Meet Bat Vardeh

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bat Vardeh.

Hi Bat, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My dream was to have a career where I could spend every second outside, I never thought that it could be a realistic possibility. So I didn’t take it seriously and focused on other subjects in school. As I kid, I loved to play outside and forage any fruit I could reach; it’s still my favorite thing to do.

Until I discovered mushrooms, I would spend 10s of hours a week looking for fruit to forage. As I got older and looked for friends in the community to learn more about the outdoors with, I found that the space was almost exclusively occupied by men who acted as gatekeepers to knowledge.

I could not find a local group of women who wanted to navigate this difficult social terrain within the foraging space, so I created the Facebook group Foraging and Mushroom Hunting Women of SoCal (Women Forage SoCal for short).

Women forage SoCal has grown to 2600+ members on Facebook and 5000+ followers on our corresponding Instagram account. The group has helped me with my identification skills greatly, I receive a flurry of pictures of plants and mushrooms each day which worked as homework to reinforce my memory.

One of my goals was to become an expert in my group so I could help to create a healthier outdoor community. After several years and many books, I feel like I have become a reliable source for identification within the SoCal area.

All of this has allowed me to be able to achieve my dream of working outside! I never imagined my job would come with the added bonus of creating a channel for others to connect with our beautiful world. I truly believe that you will protect what you care about. I want more people to care about our earth and the things that dwell on it.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As a woman, I’ve faced many roadblocks in the foraging world. Many men I’ve interacted with treat me as if I am not as good as them, I’ve been told things like “you’ll never be able to find mushrooms without me.”, while openly offering to teach other men their “secrets”.

Between this and being told that I’m too young to be an expert, I felt like I had virtually zero support. As my group started to grow, the women around me helped me grow as a person. I felt more confident and willing to teach because the women around me treated me as peers, not like I was a child in their class.

It is great to feel like the community is empowering me as much as I’m empowering them.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My favorite thing to do is lead hikes and forays, teaching what I know about the local flora, fauna, and funga. I facilitate public meet-ups through Women Forage SoCal, The Los Angeles Mycological Society, and other organizations.

You can also hire me to tag along with you and your friends/family on a private foray for a more in-depth experience. I think many folks are taken aback by my excited, laid-back, and just-have-fun attitude when we go out. I don’t want to “teach” folks; I want to share knowledge and learn together.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
All the amazing supportive women in Women Forage SoCal deserve endless credit for making me feel like I could do it, even when I really didn’t believe it.

Contact Info:

• Website: Womenforagesocal.com
• Instagram: @women_forage_socal
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/groups/935312650230818/?ref=share&mibextid=S66gvF