High Tech Tools For Modern Foragers w Mycologist Alan Rockefeller

Join Fork in the Path for a special talk in person & online about high-tech tools for modern foragers with leading mycologist Alan Rockefeller.

This talk is very popular and will sell out quickly, so get tickets right away! This talk is great for beginners and advanced myco-enthusiasts alike!

What You'll Learn

High-Tech Tools for Modern Foragers

Discover the latest digital tools and technologies that enhance the study of mushrooms. This talk explores how phone apps, websites, software, and specialized electronics can streamline field mycology. Learn how apps like iNaturalist, GPS mapping tools, Merlin, Perplexity, Waze, and Cellmapper assist with identification, navigation, and data collection. See how GPS watches can geotag photos, and easy car modifications that assist remote expeditions. Find out why platforms like Mycomap offer superior DNA sequence identification compared to traditional databases like GenBank. Whether you're an amateur enthusiast or a professional mycologist, these tools can take your research to the next level.

Where

For in-person, we'll be at Sports Basement in San Francisco (Stonestown) at 3251 20th Ave, Suite 390 and we'll also livestream & record online for folks who can’t join in person. (Yes, the recording can be sent to you if you can't watch live.) For online, we'll be sending out a Zoom link to registered attendees. Special thanks to Sports Basement Berkeley for hosting this fun event!

This space IS wheelchair accessible.

About the Presenter

Alan Rockefeller (he/him) is an acclaimed mycologist renowned for his expertise in DNA barcoding, field photography, and microscopy. With over 20 years of experience, he has documented and photographed more than 2,500 fungal species. Alan has dedicated the past 15 years to studying fungal diversity in Mexico, regularly leading forays and sharing his knowledge with mycology enthusiasts worldwide. Alan is passionate about education and has taught thousands of people how to extract and sequence the DNA of their mushrooms. His contributions include uploading over 700 DNA sequences to GenBank and co-authoring several scientific papers, notably on new species of bioluminescent Mycena and Psilocybe. He has also identified over 400,000 fungal observations on platforms like iNaturalist and Mushroom Observer, contributing significantly to the understanding of global fungal diversity.

About Fork in the Path

Fork in the Path is a collective of educators dedicated to cultivating a deeper relationship with nature, learning to forage and eat seasonal wild foods from forest to ocean, and discovering new perspectives on life.

Our vision is guided by principles of reciprocity, sustainability, embodiment, community building, deeper connection to nature and seasonal cycles, and the joy of eating wild, nutrient-dense, foraged foods, all woven into the timeless practice of foraging.

We hope that through our classes, you'll discover a "fork in your path" that enriches your life in meaningful ways, big or small.

Check out the website here or our Instagram page here.

This low-cost talk is part of Fork in the Path's initiative to provide accessible programming to the entire community. If you would like to join us in our effort to give away scholarship programming to low-income community members, you can make a donation here.

A portion of your ticket fee goes to Sogorea Te' Land Trust, an urban Indigenous women-led land trust based in the San Francisco Bay Area that facilitates the return of Indigenous land to Indigenous people. Whether you can join us for this program or not, we encourage you to donate to them here.