Meet Orion Aon | Foraging Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Orion Aon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Orion, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Forage Colorado started as a community, a place for people interested in foraging to share what they were learning. It quickly morphed into an education platform for me to share what I was learning, and to help others learn with me. It was never really planned to become a business, the process has been a natural progression as more and more people become interested in learning about the wild foods all around us.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Forage Colorado is still just a side business for me. Something I put a lot of effort and love into when I have the time. As I mentioned, the growth has been pretty natural! I am proud to have a platform that lets me offer information that I have to others! I love learning new things and sharing knowledge.

I want Forage Colorado to be a resource for others and a fun community to be a part of. I love chatting with people about foraging or wild mushrooms, and I hope that the size of my social media or the illusions of being well known doesn’t take away from the fact that I’m just another human. Don’t be afraid to send me a message or an email if you have a question or want to chat. I may take a day or two to get back to you, but I do my best to talk to everyone who gets in touch!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
It would greatly depend on the time of year! That’s one of the cool things about foraging. Winter is out because winter foraging here in Colorado is pretty lackluster, instead, we would probably p[ay boardgames and go ice fishing, During the other months, foraging or not, we would definitely be outside! Given a choice between a brewery and the mountains I would pick the latter every time.

I’m a planner, but not to the extent of making a week’s itinerary for a visiting friend, hah! As I mentioned, we would definitely be doing some mushroom hunting or foraging if the season was right. Likely play some board games when we weren’t in the mountains. Probably grab food at a local restaurant or two on the days that we didn’t feel like cooking, and stop by one of the many brewery options to grab a beer.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
So is there someone to that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people that inspire me, teach me, and I look up to, but I think the shoutout would be best for the person that helped get me set on this path, my dad.

When I was around 10 years old he took me and my brother out on a mushroom hunt with some of his friends that were into it. We had such an amazing day wandering in the woods of Northern New Mexico, getting rained on, finding porcini and chanterelles, and becoming engrossed in the unusual hobby of mushroom hunting. That trip became something that we did every year during the prime season, after the monsoons, and ultimately helped lead me down a path of studying Natural Resources and becoming interested in wild foods.

Website: https://www.foragecolorado.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foragecolorado/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/orion-aon-56489763/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/orion_aon

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foragecolorado

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@orionaon