Wild mushrooms are indicators of soil and air quality, and support plant growth and communication. For the seventh consecutive year, students and the community will comb the hills of the Galbreath Preserve to collect as many fungal species as possible. Join us and build identification and sustainable harvesting skills while adding to our research database. A sister event is taking place at Osborn Preserve on December 9th.
Leaders
Dr. Melina Kozanitas, Biology Lecturer, Sonoma State University
Lisa Bauer, a Yorkville expert who teaches mushroom identification
Logistics
We will meet Melina and Lisa in the parking lot of the Yorkville Post Office on Highway 128 between Cloverdale and Boonville at 10:00am. Parking at the post office is limited so please consider carpooling. There we will form carpools to caravan to the Preserve. Working together, we will traverse parts of this glorious 3,670-acre nature preserve to find as many different species as we can, learning how to identify mushrooms, sustainable collecting techniques, and how to add information to local databases with iNaturalist. Our research protocol calls for collecting, photographing, recording locations and transcribing descriptive information in order to enable students and community members to make correct species identification when we get back to home base. We will eat lunch together at the Preserve, share and discuss our findings, then arrive back at the Post Office by 3:00 P.M.
We will be doing a minimal amount of walking, but it will be over uneven ground. Walking sticks might be helpful.
You will be asked to sign a waiver upon your arrival. All children and minors must be accompanied by a legal guardian or a group leader who can legally take on that role (e.g., Girl Scout group). No pets or smoking permitted.
COVID-19 Safety
All staff are vaccinated. Do not attend if you test positive for COVID-19 or if you have any symptoms that may be indicative of COVID-19, even if you are vaccinated. You are encouraged to wear a mask when indoors (e.g., while driving in carpools). We will spend all of our time outdoors where social distancing is possible. All SSU updated guidelines can be found here.
What to Bring
Please bring rain, sun and insect protection, and water and lunch. Shoes appropriate for hiking, and layered clothing and long pants are recommended as protection against poison oak and ticks.
There is a restroom available at the Galbreath Preserve, but no drinking water.
How to Sign Up
See registration link below. Each person should register separately. This event is free of charge.
About the Center
Sonoma State University’s Center for Environmental Inquiry empowers university students to work with community members on the environmental challenges of the North Bay. Our mission is to create an engaged and environmentally ready society, one where all people have the skills to find solutions to the challenges facing our earth. SSU Preserves are open to everyone engaged in education or research. Reservations are required.