Adventure Borealis finished the 2024 season with a Mycology Weekend in Homer, partnering with the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies (CACS). Northern Center’s Christin Swearingen led the class of 20 students of all ages through the biology, ecology, traditional uses, and identification of fungi. Starting in a circle at the Wynn Nature Center, CACS co-coordinator Sarahlily Stein gave a land acknowledgement and passed around a map showing the unique position of Kachemak Bay at the overlap of Dena’ina and Sugpiaq homelands. Students learned Sugpiaq, Dena’ina, and Yup’ik words for mushrooms.
Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of the mycelium, a network of threadlike cells that grows underground. Walking through the forest of Lutz spruce (a natural hybrid between white spruce and Sitka spruce that occurs where their ranges overlap), the class found representatives of four ecological roles of fungi––decomposers, parasites, mycorrhizal fungi, and lichens.
The second day was rainy and frosty in the morning, perfect for looking at spore prints from the day before and getting hands-on practice with dichotomous keys. A final slideshow wrapped up the various topics and the workshop ended with the call to conservation of rare mushrooms and their habitats.
We had a great time working with the group, which included a local seventh grade teacher, and two babies, who stared with wide eyes at the various colors and textures and patted the woody ridges of a Fomitopsis shelf mushroom. The group positively identified 25 species over the course of the two-day workshop, and posted many on iNaturalist, a social network for sharing biodiversity information. Through iNaturalist, scientists and conservationists can learn what seasons certain species of mushrooms fruit, and what their geographic ranges are.
“Her enthusiasm for mycology is contagious and oh-so inspiring,” said one participant about lead instructor Christin. “This course was one of the best I’ve taken!”