Despite the incredibly difficult fall we had I want to take a moment and celebrate some recent accomplishments. In November 2021, I was acknowledged in my first scientific publication for the work I am doing with the Pezizales study from the University of Florida. This was a goal of mine since I started this mushroom science adventure and I am so proud of how far I have come in just a couple years.

I have collected and sent in samples to be DNA sequenced. They get to use the data in their study and I get the sequence info on my mushrooms. Plus they are putting my vouchered specimens in the herbarium and giving me credit in the papers that come from my collections. It is a dream come true for this community scientist!

When I was about 10 years old I was gifted a paper making set complete with a deckle, blotting papers, an instruction book, sponge and an extra screen. I ripped up junk mail and newspapers and created my own paper with infused flower petals. 28 years later, I still have that trusty tool and the skills I developed as a kid and decided to put my knowledge to work with fungi. I wanted to make paper out of fungi, something I could use mushroom pigments to paint on and eventually use in larger art projects.