Mycology mayhem: Experiment Farm event digs deep into world of mushrooms

PALMER — Those attending this past weekend’s “Introduction to Mushrooms of the Mat-Su” workshop found so many varieties and samples, one of the four planned outings had to be canceled in order to review the species collected.

Dr. Gary Laursen, a well known Fairbanks mycologist, wrapped up his third two-and-a-half day confab at Palmer’s Experiment Farm Sunday evening after kicking things off with a Friday evening lecture. That was followed by morning and afternoon outings on Saturday and another Sunday-morning outing near Reflections Lake.

“We collected so many specimens that we didn’t have time to go out Sunday afternoon,” Laursen said. “We focused on what we had found in the morning session.”

By the end of each session of just a couple of hours, tables were lined with literally hundreds of every conceivable color, shape and consistency of fungus imaginable.

Laursen is an adjunct research professor and the director and president of the High Latitude Mycological Research Institute at University of Alaska Fairbanks. He said he loves sharing his passion and knowledge of fungi. The workshop was hosted by UAF’s Cooperative Extension Service.

Laursen said participating in almost two-dozen workshops across Alaska starting in late July and ending in mid-September allows him to travel across the state. Those workshops run the gamut from a three-hour, quick course to the three-day variety like the one held in Palmer.

“I love to teach people to diagnose fungi,” Laursen said. “I can spout terminology all day but there are two important things I look to share. One is that I am there to serve them. To help them understand the translation of technology. To really know mushrooms. The second is that the class doesn’t end on Sunday afternoon. (Participants) have the capability to contact me at any time (with questions on found fungi). I’m very quick to respond. Their heads are just spinning when they leave.”

He said his main focus is to translate the technological end of the subject so that someone with no background on the topic can feel comfortable.

“I glean great joy in translating, teaching in a way that is hands-on,” Laursen said. “You don’t learn without making mistakes…I want to help launch you into meaningful relationship with fungi…Some people are more visual. I want to corral them in a way that helps them understand.”

Laursen said the Palmer event has become one of his favorite out of the 22 he’ll put on this year. Not only are there more than 280 fungi species found to date in the Mat-Su, but Laursen said people attending this workshop seem to be passionate about their interest in the topic. In addition to field work, the workshop also included laboratory identification, along with information on collecting, preparing and preserving edible versions of fungi.

“I love coming to Palmer. The people who come are really there for me. I get to mold their minds,” he said. “It’s terribly exciting to work with these groups. The Mat-Su group is just wonderful…they gave me a bottle of champagne this year.”

At the same time that Laursen is teaching others and sharing his passion for fungi, he said workshop participants from across the state also assist him in his research. Laursen explained the relationship is sometimes symbiotic—similar to that of having assistants out in the field doing research. He said many times, participants who send in fungi pictures have them printed in publications he authored.

Contact reporter Chris Ford at 352-2270 or chris.ford@frontiersman.com