Steve Trudell will be joining the program. Steve and I taught a variation of this program together 15 years ago as our introduction to Evergreen. Since that time, Steve went back to grad school and completed his doctorate in mycology. Here's a brief excerpt from his bio.

Steve Trudell has been photographing, identifying, and studying the biology and ecology of mushrooms and other fungi for over 30 years. He has taught mycology, botany, and ecology/environmental science courses at The Evergreen State College, University of Washington, Seattle University, and Bastyr University, and frequently delivers lectures and conducts educational workshops for local, regional, and national mycological societies. Steve has served as vice president of the North American Mycological Association (NAMA) and president of the Pacific Northwest Key Council; currently, he is Chair of NAMA's Literature Committee and a member of the Education and Photography committees.

Steve is interested in the reasons behind, and controls on, fungal biodiversity. Why are there so many different kinds of mushrooms, and what are they all doing? His PhD research explored the use of stable isotope signatures for studying the roles of ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi in nitrogen and carbon cycling in old-growth forests on the Olympic Peninsula.

We're really excited about the program we're planning, so we're probably going to try to pack in way too much fun stuff. However, we know that among you are folks interested in bio-control fungi, mycorrhizae, nutrient cycling, taxonomy, fungal culture, forest ecology, inter-galactic fungal...so we're going to try to get in as much as possible. Fasten your seat belts.

Program Description
Many people are not familiar with the crucial roles lichens and fungi play in terrestrial ecosystems. In this program we will examine what these organisms are, how they get their energy, and the roles they play in ecosystems. Students will gain proficiency in mushroom and lichen taxonomy, ecology, biology, and physiology, as well as being engaged in technical writing, library research, critical thinking, and developing their oral presentation skills. We will spend considerable time in the field collecting lichens and mushrooms and in the lab studying our collections. Lectures will focus on lichen and fungal physiology.

Expectations of Students

Plan on devoting a minimum of forty hours/week to this program (18.5 hrs in class, plus substantial out-of-class time).
Students will gain proficiency in mushroom and lichen taxonomy, ecology, biology, and physiology, as well as being engaged in technical writing, library research, critical thinking, and developing their oral presentation skills. By the end of the quarter, we expect each student to:

• Prepare twenty mushroom herbarium specimens with detailed microscopic and macroscopic descriptions and complete location/habitat descriptions
• Prepare twenty lichen herbarium specimens with detailed microscopic, and macroscopic descriptions, chemical reactions and complete location/habitat descriptions.
• Isolate a specified number of pure cultures of fungi and lichen bionts.
• Identify common mushrooms (about 70) and common lichens (about 50), as well as important morphological structures without using any reference materials.
• Identify obscure lichen and mushroom specimens with the use of published keys.
• Locate current peer-reviewed research papers, summarize, present them to the class and engage your peers in a discussion/critique of the work.

Book List

Credit will be awarded in Lichen Ecology and Biology (8) and Mycology (8), all upper division if your work merits it.

Prerequisites
Junior/ Senior standing, one year biology and one quarter of ecology or natural history.