And why? Read this article for the inside story. It’s an easy-to-read introduction to the importance of microfungi in plants, and specifically inside their seeds.
SVIMS
South Vancouver Island Mycological Society
Oluna and Adolf Ceska Mycology Award
UBC Giving Day is April 7, 2021. There is an opportunity to contribute on or before that date to the Mycology Award started in the Ceskas’ names in 2015 and supporting mycological research.
From Adolf’s page on Facebook:
The late Jean Johnson started the UBC Oluna and Adolf Ceska Mycology Award to appreciate our friendship and mutual respect. With contributions by Jean’s husband Steve, anonymous donors, South Vancouver Island Mycological Society and Vancouver Mycological Society, donations reached the minimum of $30,000 required for the fund endowed in perpetuity.
This fund supports a $1,350 award for undergraduate or graduate students who conduct mycological research, with preferences going to students researching mushrooms and fungi of British Columbia.
UBC will have their 2021 GIVING DAY on April 7. Please be part of it and contribute to this student award. Make your donation on or before April 7, 2021, and your gift will be counted towards the UBC Giving Day total.
You can donate online at https://donate.support.ubc.ca/page/56413/donate/1
In the “Direct my gift to” prompt, enter the following line:
Oluna and Adolf Ceska Award in Mycology-G1453
[Entering G1453 works too, but typing the name of the award is insurance.]Since the beginning of this award (2016/17), the “Ceska Fund” has supported four or five valuable projects in the UBC Mycology graduate studies.
Your help is greatly appreciated! Many thanks!
Adolf and Oluna Ceska
Further links provided by Adolf Ceska:
Botanical Electronic News – 498 (ou.edu) For this link you will need to scroll down to the article by Shannon Berch
Roy Halling
Members might be interested in this webinar with Roy Halling on Friday, March 12, 2021 called A Bolete Story: 50 years of Macrofungi.
You need to register online – note that the event starts at 11:00 EST which is 8 am in BC.
Dr. Halling studied boletes in the Sierra Nevada under Harry Thiers and later the genus Collybia (most of which migrated to Gymnopus and Rhodocollybia). He has been managing editor of the prestigious journal Mycologia and President of the Mycological Society of America. Dr. Halling is associated with the New York Botanical Garden.
https://nybg-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_t6lYm2-DTKqWpjP5vyCCNg
Anne and Jim Ginns land protected near Thetis Lake Park
An ecologically diverse 23 hectare parcel of land bordering Thetis Lake Regional Park is now officially protected by the Habitat Acquisition Trust (HAT).
For nearly 50 years it was owned by Anne & Jim Ginns, who always wanted to see the land permanently protected.
The Ginns donated a significant portion of the value of the property to HAT to achieve this goal, the Trust said in the statement.
An article in the Times – Colonist adds further details. A few incorrect details in the article have been corrected above.
https://www.timescolonist.com/search-results-7.2864?q=ginns
Dr. Jim Ginns is a mycologist living in Penticton. He has made presentations to SVIMS several times and is a member of the Pacific Northwest Key Council. He is the author of numerous scientific publications including Polypores of British Columbia (Fungi: Basidiomycota).
https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/Docs/Tr/TR104.htm
Jan/Feb NAMA Mycophile available
SVIMS is a member of The North American Mycological Association (NAMA), the collective that unites the mycological societies on this continent. Six times a year NAMA publishes its newsletter, the Mycophile, and makes it available to members of all supporting clubs. The January/February 2021 issue was recently released. To read it, click on the picture of the cover.
Mount Doug Illegal Picking
CTV did a video news piece on unauthorized mushroom collection on Mt. Doug. It can be viewed at:
https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/saanich-residents-concerned-over-illegal-mushroom-picking-at-mt-douglas-park-1.5188750
It features an interview with SVIMS member and past-president Andy MacKinnon.
Amanita book
Britt Bunyard, who was at SVIMS this spring and did a presentation on his work on Amanitas, reports:
We hope you will share this announcement to your members–an exciting and beautiful new book on all the Amanitas of North America. And all pre-orders received before June 1 will get a major discount (33% off the cover price)! Orders can be placed at the fungimag.com website and questions can be posted there or sent directly to me at fungimag@gmail.com.
