Happy (almost) New Year + Winter Solstice you beautiful mycophiles!
Our first meeting of 2020 is just a few weeks away on Monday, January 6th. Gather your myco-curious friends and join us to immerse yourself in an evening exploring the intersection of mushrooms + art.
As a reminder we meet the first Monday of each Month, October – May. Download our public event calendar to stay up to date on all the happenings.

January 6th Meeting Details
5pm: Meet the speakers! Dinner @ Kairoa Brewing Company, 4601 Park Blvd
6:30 – 8pm: Meeting @ Balboa Park, 1650 El Prado, Room 101

Agenda
6:30: Welcome / House Keeping
6:45: The Art + Science of Mushroom + Lichen Dyeing presented by Sarah Minarik
7:10: NAMA’s Registry of Mushrooms in Works of Art presented by Elio Schaechter
7:30: Mushroom Art of Dutch Baroque Painter Otto Marseus van Schrieck presented by Bonni Thoresen

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Join SDMYCO and guest teacher Michelle Hinojosa for a hands-on mushroom identification workshop and walk through Los Penasquitos Canyon.

SDMYCO Mushroom Identification Workshop

Sunday, 12/22

10am – 2pm

Los Penasquitos Canyon Ranch House

Canyonside Park Driveway, San Diego, CA 92129

Register HERE 

$20 for members (with code sent through member mailing)

$30 non-members

Spaces available: 20

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Join us for our first SDMYCO Club foray of the 2019/2020 San Diego mushroom season! We’re excited to get out into the wild after a few weeks of rain.

SDMYCO Member Foray

Saturday, 12/14

9:30am – 1pm

Keithley Preserve, Escondido

(Location details available for registered participants)

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Hello Myco Friends!

Our next monthly meeting is Monday, December 2nd and we will be hosting our annual mushroom inspired potluck and white elephant gift exchange. 

Volunteers are needed for setting-up and decorating the room. Set-up will begin at 5:30pm. Please come early to help us set the mood. 

December Meeting Details

Balboa Park, 1650 El Prado, Room 101 

5:30 – 6:30pm: Set-up

6:30 – 8pm: Dinner & Gift Exchange

• Bring a savory or sweet mushroom inspired dish and/or beverage to share.
• Bring a mushroom inspired gift to exchange.
• Bring your own dinnerware (plate/bowl/cup/utensils/napkin)

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Hello mycophiles! We have a fun week ahead! Sunday 11/3 are the first showings of Fantastic Fungi in Encinitas, Monday 11/4 is our November meeting, and Tuesday 11/5 is the second showing of Fantastic Fungi (ticket details below) with special appearance by Director Louis Schwartzberg. So gather your curious friends and join us for a fabulous week of fun(gus)!⁠

As a reminder we meet the first Monday of each Month, October – May. Download our public event calendar to stay up to date on all the happenings.

November Meeting Details
5pm: Meet the speaker! Dinner @ Blue Water Seafood Grill at 3667 India St
6:30 – 8pm: Meeting @ Balboa Park, 1650 El Prado, Room 101

Agenda
6:30: Welcome / Housekeeping / Annual Board Vote
7-8pm: Speaker Mario Ceballos – Mycelium is Intersectional

We will explore how Mycelium is Intersectional and how it can effectively communicate with other lifeforms and how the web of reciprocity it weaves can teach humans how to better communicate and show up in solidarity with each other.

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Become a Board Member!

We have begun the 2019/2020 SDMYCO season and we are looking to fill a few board vacancies and other roles during our annual election at the November monthly meeting on Monday 11/4.

All active (paid) members will have the opportunity to apply and then to vote on November 4th.

If you have been wanting to get more involved this is a great opportunity! We are seeking a few legacy positions to be filled and a few new positions too.
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The San Diego Mycological Society and OM Mushrooms are delighted to be in partnership with Fantastic Fungi to present two showings of the beautiful film by Moving Art Director Louie Schwartzberg.

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Hey hey mycophiles! The SDMYCO season is upon us and we are so, so ready for it!⁠

Our first meeting of the season is just a few weeks away on Monday, October 7th. Gather your curious friends and come join us to immerse yourself in all things mushroom.⁠ As a reminder we meet the first Monday of each Month, October – May. 

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Calling All SDMYCO Citizen Scientists! Join us as we participate in the FIRST-EVER Continental Mycoblitz this week – August 12-19, 2019!

A mycoblitz, similar to a ‘bioblitz’, is an intense and time-limited survey, completed by ordinary citizens (like you!) of all the organisms living in a given geographic area. This one will be the first ever in North America focused solely on fungi! 

This event, a collaboration between NAMA (North American Mycological Association), NAMP (North American Mycoflora Project), iNaturalist, and The National Geographic Society, is an effort to increase documentation and knowledge of fungi across North America. 

How to Participate

Before Foray Week

1. Visit the Event Page – The Mycoflora Mycoblitz page will give you an overview and answers to FAQs
2. Register HERE
3. Review the online training documents – Become familiar with the process to submit collections to this project: Collecting Mushrooms for Science and iNaturalist Mycoblitz Protocols.
4. Download Field Data Slips – Download and print BOTH field data slips so that the collections you make can be used for the Mycoblitz AND for storage at The San Diego Natural History Museum as part of the San Diego Barcoding Project. These field data slips are individually numbered and should be filled out for each collection you make. 
   • NAMP Mycoblitz field data slip
   • SDMYCO field data slip and instructions for completion
5. Download the iNaturalist Mobile App – Both Android and IOS versions are available. Check your preferred app store for the download. If you do not have a mobile device, you can participate by utilizing the web interface to report your observations.
6. Join the “Continental Mycoblitz 2019” project in iNaturalist – You can join from the mobile app or now from your favorite web browser. You can join this project at any time.

During Foray Week

1. Choose your foray location. Many areas have local regulations that may prohibit the collection of mushrooms on specific properties. This includes many state and local parks across the country, and all national parks. Specimens may not be collected or submitted from prohibited areas as a part of this project. Any specimen submitted from an area with limitations on collecting must have a collecting or scientific research permit sent with the collections in order for the specimens to be accepted. So where can you collect? Private property is ideal and public areas without any restrictions. 
2. Create new observations of mushrooms you encounter. This can be done through the iNaturalist mobile app in the field (with cell service) or the web interface at home. With each new observation, be sure to select the project for your event and whether you collected the specimen. The mobile app uploads the photos to the reports online.
   • Take multiple photos of the mushrooms with your cell phone or camera in the field. Your photos are most valuable to science if they include GPS location data: make sure it is turned on! Take a nice image near ground level from the side, as well as an image of the top, the stem, and the spore bearing surface (gills or pores on the underside of the cap).
   • If you think you might submit the specimen, take an image of a field data slip with the specimen. This will help to ensure you can associate the images with the correct specimens.
   • Enter the field data slip number into the “Voucher number(s)” field in the mobile app.
3. Collect the specimen. Store your field slip (or the portion with the number) with the specimen. Back at home, dry the specimens with a dehydrator or fan – Use the duplicate number at the bottom portion of the voucher slip to organize collections as they are being dried. Once they are cracker dry (usually 1-2 days) put the voucher slip and the specimen in a ziplock bag. Please put the iNaturalist number (in the URL of your observations) and the species name on the voucher slips. This will save us a huge amount of time once we receive the collections
4. Deliver your dried specimens – We will be collecting all San Diego County samples locally before sending to the national collection processing facility. The top specimens that are selected as a part of this event will have their DNA “sequenced” or examined. We are likely to find multiple species that are new to science during this event. Your collections could be part of this. Deliver your samples two ways:
   • In Person: Email sdmycomich@gmail.com to arrange a time for in-person drop-off
   • Mail to: 
   • SDMycoblitz

     ℅ Michelle Jachimowicz

     4483 Winona Ave, #4

     San Diego, CA 92115

5.  As a reminder, we are looking for:

• Specimens with complete metadata – color images from multiple angles (including the spore bearing surface), a filled out field data slip, and fully dried specimens.
• Locally uncommon, rare, or otherwise interesting species.
• Try to make a few of your specimens from one of the following groups for this event: Cortinarius, Inocybe, Amanita sect. Vaginatae, and/or the Marasmiaceae.

Happy Hunting!