Come to Santa Cruz and explore the facinating world of Fungi. Learn interesting and fun facts about the hundreds of beautiful and fascinating species of mushrooms found in the Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay Area. Fungi will be beautifully displayed in a re-created woodland habitat. This unique Santa Cruz tradition features three days of fantastic fun, informative speakers and demonstrations, with fungal activities for the whole family.
The Fungus Fair is held each year in January in Santa Cruz at the London Nelson Community Center. This three day event features hundreds of species of local fungi presented in a unique fashion, and draws thousands of visitors each year. The Fair showcases speakers, a special Kids’ Room, and a taxonomy panel for identification of fungi you find. Many books and mushroom-related items are available for sale, as are wild mushroom delicacies.
Did you know that without fungus, we’d have no bread, cheese, beer, or wine? Or that anti-cholesterol medicine was developed from mushrooms? Come to the Santa Cruz Fungus Fair to learn all there is to know about the fascinating world of mushrooms.
This unique Santa Cruz tradition features fantastic fungus fun for the whole family. Bring the kids and stroll through a re-created woodland forest displaying hundreds of wild mushrooms; the Fungus Fair also features a special room full of hands-on activities for the kids, including fungus exploration tables, clay mushroom building, face painting, and more!
In collaboration with Peninsula Open Space Trust, we invite you to a special online event featuring guest speaker Christian Schwarz, co-author of “Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast.” Whether you’re a fungi first-timer or fanatic, Christian will guide us through the fundamentals of mushroom science and share his insights on these remarkable organisms. This event will be tailored for audiences in high school and beyond.
Join POST, SCMNH, and mushroom scientist Christian Schwarz for an informational tour through the fungal landscape in the Bay Area. This 90-minute webinar will be interactive and provide the audience with many opportunities to spore their curiosity by asking our speaker your fungi-est questions. We can’t wait for you to come along with us on this journey to uncover all the mysteries about mushrooms. Register to receive instructions on how to join us for this fantastic fungal virtual event.
Eager to start learning about mushrooms? Check out POST’s blog about 9 Wild Mushrooms Worth Remembering to get you started – there might be a pop quiz during the event!
Cover photo by Christian Schwarz
Christian Schwarz studied Ecology and Evolution at UC Santa Cruz, where his interest in the world of fungi became irrevocable – their seemingly endless forms (from the grotesque to the bizarre to the sublime) feed his curiosity. He is co-author of Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast, and now spends his time seeking, photographing, collecting, teaching about, and publishing research on the macrofungi of California and Arizona. He is Collections Lead for the California Fungal Diversity Survey, and is a research associate of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. He has also served on the IUCN Red List Working Group for North American Fungi, advocating for habitat conservation focused on fungi. He is passionate about biodiversity in general, and especially in the philosophy and practice of community science (especially through the use of iNaturalist).
The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting people with nature and science to inspire stewardship of the natural world. Founded on the collection of naturalist Laura Hecox, it is the oldest public museum in Santa Cruz, founded in 1905. The Museum features hands-on educational exhibits and events indoors, outdoors, and online for people of all ages to discover and learn about the natural history of this region. Learn more about the Museum and plan your visit at santacruzmuseum.org. We invite you to follow the Museum on social media for updates about events and the natural wonders of our region.
Peninsula Open Space Trust protects and cares for open space, farms and parkland in the Peninsula and South Bay. Since 1977, POST has protected over 86,000 acres in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties.
*Free for Members and Youth under 18 | $4 General | $2 Students and Seniors
Email events@santacruzmuseum.org with any questions, accommodation requests, or if you have trouble registering.
Melinda Nakagawa is a biologist, naturalist, and educator with a passion and skill for connecting people to nature. She founded Spark in Nature to guide participants to cultivate a deeper relationship with the natural world, slowing down to nature’s pace and seeing rather than just looking at the world.
With an approach that bridges nature, art, and heart, she welcomes all people regardless of their skill level or background. Through her gentle guidance, hundreds of participants have awakened their spark of curiosity, sense of wonder, and connection to the natural world.
Melinda has partnered with local institutions such as the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium and Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History to lead educator trainings on nature journaling. She leads the Monterey Bay Nature Journal Club’s free online Sunday sessions.
She has an M.S. degree in Marine Science, and has also worked as a naturalist guide, floral designer, and wildlife rehabilitator. For the past two decades Melinda has kept nature journals and continues to learn more from nature with each journal she fills.
Nature journal examples by Melinda Nakagawa.
This program is in support of the new exhibit, Underground: Unearthing Unseen Worlds, and is presented in partnership with Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.
Matt Sharp Chaney is a Wildlife Biologist and the Lead Mammologist for the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (Midpen) where he has worked for the past 8 years. Prior to working at Midpen Matt worked as an Educational Assistant at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History and he is excited to return for this Naturalist Night. Matt received a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from California State University Monterey Bay in 2015, and a master’s certificate in wildlife management from Oregon State University in 2018. Midpen manages over 65,000 acres of public preserves located within the Santa Cruz Mountains along the San Francisco Peninsula. Matt’s work focuses on the conservation of native mammal species from bats, to kangaroo rats, to mountain lions.
Alex Jones has been an environmental educator for 25 years, practicing natural history while leading students ranging from preschoolers to senior citizens, though he traces his naturalist roots to his own childhood experiences of playing with mud, scaring ducks, and hiding in the shrubbery. Alex currently works as the UC Santa Cruz Campus Natural Reserve Manager and supports education, research, and stewardship activities on campus natural lands. He brings his passion for natural history, ecology, and stewardship to UCSC students through undergraduate course field trips, internships, and volunteer opportunities. As part of his duties, Alex is responsible for monitoring and managing for the federally endangered Ohlone tiger beetle populations that occur on the UCSC campus. Prior work has given him the opportunity to participate in inventories and studies involving plants, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds in the eastern and western US.
Photo credit Matt Sharp Chaney, Alex Jones, Santa Clara County Parks, and Christine Fielding.
This program is in support of the new exhibit Underground: Unearthing Unseen Worlds.
Jessica Oster is an Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. She completed her PhD at the University of California, Davis. Oster studies chemical variations in cave mineral formations such as stalagmites to reconstruct climate change in the past, including changes in rainfall, vegetation, and fire activity above the cave. She has developed stalagmite-based records of climate change from caves in northern and central California, Wyoming, Tennessee, India, and the island of Curaçao.
This program is part of the series Extreme Weather.
Thank you UC Santa Cruz and the Center for Coastal Climate Resilience for making the livestream and recording possible. The new center aims to advance campus research and to partner with state and federal agencies as well as private foundations to address coastal climate change, resilience, and sustainability.
Gary Griggs is a Distinguished Professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences at the University of California Santa Cruz, where he has taught for 54 years. He received his B.A. in Geological Sciences in 1965 from the University of California Santa Barbara and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from Oregon State University in 1968. Gary served as the Director of the University’s Institute of Marine Sciences for 26 years, where he led the development of a Coastal Science Campus. His research, teaching, writing and lectures have been focused on the coast of California and include coastal processes, hazards, and the impacts of and responses to sea-level rise. Read more about Dr. Griggs.
Dr. Mike Grone is the Associate State Archaeologist for the Santa Cruz District of California Parks and Recreation. Prior to working for Parks he worked for the Amah Mutsun Land Trust as a manager of their Coastal Stewardship Program and Archaeological Resource Management Program. His research focuses on the historical ecology of coastal resources in the northern Monterey Bay Area and is ultimately geared towards integrating archaeological data and traditional ecological knowledge to guide policy, conservation efforts, and resource management practices.