SVIMS: The Next Generation (2026)

Speaker 1:

Grey Wolfgang Mueller

Dyeing with Local Mushrooms

Grey was born in Nelson, BC. He spent his early years living a very rural life on a land co-op in the forest, where he enjoyed gardening, beekeeping, foraging, and raising chickens. When he was five years old, he moved to Victoria. Since then, he has continued his love of nature through rock hounding, gardening, beach clean-ups, camping, nature crafts, and, most recently, getting involved in SVIMS.

His earliest memory of being interested in mushrooms was in grade two, when he created spore prints as art and shared his discoveries with his classmates.

Grey is now in grade nine at the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry, a high school based on a student-led inquiry process.

This past summer at the Saanich Fair, he discovered that mushrooms can be used for dyeing while visiting the Victoria Weavers’ Guild tent. Since then, he has been experimenting with creating dyes from mushrooms.

He will share what he has learned about preparing dyes using three different local mushrooms. He will also talk about how different fabrics and mordants can affect color. Grey will bring samples of his work, including clothes he has made, and will share resources for others who want to explore the world of mushroom dyeing.

Speaker 2: 

Dana Nygard

Knowledge through Nature Journaling and the Mycology of Southern Vancouver 

In this presentation, Dana Nygard invites you to slow down and rediscover the natural world through the lens of nature journaling and the fascinating mycology of Southern Vancouver Island. By observing not only the mushrooms themselves, but also the interconnected ecosystems they inhabit — from trees and lichen to mosses and forest microhabitats — Dana explores how art and curiosity can deepen our ecological awareness.

She will share insights from her ongoing practice of field sketching and journaling, emphasizing the value of noting key identifying features of fungi, foraging wild foods responsibly, and experimenting with spore printing, mushroom-based dyes and inks. This mindful approach to art and observation celebrates the creativity and wonder that emerge when we engage closely with nature.

Speaker #3

Teresa Klemm

Mushroaming in Bhutan

Join Teresa on a journey to the Kingdom of Bhutan to explore the wonderful world of mushroaming: a blend of mushroom foraging, ecology, and cultural discovery.

 Teresa began photographing mushrooms over 30 years ago. Her very first subject was a ghost pipe (Monotropa uniflora)—a striking find, though she later discovered it wasn’t a mushroom at all, but a plant. That moment taught her to be humble and sparked a lifelong curiosity about the fungal world.

Since then, her interests have grown to include culinary mushrooms and species identification. Over the years, she has spent time learning from fellow enthusiasts at SVIMS, gaining new knowledge with every season. A dedicated member since 2003, Teresa continues to explore the fascinating, ever-surprising world of fungi with camera in hand and curiosity intact.

2026 SVIMS Spring Outing to Metchosin Wilderness Park

SVIMS members made a spring foray to Metchosin Wilderness Park on February 7, 2026, as a followup to Paul Kroeger’s annual talk. A group of 25 fungal fans, a few of them on their first SVIMS foray, spent two hours chasing down examples of spring fungi.

Paul Kroeger, Andy MacKinnon, and Kem Luther were walk leaders. Foray coordinator Caroline Pap did the check-in, check-out.

The focus was on collecting specimens for the BC MycoMap Project. Some of the collected specimens can be viewed on iNaturalist. 

(Click on the pictures below to see the associated iNaturalist observations.)

Members survey the bounty on a boulder--Kem pretends he has a clue.
Tremellodendropsis tuberosa, Ashen Coral. Photo by Roanan De Meyer
Geoglossum, Earthtongue. Photo by Roanan De Meyer

Mushroom Cultivation Workshop Spring 2026

Spring 2026 Cultivation Workshop

with local expert Steve Fischer

March 1, 2026

Two workshop times available (please only register for one):

     – Morning workshop: 9:00am – 12:00 noon

     – Afternoon workshop: 1:00pm – 4:00pm

  • All materials provided; donations accepted (proceeds go to SVIMS)

  • Blenkinsop & McKenzie area, specific location TBA to registrants

  • Members who have not taken a cultivation workshop with SVIMS before will be prioritized

  • ACTIVE SVIMS members only


Sign up Cultivation Workshop

Steve drills a bale, Elora watches

Andrew Claassen Presentation on March 5, 2026

The next SVIMS meeting.
Pacific Forestry Centre,
March 5, 7:00 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm)

Andrew Claassen is a mycologist, naturalist, forest ecologist, educator, musician, and public speaker based in Northern California. Claassen is known for his expertise in identifying and studying California mushrooms. He has contributed significantly to understanding North American fungal species through documenting, collecting, discovering, and researching mushrooms in the region’s diverse habitats, particularly through work on montane and coastal wetland habitats.

He is a co-founder and vice president of the Mount Shasta Mycological Society and was formerly a collection specialist for the FunDis (North American Fungal Diversity Survey) California Project. He is now is operating as a collection specialist for Mycota Lab and Shasta Spore Lab.

Claassen maintains an active presence in the mycological community through the iNaturalist and social media platforms where he shares his work.

Talk Description: Join mycologist Andrew Claassen for an in-depth exploration of one of mycology’s most fascinating frontiers: the specialized fungi that inhabit water-scarce and transitional moisture environments. This presentation delves into the remarkable world of seeps, springs, meadows, and bogs, where unique fungal communities have evolved extraordinary adaptations to survive in conditions that challenge conventional understanding of fungal habitat requirements. This presentation offers both experienced foragers and research focused mycologists an opportunity to expand their understanding of habitat ecology, trophic cycling, substrate chemistry, mycorrhizal networks, and the effect of specialized fungi on ecosystem health.

BC MycoMap Project–First Results

SVIMS is a sponsor of the BC MycoMap Project. Launched last fall, the project aims to bring our understanding of mushroom genomes in BC into the modern age. Crowdsourced databanks show that BC, up to the fall of 2025, had sequenced fewer than a thousand BC specimens for these public data sources. This represents only a few percent of the numbers from south of the border. 
 
The first step in the project was to find a place to get BC fungal barcodes affordably sequenced. A partnership was set up with Mycota Lab in Michigan, and funds were raised to make the partnership possible. The second step was to collect specimens of BC mushrooms, with an emphasis on variety. Over a hundred BC mycoenthusiasts help to collect, dry, and submit these specimens. A remarkable 12,000 vouchers were assembled. These are being sent to Michigan in batches. (The collection project is ongoing, for those who want to help.)

 

Mycota Lab was able to rapidly sequence a first batch of several hundreds specimens. A group of BC “validators” (currently five people) began to examine and classify these sequences. In the second week of January 2026, the first 100+ sequences for MycoMap BC were posted to iNaturalist, along with their identifications. The observations can be browsed through this link.  More are being added almost daily.
 
If you’re interested in learning more about these results and how they’re determined (what might be called “the back end of BC MycoMap”), you can join a Zoom talk on January 23rd. Here is the link to register.