Seminar – Russula Roulette
The Pikes Peak Mycological Society welcomes you to an evening talk with Alison Pouliot.
Every forager knows the danger of confusing edible mushrooms with toxic lookalike species. In Switzerland, the Pilzkontrolleure, or mushroom inspectors have been saving lives for over a century by plucking poisonous mushrooms from people’s baskets and sending them home with the edible fare. Despite being only a seventh the physical size of Colorado, Switzerland has over 400 mushroom inspection offices staffed by 1500 inspectors.
The Swiss are well versed in fungi and foraging and this has also stimulated mycological research. Yet in Alison’s homeland Australia, all biodiversity – including fungi – is protected at all three levels of government and hence foraging is illegal on public land.
In this talk Alison will share stories of her work across continents and explore the tensions between foraging and conservation, and the different approaches of various nations to both protect species and keep mushroom hunters happy.
Further events can be viewed at this link.
Join the Pikes Peak Mycological Society here.
SAVE THE DATE!
DATE: Wednesday 21 AUGUST 2024
VENUE: Where: Bear Creek Nature Center, 245 Bear Creek Road
Colorado Springs, CO
TIME: 6pm MDT