February 2025 General Meeting - John Mizell “Basic Wilderness Preparedness”

The evening will start at 6:30 pm for those who would like to socialize, snack on Bob Wynn's fantastic spread and chat with fellow mycophiles. Bring in any mushooms you would like to share or to have identified before the meeting. Business and announcements will start at 7:00 pm. After the business part of the meeting, John Mizell will give a presentation on:

Basic Wilderness Preparedness
This talk is an introduction to the basic principles of wilderness preparedness, discussing common tools and best practices to stay safe and avoid getting or remaining lost while traveling in the wilderness. We will review the basic functions of Search and Rescue in California, and Santa Cruz County, outline techniques to be prepared for the outdoors, including how to handle yourself when disoriented in the outdoors with a specific emphasis on foragers, and discuss methods to report missing persons and support a successful search outcome.

John Mizell is a seasoned volunteer with 15 years of experience in Search and Rescue, having contributed to numerous missions to locate missing persons across the state. His extensive training spans a range of search, rescue, and recovery techniques, including wilderness medicine, technical rope rescue, swiftwater rescue, confined space and cave rescue, helicopter ground operations, UTV/ATV and boat operations, as well as expertise in communications, incident command, disaster response, and search management. Currently, John serves as the team coordinator for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team and holds a position on the board of Santa Cruz County Search and Rescue, a non-profit organization dedicated to public education. Outside of his volunteer work, John is an avid waterman and outdoors enthusiast, regularly boating, surfing, hiking, riding, and climbing in Santa Cruz and beyond. He is passionate about creating accessible opportunities for everyone to experience and appreciate the outdoors, with a strong commitment to Leave No Trace principles; he is delighted by being lost in the woods. - Of note, he got his first taste of foraging in the foothills of the Alps of Annecy, France in 2008 looking for black-trumpets and has carried an enthusiasm for identifying and foraging choice edibles ever since.