Finding Our Way Home with Fungi with Aaron Tupac

How can the teachings of fungi help us heal our broken relationship with the land? How can they teach us that we are not alone?

Fungi are everywhere, and as our neighbors, fungi can offer us hope and insight on how life works. Without fungi, we wouldn’t have the plants that sustain us today, and we wouldn’t have the food and medicines we use everyday. Through the view of ecology, the scientific study of the interconnected relationships of living things, perhaps we can learn how to work with fungi and how to live responsibly on a damaged planet.

Join us for this mushroom walk and talk to learn with fungi and their ways of building relationships in ecosystems with plants and animals.

Recommended Reading:

Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Please come prepared to walk for 2 hours on an easy/moderate trail on an unpaved path in Altadena. We will be looking for mushrooms alongside the river banks of the Arroyo Seco. Children are welcome. Children under 12 do not need a ticket. Please wear close-toed shoes, bring water and sun protection. Exact address and meetup instructions will be emailed prior to class.

Aaron Tupac (they/them) has a background in art and science communication, and is interested in exploring the many ways fungi teach us about the inextricable interconnectedness of all life. Through their local fungi education organization, the Los Angeles Mycological Society, they have introduced new, mindful ways of engaging with fungi. This year marks Aaron’s second year serving on the board of the Los Angeles Mycological Society.

Aaron created and has led a biweekly community-building fungi education group called Exploring the Mycoverse, which discusses all things fungi media related from books, films, podcasts, and papers through a critical decolonial lens.

Aaron has a degree in statistics with a focus on feminist science studies - the objectification of nature and the power dynamics at the intersections of science and culture.

COVID Policy for Outdoor Classes:

Students must wear a mask indoors and when in proximity to other community members.

If you are feeling sick or experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, we urge you to stay home, regardless of vaccination status. COVID-19 symptoms include: fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea)