Girdwood Fungus Fair

Noah Siegel:

Noah’s field mycology skills are extensive – he has spent over three decades seeking, photographing, identifying, and furthering his knowledge about all aspects of macrofungi. He has hunted for mushrooms throughout the United States and Canada, as well as on multiple expeditions to New Zealand and Australia and Cameroon. He is one of the premier mushroom photographers in the nation, having won numerous awards from the North American Mycological Association (NAMA) photography contest. His technique and attention to detail are unrivaled, arising from a philosophy of maximizing utility for identification purposes while maintaining a high degree of aesthetic appeal. His photographs have appeared on the covers and have been featured in articles of multiple issues of FUNGI Magazine, the primary mushroom enthusiast magazines in the United States, numerous mushroom books, as well as many club publications.He authored, along with Christian Schwarz, Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast, a comprehensive guide for the northern California coast, and a Field Guide to the Rare Fungi of California's National Forests.. Noah travels and lectures extensively across America, following the mushrooms from coast to coast, and everywhere in between.

Steve Trudell: 

Dr. Steve Trudell will be returning to FungusFair for the 11th time. Steve is affiliate curator in the Burke Museum Herbarium at the University of Washington and the scientific adviser for the Puget Sound Mycological Society. He has been photographing and identifying mushrooms and studying their ecology (but not eating them) for over 40 years. Co-author of Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest, Tricholomas of North America, and the U.S. Forest Service's Mushrooms of the National Forests in Alaska, Steve has taught mycology, plant biology, and other environmental science courses at the University of Washington, The Evergreen State College, and other institutions. His research interests include mycorrhizal ecology and the roles of fungi in forest nutrient cycling.

Shannon Adams: 

Shannon's interest in fungi started 20 years ago when she moved to the Pacific Northwest and was inspired to paint mushrooms after seeing the wide variety of species in the Seattle region. Today, she is more interested in fungal taxonomy with a particular focus on the genus Cortinarius where she works on observing, collecting, identifying and describing new species. She currently has over 700 collections in her personal herbarium and has recently published her first species. Over the years Shannon has also been involved in teaching botanical illustration and fungal microscopy. 

Teresa Paquet: 

Teresa is a fungus dye hobbyist who was first introduced to dyeing with mushrooms in  and has since attended many dye workshops since. "I enjoy the process and the results, which are typically a surprise. You never know what you are going to get!. She is a member of the Turnagain Arm Mycological Society and has assisted with and presented dye workshops held at the Fungus Fair over the last several years. 

Christin Swearingen:

Christin is a mycologist living in Fairbanks, AK. She earned a master's degree in natural resources from UAF, and was Dr. Gary Laursen's TA for about 4 years, accompanying him on mycology field courses throughout Alaska. She currently teaches mushroom identification through the Folk School in Fairbanks. She is a volunteer coordinator for the Fungal Diversity Survey, a national nonprofit dedicated to documenting every species of mushroom in North America, and promoting fungal conservation. 

Gabriel Wingard: 

Gabriel is co-president and a founding member of the Turnagain Arm Mycological Society. He was inspired to learn as much as he could about mushrooms after watching the “Know Your Mushrooms” movie when he was 3. He has been leading forays at both the Girdwood and Cordova fungus festivals for 5 years, and is much more interested in finding cool mushrooms than eating them!

Bruce Welkovich:

Bruce Welkovich has been a photographer since taking a darkroom course at summer camp as a teen.  He was the photo editor of his high school yearbook and college newspaper, and he’s had the privilege of traveling around the world chasing the next best photo, including stints in Micronesia, Antarctica, and Nepal.  After photographing wildflowers for years, he accidentally came across a beautiful, blue, Chlorociboria mushroom in Anchorage, and an obsession was born!  You can see some of his photos on Instagram @MushroomsOfAlaska 

Philippe Amstislavski: 

Dr. Philippe Amstislavski, PhD is Associate Professor of Public Health at UAA and co-founder of the Rhizoform, the 1st. Alaskan biomaterials startup!

Philippe’s work centers on mycology and development of self-assembling mycelium materials to counter the massive climate impact and pollution due to plastics and petroleum-based materials.

He holds a PhD from CUNY and a Master’s degree Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Philippe is the current awardee of the William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship in Finland. He spent the spring of 2021 at the VTT Research Centre of Finland in Tampere collaborating with the VTT biomaterials group on developing bio-based alternatives to plastics. Here is a story on his work to the development of the mycelium-based alternative to the polluting Styrofoam https://www.fulbright.fi/news-magazine/boreal-forest-inspired-mycelium-materials-to-solve-plastic-pollution-crisis

Alison and Gabe (Far North Fungi):

Gabe and Allison started their gourmet mushroom business Far North Fungi, in 2016, but have been obsessed with mushrooms for over a decade. Genetics, foraging, mycomaterials, farming and beyond, they have a breadth of knowledge. Join them in either of their cultivation workshops to grow your own mushrooms and learn how fungi can be incorporated into a sustainable future.

Fungus Fair is brought to you by the Turnagain Arm Mycological Society.

More info including how to join and a schedule of club meetings can be found here.