🚨 PLEASE NOTE THIS IS ON A SUNDAY INSTEAD OF THE USUAL MONDAY 🚨
🚨 MEETINGS WILL BE HELD AT GATES HALL IN 2026 🚨
Passport to Kingdom Fungi: An introduction to the wild, weird, and wonderful world of mushrooms and fungi
A comprehensive and accessible overview of all the incredible forms that fungi take, the unexpected ways they live, and how they affect our lives. This presentation also covers a variety of edible, toxic, functional, and dye mushrooms.
Dr. Gordon Walker
Dr. Gordon Walker is an award winning speaker, science communicator, published author. Gordon has a PhD in Biochemistry from UC Davis where his research focused on the microbial ecology of wine fermentations and yeast genetics.
His social media channels @FascinatedByFungi have amassed over 3 million cumulative followers, he uses these platforms as a tool to educate the public on mushrooms and advocate for fungal conservation, and environmental sustainability.
His book “Passport to Kingdom Fungi” fundamentally transforms the way people learn about mushrooms and fungi, serving as the go to resource for a whole new generation of mycophiles and people interested in foraging, wild foods, and fermentation.”
: Hyperfocused Distractions with Mycophilia, Mycophobia, and Ethnomycology:
This talk will include a brief overview/review of the study of Ethnomycology (Human relationships with mushrooms and fungi) and the various roles mushrooms play and have played in human societies and cultures. Using both historical and contemporary examples, we will examine positive, negative, as well as neutral perceptions humans have about mushrooms. The focus of this talk will not necessarily focus on any specific genus or species, but rather the social and cultural attitudes and perspectives humans have with mushrooms.
Greg Sanchez
Greg Sanchez knew nothing about mushrooms until 2004 when he wondered, “What do you do at a mushroom festival?” After attending the Telluride Mushroom Festival that year, he found out, sparking a lasting fascination with and a deep passion for all things fungal. Greg is a high school Social Studies teacher in the Denver metro area and an active member of the Colorado Mycological Society, serving in various roles including CMS President in 2011, 2014, and 2022. In 2025 Greg was part of the Colorado State Mushroom Joint Committee that was able to successfully lobby and get Agaricus julius designated as the official state mushroom. Although he considers himself a generalist and amateur when it comes to mycology, his social science background brings him a special interest towards the human and cultural connections with mushrooms, mushroom people, and Ethnomycology.
Agenda
7:00-7:30PM Social Time, Show and Tell
7:30-9PM Presentation + Questions