; burgeoning interest in mushrooms has given rise to serious concerns about overharvesting. Another insight that has been impressed upon me is the crucial interaction between kingdoms: fungi, microbes, plants and animals, that is crucial to the health of the soil in which our food grows and similarly essential to gut health.
If you are still reading this brief bio which has grown into a treatise on my view of the world, you may share my interests in the human role in the natural world. If so, please do check in with the Preserve website and the other organizations I have mentioned here, and I hope to meet you on a hike soon.
My other non-profit gigs supplement my work at the Preserve. As a trustee and volunteer for the Andes Sprouts Society, I learned of the power of gathering artists and farmhands in the surroundings of working farms, and the synergy possible when people share farm chores, meals, nature hikes and artistic creation in the Catskills. Joining the board of the Catskill Mountain Club, I learned of the importance of stewardship as a hiker and Catskills native. Folks from downstate do need some guidance getting out on the trails and public lands, but as hiking the Catskills grows in popularity, volunteers and non-profits are tasked with insuring public resources are used responsibly. Serving the Open Eye Theater as trustee, technical director, and janitor, I have engaged the world of theater deeply, and recognize the impact of theater in the tradition of Joseph Campbell to inspire learning, as well as the challenges of managing an elderly building and a mature non-profit organization.
As an on-air host of the Farm Hour on WIOX (91.3 FM in the central Catskills and www.wioxradio.org), I have reported on all aspects of the food supply from farms to foodies, and have studied and contextualized agricultural techniques, regional, national and international trends and policies, and the business and logistics of moving, processing and preparing foods and medicine. Monitoring news and research studies has given me some insights into what science and experience can teach us about how to maintain health from soil to plant to the human body. Unfortunately, large scale farming and the emphasis upon profits has harmed the planet, the soil, and the health of our populace. There is some hope in the pockets of interest in small-scale and organic farming and in wildcrafting. In addition to broadcasting on the radio, I have been presenting lectures on subjects such as the Role of Fungi in Soil Ecology and Gut Health for the Radical Convergence and Mid-Hudson Mycological Association.
Working in organizations as I have described above is important, but I remain most broadly informed by my time in the fields and forests, especially studying mycology. I have been hiking and nibbling plants in the woods since I was a teen, but a hobby in wildcrafting has grown into a near obsession since I have discovered the world of fungi. The culinary and medicinal uses of mushrooms common in the Catskills are astounding, delving deeper into the ecological role and biochemistry of fungi is truly a revelation. On hikes on the Preserve, and with Catskill Fungi and Mid-Hudson Mycological, I have learned how to ID some of the more common fungi (less than 10% of fungi have Latin names), how to gather and prepare edible and medicinal mushrooms, and the little understood ecological functions of the fifth kingdom. I have added to my previous knowledge on medicinal herbs, and come to appreciate the importance of ethical wildcrafting; burgeoning interest in mushrooms has given rise to serious concerns about overharvesting. Another insight that has been impressed upon me is the crucial interaction between kingdoms: fungi, microbes, plants and animals, that is crucial to the health of the soil in which our food grows and similarly essential to gut health.
If you are still reading this brief bio which has grown into a treatise on my view of the world, you may share my interests in the human role in the natural world. If so, please do check in with the Preserve website and the other organizations I have mentioned here, and I hope to meet you on a hike soon.
