Dear CMS members, We’re getting a newsletter out early to you because things are moving FAST! We’re excited about activities that are happening in just this next week and we hope that you’ll be able to join and participate when possible. Last meeting I mentioned that we’re hoping to provide a few additional webinars for the Society. The one that prompted this will be happening NEXT WEDNESDAY (April 29th) on the topic of sustainable hunting of burn morels. The webinar will be hosted by Trent Blizzard. CLICK HERE to go to the CMS event page for this webinar. The other thing that is happening is that this weekend is the City Nature Challenge hosted by iNaturalist.  This is a GLOBAL EVENT that iNaturalist is putting on and major cities around the world are participating. In this challenge iNaturalist users are being asked to document the biological diversity that is happening in their urban centers. This year the Denver-Boulder region is participating. CLICK HERE to go to the CMS event page and learn more about our region’s City Nature Challenge. In my personal opinion, us mycological enthusiasts need to reach out to iNaturalist and recommend they hold the challenge at a more appropriate time of year for mushrooms. But cottonwoods are budding and it’s been wet while getting warmer so fungi should be coming out. For those participating in this event, please make a safe attempt to enjoy nature while respecting social distancing and the hazards of COVID-19. Visit the event page for more links to this activity and advice on how to participate. In promoting this City Nature Challenge to our Society I began to wonder which of our members are familiar and/or comfortable with using iNaturalist. In and effort to help our members who would like to participate – but might not be accustomed to using this tool – I’m going to host a webinar to give a brief overview of how to work the application. CLICK HERE to go the the CMS event page for the webinar and to learn a little more about what it will cover. Lastly, for the May meeting, we are happy to have Dr. Brian Perry give us a seminar on the science of bioluminescent mushrooms. He was previously scheduled to visit us in April but COVID-19 ended up forcing a cancellation. But now that we have our act together and know how to host webinars, Brian has expressed his enthusiasm with visiting us virutually through the interwebs.  CLICK HERE to visit the event page for Dr. Perry’s talk. Closer to the date we will update this page with a link to the talk, which you will also be able to view through Facebook Live on the CMS Facebook Page. This is it for now.  I think it’s enough. Stay safe! Andy Wilson 2020 CMS President Related