Mycologist and author Christian Schwarz visited the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden on Feb. 7 to deliver a lecture on the state of fungi in California, highlighting recent findings from the California Fungal Diversity Survey.
The ticketed event, titled “Fungi of the Central Coast,” was open to the public and featured hands-on interaction with local fungi foraged from the botanical garden that morning. Roughly 50 people attended the event.
Schwarz, a lecturer at the Norris Center for Natural History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, teaches students about the importance of biodiversity and fungi data collection.
“The San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden has been gracious enough to host me so that I can share my love of fungi towards the community,” Schwarz told Mustang News. “I’m excited to get people tuned into biodiversity; it’s a way of connecting to your own senses and the natural world.”
Schwarz emphasized the role of tools like iNaturalist in citizen science, which allows individuals to document and identify fungi in their local environments. He highlighted how these tools empower non-professionals to contribute valuable data to scientific research.
“Citizen science initiatives like iNaturalist help bridge the gap between researchers and the public, making biodiversity knowledge accessible and actionable,” Schwarz said.
The event was part of the botanical garden’s broader mission to educate the community about the natural world. Events like these help foster an appreciation for plants and biodiversity, said Jen Prodzinski, San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden education coordinator.
“Our goal is to create programs for all ages, from children to adults, to educate people on the amazing beauty of our plants,” Prodzinski said. “We’ve been around for 30 years, and having events like this really brings new opportunities into our garden for the community.”
