Beginning the year with Basidiomycota

Basidiomycota is a large, diverse class of fungi that includes more than 31,000 known living species that includes mushrooms, puffballs, stinkhorns, bracket fungi and other polypores, jelly fungi, boletes, chanterelles, earth stars, smuts, bunts, rusts, and some yeasts. Basidiomycetes are also known as club fungi, due to their club-shaped spore-producing organs, called basidia. It is distinguished from other classes of fungi (Chytridiomycota [chytrids], Zygomycota [bread molds], Ascomycota [yeasts and sac fungi]), by several characteristics detailed HERE.

In NYC, there are over 700 basidiomycete species with at least one research grade observation on iNaturalist. Check under logs, leaf litter, and other decaying organic matter to see how many you can find!

Gathering Plants and Mushrooms in Local Parks and Forests:
A Practice That Supports Cultural Identity, Connection with Nature, and Stewardship

January 9, 5:00PM EST

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Did you know that local parks and forests often have a variety of edible plants and mushrooms? Some people often harvest those species to obtain culturally relevant food and connect with their heritage, among other reasons. As someone who gathered mushrooms back home, Tatiana Marquita was curious to learn more about this practice in the context of U.S. cities. In this talk, she will share the results of her research on the significance of foraging among some immigrant communities in NYC and beyond. Tatiana will also explore how this practice might intersect with environmental stewardship and ecosystem management.

Tatiana Marquita is an environmental scientist with an MA in Environmental Planning and PhD in Natural Resources. Her work explores how interactions with nature help us improve well-being, as well as foster environmental care and stewardship. She is also interested in the use of nature-based solutions to help reduce the risks associated with natural hazards such as flooding or erosion. Tatiana currently lives in Puerto Rico where she collaborates with the local government to assist them with the recovery from the damages of hurricane Maria and strategies for building resilience.

Reading the landscape: Detecting uses, values, and meanings of parkland through social assessment

Lindsay Campbell, USFS NYC Urban Field Station

January 23, 5:00PM EST

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Urban parkland supports a diverse and wide range of users and uses. Parks are a crucial form of ‘nearby nature’ that provide space for activities, recreation, socialization, and engagement with the environment, and support social ties and place attachment. This talk will share insights from the Social Assessment of NYC parks and natural areas that was led by social scientists at the USDA Forest Service working in collaboration with NYC Parks and the Natural Areas Conservancy. This approach triangulates observations of park users, randomized rapid interviews, and observations of signs of human use to measure and describe the use and meaning of these spaces. By reading the landscape for social meaning, we can support management and programming of these sites not only as ecological resources, but as social spaces as well. The social assessment can also be used as a training and education tool to develop a new way of seeing.

Lindsay K. Campbell is a Research Social Scientist with the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station, based at the New York City Urban Field Station. Her research explores the dynamics of environmental governance, civic engagement, and natural resource stewardship. She is co-lead of STEW-MAP, which maps the social networks and spatial territories of environmental stewardship groups. In addition to her research, Lindsay co-leads Urban Field Station Collaborative Arts Program. Dr. Campbell holds a BA in Public Policy from Princeton University, a Masters in City Planning from MIT, and a PhD in Geography from Rutgers University.

Join NY EcoFlora and the NY Mycological Society on a walk in Alley Pond Park, Queens

Sunday, January 29th at 10:00 a.m. EST

Led by Misha Zitser

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Whether you are new to the world of fungi or are an experienced mycologist, come join us to explore the park, share knowledge, and discover some amazing organisms! Led by Misha Zitser ( user: @zitserm ), an active iNaturalist contributor and fungi enthusiast, this walk will be 3+ hours. Participants are not expected to stay for the duration of the walk (unless you want to, of course!). Make sure to dress warmly, and bring water and a snack, as well as a hand lens if you have one (we will have extras to borrow).

About Misha Zitser

Misha Zitser has spent the last two years observing the flora, fauna and funga of New York City. He joined the iNaturalist community in 2020 and has been actively contributing observations to the New York City EcoFlora project. He is also a prolific contributor to the New York Mycological Society's "Fungi of NYC" project and regularly takes part in the mushroom forays led by the group. While Misha enjoys traveling through the city's boroughs, most of his observations are from the parks in his backyard - two beautiful, forested parks in Queens, Alley Pond Park and Cunningham Park. As Misha puts it, "Here, less than an hour away from the skyscrapers of Manhattan, I can observe White-tailed deer, Red foxes, flying squirrels, Great Horned Owls and even Coyotes. Every day that I venture into the woods, I am surprised by something new. I may find a species of plant or fungi that I haven't seen before, or perhaps a new bird or insect. One time, I witnessed a dramatic tussle between a Silver-haired bat and a Red-bellied woodpecker. Sometimes, it's on the rainy and snowy days that I find the coolest things, so I try not to let inclement weather hamper my adventures - instead I embrace it. Mother Earth takes her time to reveal her secrets. Discovering these secrets is what drives me to go to the woods every day."

GETTING THERE

We will meet at 10 a.m. in the southeastern portion of the park, near the tennis courts on Winchester Road.

click here to view meeting spot

The park is most easily accessible by car, but there are several public transportation options as well.

Via public transit

Take the QM6 bus towards Lake Success N Shore Towers to the Union Turnpike-Winchester Blvd stop. Alternatively, take the E or F to Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike, then take the Q46 bus towards Lake Success LIJ Hospital to the Union Turnpike-Winchester Blvd stop.