Psilocybe Mushrooms of California & The World w Mycologist Alan Rockefeller

OverviewDo psilocybe mushrooms grow wild in California? Yes, they do! Learn where and when they grow and how to identify them. Join Fork in the Path for a special talk in person & online about psilocybe mushrooms with leading mycologist Alan Rockefeller, plus tacos by renowned mycochef Chad Hyatt. Please preorder your tacos if you're coming in person here. This talk is very popular and will sell out quickly, so get tickets right away! This talk is great for beginners and advanced myco-enthusiasts alike! What You'll Learn Do Psilocybe mushrooms grow wild in California? Yes, they do! Learn where and when they grow and how to identify them. Attendees will learn about species found in unexpected places, from urban landscapes to remote mountain regions, and the implications of new chemical analyses on psychoactive compounds. The presentation also covers groundbreaking research on global discoveries evolving fungal chemistry, including newly identified alkaloids and terpenes. Please note: this is a science presentation. We will not be selling or consuming psilocybe mushrooms at this event. Where For in-person, we'll be at Sports Basement in Berkeley at 2727 Milvia St, and we'll also livestream & record online for folks who can’t join in person. (Yes, the recording can be sent to you if you can't watch live.) For online, we'll be sending out a Zoom link to registered attendees. Special thanks to Sports Basement Berkeley for hosting this fun event! This space IS wheelchair accessible. Tacos Menu by Chef Chad Hyatt (preorder here) Oyster and Maitake Mushrooms achiote-citrus marinated and roasted, topped with pickled onions and vegan avocado “crema” Chipotle Chicken Tacos Chicken stewed with chipotles and spices, then shredded, topped with cilantro-lime slaw and queso fresco Lengua Tacos Beef Tongue in salsa verde topped with radish, onion, and cilantro About the Presenters Alan Rockefeller (he/him) is an acclaimed mycologist renowned for his expertise in DNA barcoding, field photography, and microscopy. With over 20 years of experience, he has documented and photographed more than 2,500 fungal species. Alan has dedicated the past 15 years to studying fungal diversity in Mexico, regularly leading forays and sharing his knowledge with mycology enthusiasts worldwide. Alan is passionate about education and has taught thousands of people how to extract and sequence the DNA of their mushrooms. His contributions include uploading over 700 DNA sequences to GenBank and co-authoring several scientific papers, notably on new species of bioluminescent Mycena and Psilocybe. He has also identified over 400,000 fungal observations on platforms like iNaturalist and Mushroom Observer, contributing significantly to the understanding of global fungal diversity. Chad Hyatt (he/him) has made a name for himself in Northern California and beyond by sharing his delicious spin on wild mushroom cookery at public and private events. Both an expert forager and classically trained chef, he has cooked in a variety of restaurants and private clubs around the San Francisco Bay area, where he can often be found putting on wild mushroom-themed dinners and teaching mushroom related classes. Chad's cooking career began after leaving an engineering career for culinary school. He has cooked in a wide range of kitchens, from Michelin-starred fine dining to opening a BBQ restaurant, and from country club to gastropub. He is passionate about approachable comfort food, based on local, seasonal ingredients, and, of course, wild mushrooms. He has been working as an independent freelance chef since the middle of 2018, with a focus on special events. About Fork in the Path Fork in the Path is a collective of educators dedicated to cultivating a deeper relationship with nature, learning to forage and eat seasonal wild foods from forest to ocean, and discovering new perspectives on life. Our vision is guided by principles of reciprocity, sustainability, embodiment, community building, deeper connection to nature and seasonal cycles, and the joy of eating wild, nutrient-dense, foraged foods, all woven into the timeless practice of foraging. We hope that through our classes, you'll discover a "fork in your path" that enriches your life in meaningful ways, big or small. Check out the website here or our Instagram page here. This low-cost talk is part of Fork in the Path's initiative to provide accessible programming to the entire community. If you would like to join us in our effort to give away scholarship programming to low-income community members, you can make a donation here. A portion of your ticket fee goes to Sogorea Te' Land Trust, an urban Indigenous women-led land trust based in the San Francisco Bay Area that facilitates the return of Indigenous land to Indigenous people. Whether you can join us for this program or not, we encourage you to donate to them here.