DRIFTLESS AREA BIOBLITZ CITY AND BEYOND NATURE CHALLENGE - FUNGI (REGIONAL READ)

This event is a part of the Climate Change and the Driftless Region Regional Read. Check out more info at Driftlessregionalread.com!

Event focus: Fungi

Activity:  Fungi play many important roles in the environment as decomposers, pathogens, and essential partners of other organisms. Todd will talk about fungal biology, then we will collect fungi in lower Hixon Forest, and then discuss our finds. Please also feel free to bring along mushrooms or other fungi for identification and/or discussion. Please bring closed-toed shoes and a mask for your safety.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER: http://strive2thrivecr.org/events?fbclid=IwAR3nIOvz8M4Trx5JaXCWE7w53MZ1e_glZA4xAcTkLP4wXxMpswCTOA7GbC4

Presenter: I am a professor of genetics and fungal biology at UWL. I studied fungi at the University of Montana, Field Museum of Natural History, Montana State University, Columbia University, the New York Botanical Garden and the University of California – Berkeley, and have had the opportunity to collect mushroom specimens on four continents, in habitats ranging from an arctic archipelago to tropical rainforests, alpine tundra, Pacific islands, and the temperate forests in our own backyard. My lab group at UWL studies fungi and other organisms using DNA sequencing to identify and classify organisms and understand their geographical distributions, genetic relationships, and biology.

Part of the Spotlight on Nature Event Series

The series, part of the Driftless Area BioBlitz 2022 Nature Challenge, is your chance to participate in a bioblitz with experts sharing their passion for and knowledge of the driftless region. There will be eight different events, each focusing on various taxa like fungi, moss and lichens, pollinator plants, birds, and insects, including nocturnal and decomposers.

Please note:

• Registration is required for this event
• Event are weather-dependent
• We will be following CDC COVID guidelines

For more info visit the Strive2Thrive website here: https://strive2thrivecr.org/our-projects/driftless-area-bio-blitz/#:~:text=Bioblitz%3A%20an%20event%20that%20focuses,wildlife%20in%20the%20Driftless%20Area.