John SirJesse

John SirJesse
John SirJesse has lived in the Telluride region since 1973, and has been studying wild plants since 1972.
In the mid-seventies he also became interested in wild mushrooms, and began giving herb walks. In the late eighties Herb Walker Tours was officially born when it got a Special Use Permit with the Forest Service to conduct hikes on Nat. Forest lands. John has studied herbology and natural healing with William La Sassier N.D. and Dr. John R. Christopher.

Since 1980, he has been a foray leader for the Telluride Mushroom Festival and served as director from2006 to 2008. Over the years he has written articles for local papers and magazines and also did a radio show on plants and mushrooms. He has led workshops for Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, Canyonlands Field Institute, Rocky Mountain Permaculture, Mesa State College, Colorado State University, Faraway Ranch, AH HAA School for the Arts and the Telluride Ski & Golf Club.

He continues to pursue his passion of conducting herb walks in and around Telluride. John also gathers and sells local herbs and preparations and is currently writing a book on Rocky Mountain plants, mushrooms, natural and human history etc. In 2020, he and Larry Evans put out the “Hiker’s Guide to the Mushrooms of Telluride”.

John is also a certified mushroom identifier, inspecting mushrooms for local restaurants.

Presentation:

Foraging for flora, fauna, fungi and fun for food, with family and friends with photos!