It’s lawn mushroom season! Above, Ganoderma growing carefully around blades of grass without harming the grass in a Pasadena lawn. 🌱🍄🟫✨
I am excited to finally discuss The Light Eaters with you all next Monday, June 9th. We had to reschedule some dates due to Arlington Garden’s continued closure following their shed fire.
“What we call ‘plants’ are in fact fungi that have evolved to farm algae, and algae that have evolved to farm fungi” – Merlin Sheldrake
Merlin and his father, Rupert Sheldrake, make appearances in The Light Eaters, exploring our interconnected world. Rupert’s gives insight into how some plants can make decisions to mimic other nearby plants. The author Zoe Schlanger explores Merlin’s work and Toby Kiers’ research to better understand the social lives of plant interactions with fungi – and it’s not just a one-sided relationship.
🦠 Plants seem to be more entangled in the microbial world than I had ever before imagined. Opening my mind to such wonder and curiosity! 🤔
Saturday, June 7h, 2pm @ Van Nuys Los Angeles Pubic Library, Van Nuys, CA - Free
San Fernando Valley, myconauts! I am thrilled to share that I will be visiting you this weekend to share some of my fungal collections and stories of fungi with you, as well as how you can get involved in the wondrous world of fungi.
📣🧑💻 Reminder to check out my recent Instagram takeover of the North American Mycological Association (NAMA) Instagram account. It was a lot of fun to share so many photos and videos from Lola and others of my work. 🍄🟫✨🌱
Monday, June 9th, 7pm @ Arlington Garden, Pasadena, CA – Free by donation
✅Sign up to save your seat! 🎟️
Note that Arlington Garden is still closed, but it is expected to host workshops this weekend, so hopefully we will be meeting there next week.
We heard you, fellow Mycoverse myconauts! By popular demand and countless recommendations from folks in the Mycoverse, we will be discussing the science writing masterpiece, The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger
As a fungal curious community, a lot can be learned by Zoe' Schlanger's approach to writing about plants and the incredible emerging field of plant intelligence. Many parts inspire thoughts about plant and fungal relationships. 🍄🟫🌱
📣 Before our event, we invite you to read the book, The Light Eaters. Don't worry if you don't finish the whole book before then, if interest is expressed amongst the myconauts, we will continue discussing this book in July. 📣
More about the book: 📖
“Burning with open-minded curiosity, this exploration of the emerging revolution in plant science will challenge what you think you know and ignite a new way of seeing. Part detective story, field trip, and philosophy, this brilliant book stretches the mind toward a profound new understanding of the sophistication of under-appreciated plants. I feel it as an antidote to arrogance, as it engenders humility, respect, and awe for the light eaters who make the world.” –Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass
“I’ll never look at plants—or the natural world—in the same way again, after reading this stunning book. Instead of trying to ram the square peg of botanical life into the round holes of human biology and metaphors, Schlanger instead considers plants on their own terms, as they actually are. The result is mesmerizing, world-expanding, and achingly beautiful.” –Ed Yong, author of An Immense World
“A brilliant must-read. This book shook and changed me.” –David George Haskell, author of Sounds Wild and Broken, The Songs of Trees, and The Forest Unseen
Monday, June 16th, 7pm @ Arlington Garden, Pasadena, CA – Free by donation
Join us Monday for an enchanted evening in the world of fungal folklore with Folk Lounge. Immerse yourself in an exploration of the mysterious beings that have emerged from forest floors throughout human history.
We will sew our own spirit mushroom and explore in circle personal stories and cultural narratives, weaving our experiences into the rich tapestry of mushroom lore & the timeless magic of earth's most enigmatic kingdom.
Bring scissors & anything else for comfort. We’ll be working with donated materials. Feel free to add to the circle if you have extra: cardboard, stuffing, muslin, needles, thread, scissors, wire, paint or beads.
More about our Workshop Facilitator
Born in Vladivostok, Russia, ✥✥✥ Shagoh ✥✥✥ is of Armenian and Russian heritage and has traveled the West Coast from Seattle to Los Angeles.
With a background in luxury fashion, wearables, and human-computer interaction, she is a seasoned multidisciplinary design leader, blending creativity and innovation with global teams.
Her artistry spans textile arts, leatherwork, painting, and illustration, grounded in her MFA in Human-Computer Interaction (California College of the Arts) and a Fashion Design degree (Oregon State University).
A trained facilitator, she is passionate about fostering community, collaboration, healing, and shared learning. As the founder of Folk Lounge, Shagoh is dedicated to uniting people through the exploration of ornamentation and sacred symbolism across cultures.
An exercise in hope - Trump’s War on Nature Is Up Against a Powerful New Resistance Movement (see you all in San Diego next weekend to catch Robert Macfarlane’s book talk!)
Doug Bierend wrote up a charming piece on Patricia Kaishian about her debut book Forest Euphoria which we will be reading later this year so get your copy!
The Future is Fungi – Orion Magazine’s latest issue is dedicated to fungi featuring many of the Mycoverse’s favorite authors
Continuing our last Mycoverse discussion about listening, MOTH Rights, and César Rodríguez-Garavito’s work, check out this conversation with César and others on The Ethics of Listening to Whales
Thank you for reading the Sporinator! Please share our work with your friends, family, and community.
Looking sporeward,
Aaron
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