Welcome to my mushroom journey, my name is Rene Lombard and I am The Red Island Mushroom Hunter.

I’ve always been enchanted by the outdoors, captivated by the beauty and wonder of nature. The more I explored, the more my heart was drawn to its secrets, and it felt like a natural evolution to fall in love with mushrooms. I still vividly recall the first time I walked with a mushroom forager into the woods of Magoebaskloof in South Africa in 2016. When I picked my first edible wild mushroom—already planned to be enjoyed for dinner with friends that evening—it felt as though my DNA responded to the experience, as if an ancient connection to foraging was awakened within me. From that moment on, I was hooked—entranced by the hidden world of fungi, and never again able to walk anywhere without noticing mushrooms everywhere.

After moving to Prince Edward Island in 2019, I was struck by the way mushrooms seemed to appear in every corner of the land, as if nature itself was inviting me to explore. The island quickly became more than just a beautiful place to me—it felt like I had discovered a hidden paradise. The lush, green landscapes, unlike anything I had seen before, with their mystical forests and winding trails, reminded me of the magical lands I had read about in fairy tales as a child—where every step reveals something new. As I explored, the presence of mushrooms in every nook and cranny made the island feel like a living storybook, and it was here that my foraging journey, which began years earlier, truly felt at home.