Next Meeting: Wednesday, December 10th
Recording:
Hello VMS members,
Our next meeting will be held exclusively online with no in-person option at VanDusen this time, and will feature a special talk by Jared “Qwustenuxun” Williams.
Join Qwustenuxun, from the Quw'utsun Nation on southern Vancouver Island, for an evening of learning about the deep relationships Indigenous peoples have with mushrooms and the cultural protocols that guide how we harvest them. Together we’ll explore how mushrooms have been part of our food, medicine, and teachings, and how these practices remind us to approach the land with respect, reciprocity, and care. This talk invites us to reflect on our own foraging, and how we can walk in better relationship with the fungi and the living world around us.
Jared “Qwustenuxun” Williams is a Hul’q’umi’num language speaker, Indigenous chef, Salish culture educator, and consultant from Quw’utsun. Raised in Salish culture by his father and late grandmother, he carries forward teachings of traditional harvesting, Indigenous foods, and community history. After a decade in western kitchens, Qwustenuxun returned home to cook for Cowichan Elders and deepen his knowledge of Indigenous foodways.
Today, he shares those teachings widely from Cooking in Two Worlds with FeedBC to a TEDx talk, national food sovereignty projects, and his role as Chair of the Indigenous Advisory Council to BC’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Whether presenting at the UN World Food Forum or paddling the Salish Sea with his sons, Qwustenuxun’s work is grounded in humility, self-determination, and the relationships that keep culture alive.
Introducing MycoMap BC: A DNA Sequencing Project
We're excited to announce MycoMap BC, a project aimed at documenting fungal and slime mould biodiversity in British Columbia. Through a partnership with Mycota Lab, free, year-round DNA sequencing for mushroom and slime mould collections is available to anyone in BC. Your contributions will help us better understand the unique biodiversity of our province.
How to Participate
We invite mushroom enthusiasts, backyard collectors, and mycologists to help us collect thousands of specimens from all regions of BC. Here’s what you'll need to get started:
- A collection box
- An iNaturalist account and a camera or phone
- A food dehydrator
Once your collections are dried, you’ll ship them to our Victoria, BC collection point. We are currently accepting all collections made in 2025.
For detailed protocols, FAQs, and shipping instructions, please visit
mycota.com/the-mycomap-bc-network/. You can also find a link to our iNaturalist project and a form to receive the mailing address for your specimens.
Launch Event
Join us for a virtual launch event and celebration on September 16th at 7 PM via Zoom. The event will feature guest speakers including Stephen Russell of Mycota Lab and Andy Mackinnon and Kem Luther, authors of Mushrooms of BC. They will discuss the importance of DNA sequencing, followed by an overview of the collection protocol. There will also be a Q&A session. Register for the event here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/l0L8ztPTQjGI4cvxq17-fA
We will also be hosting an online mycoblitz from September 17th-24th in hopes of hitting our first 1000 specimens! Join our iNaturalist project (linked on website below), and start making collections to join our leaderboard.
Project Support & Contact
This project is supported by the South Vancouver Island Mycological Society, the BC Biodiversity Program, the Metchosin Foundation, Whistler Naturalists, SERAL (Society for Education, Research and Arts on the Land), and the Vancouver Mycological Society.
For any questions or to offer support, please contact project coordinators Elora Adamson (elora.adamson@svims.club) or Ann McCall (ann.mccall@svims.club).
Happy collecting!
We are pleased to officially announce the VMS Discord Server – an additional community space for you to hang out with and learn from your fellow mushroom enthusiasts.
Logged in VMS members can view vanmyco.org/discord and join the server
New Blog Posts: Detailed histories and more!
Stuck inside? We've got lots of new articles for you to read. Enjoy!
A History of Mushroom Cultivation in BC - by Paul Kroeger
Four Decades of Vancouver Mycological Society: How mushrooming in BC has changed - by Paul Kroeger
Health and safety issues concerning commercial marketing of Edible Wild Mushrooms in British Columbia - by Paul Kroeger
BC’s Truffle Industry: The Next Frontier is Underground - by Rosi Hunter
Get on our Instagram feed
Spotted a cool mushroom? Share it with the club (and the world) by using the hashtag #vanmyco. Your pictures will automatically appear in the feed below.
Please note: this is not an identification service, but a way for club members to easily share their unique vision of fungi.