Our September speaker is Paul Kroeger, one of the founding members of the VMS. He will present "Genus Amanita".  Some of Paul’s many activities and accomplishments in this field include: researching the biochemistry of medicinal mushrooms at the University of British Columbia (UBC) as a long time research associate in their Department of Botany; major contributor to the mycological herbarium collections in the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at UBC; significant contributions to the DAOM Herbarium in Ottawa and DAVFP Herbarium in Victoria; frequent consultant for various agencies, including the British Columbia Drug and Poison Information Centre.  

Alissa Allen will present "Mushrooms and Lichens for Dyes: Making rainbows from fungi" Alissa Allen is a self-taught mycologist and the founder of Mycopigments. She specializes in teaching about regional mushroom and lichen dye palettes to fiber artists and mushroom enthusiasts all over the world. Alissa got her start in the Pacific Northwest and has been sharing her passion for mushrooms for over 15 years. She has written articles for her website as well as Fungi Magazine and Fibershed. In 2015 she created the Mushroom and Lichen Dyers United discussion group and The Mushroom Dyers Trading Post. These groups have grown into a community of over 6000 members. In 2020 Alissa will host the International Fungus and Fiber Symposium in the US at a location yet to be disclosed. Alissa uses brilliant colors found in fungal dyes to entice people to take a closer look at mushrooms and lichens and the role they play in the greater ecosystem. To read more about her work, visit http://mycopigments.com/

Our presenters will be Carmen Rosen and Willoughby Arevalo - they're presenting "Fruiting Bodies and Mycelial Connections" Over the past year and a half, DIY Mushroom Cultivation author and VMS member Willoughby Arevalo, and Still Moon Arts Society founder and Artistic Director Carmen Rosen collaborated on a series of living mycelial sculptures which are installed in Renfrew Park. They will discuss their inspiration, process, and some techniques for sculpting in collaboration with living fungi.   Willoughby's lifelong friendship with fleshy fungi has led him down a mycelial pathway – from a start in field identification and mushroom hunting, branching into cuisine, DIY cultivation, farming, education, writing and eco-arts. In his thirty years of self-motivated inquiry and intimate lived experience with fungi, he has spent the last decade prioritizing sharing mycology with people in communities across North America This has manifested in numerous presentations, art projects, teaching tours, collaborations, gatherings, and his new book, DIY Mushroom Cultivation, out now from New Society Publishers.   Carmen is a visual artist, singer, and interdisciplinary performer. She has a long history of initiating art projects and creative community integrated projects that have resulted in enrichment of school programs, community enhancement, and ongoing creative work for many artists […]

Our presenter is our very own Sharmin Gamiet, with the topic "Towards Understanding Macrofungi of the Northwest Territories". After completing a project for Environment Canada on "General Status of the Species - Macrofungi," it became clear that there were significant knowledge gaps on the status of the macrofungi in the Northern areas of Canada. Dr. Suzanne Carriere from the Wildlife Branch of the Government of the Northwest Territories set out to rectify this situation. For the past 4 years, Sharmin and others have been visiting forest sites, mostly around the Yellowknife area but from other areas as well, to collect, photograph, document and voucher macrofungi, with the goal of creating a database of macrofungi for the Northwest Territories. This talk, an update on the project, will discuss the challenges faced in identifying forest macrofungi north of the sixtieth parallel. Sharmin Gamiet has been working with fungi for over 30 years, focusing on mushrooms and their relatives found in the Pacific Northwest (BC, Washington and Oregon). She has trained at UBC and the University of Washington using the Friesien species concepts (macro and micro morphological, rather than genetic traits, are used to group fungi). Sharmin has led mushroom forays throughout BC […]

Britt Bunyard will present "From Lowly Saprobe to Mycorrhizal Masters: Amanitas (A Tale Told in the DNA)" An overview of all aspects (biology, taxonomy, chemistry, physiology) of the beautiful Amanita mushrooms of North America. Everyone is familiar with the mushrooms but how much do we really know about what they are doing in the forest? How much do we know about their history and evolution? It turns out that a recent discovery–using modern molecular biology–led to an amazing discovery about their evolutionary past. Amanitas are mycorrhizal symbionts with forest trees but come from saprobic ancestors. The story is told in their DNA. Newbies and non mycologists will not be overwhelmed; advanced mycologists will not be bored, this discussion is for everyone with lots of beautiful images.   Britt Bunyard, PhD, is the founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of the mycology journal Fungi. Britt has worked academically (and played very amateurishly) as a mycologist his entire career, writing scientifically for many research journals and popular science magazines. He has served as an editor for mycological and entomological research journals, and mushroom guide books. A popular evangelizer on all things fungal, Britt has been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered, PBS’s NOVA and […]

For our first ever virtual meeting / presentation (this coming Tuesday October 13), the VMS is excited to host a speaker from half-way around the world! Originally from Oregon, and now living in the mountains of Northern Thailand, Zachary Mazi is a professional chef and enthusiastic mycologist. Coming to us from the tail end of the local mushroom season, will be presenting on the edible fungi of the Lanna Kingdom. He is currently working on a book: Mycophagy: The Art and Science of Cooking (and eating) Mushrooms.     Members may check their email or log in to view the access link to this webinar   Members may now log in to watch the replay   As this is a webinar, your microphone and camera will be disabled by default, and you will not be able to turn them on.   PLEASE NOTE: We only have capacity for 100 attendees to join the live webinar. You may join as early as 7:25pm on Tuesday.   The meeting will be recorded, and the video posted to a private members-only page on the Vanmyco website. If you are unable to join due to capacity, or if you don't use Zoom, you'll still have […]

In this presentation, we will learn some of the most common and memorable mushrooms found in fall in the Pacific Northwest. We will focus especially on common edibles and how to tell them apart from poisonous or just otherwise tricky potential lookalikes, noting particular physical features and habitats that will help you to identify them on your own. Pre-registration is required for this webinar. Sign up at https://www.vanmyco.org/zoom-webinar-access/ Leah Bendlin is a Portland, Oregon based mushroom and community science enthusiast. She has been studying mushrooms with a passion for 9 years, and has special interests in taxonomy, uncommonly known edibles, mycoheterotrophic plants, slime molds, ascomycetes and social justice. Leah regularly leads mushroom ID classes and walks through various Pacific Northwest organizations and currently serves on the board of the Oregon Mycological Society. You can find her mushroom centered Instagram @Leah_mycelia

Our speaker, Christin Swearingen, is a mycologist volunteering for the Fungal Diversity Survey. She has degrees from Oberlin College (B.A.) and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (M.S.), and mentorship from Dr. Gary Laursen (author of Alaska's Mushrooms). She is currently living in Fairbanks, working for the Interior Alaska Land Trust to protect natural habitat for all wildlife, including mushrooms. The West Coast Rare 10 Fungi project was launched in fall 2020 to find and document ten species of rare, threatened, or declining fungi. Scientists and conservationists need more data on these fungi in order to better understand and protect them and their habitats.