Projects
Volunteer Fungus Monitoring Program
Help the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County or Forest Preserve District of Kane County document and photograph fascinating and unique mushrooms found in forest preserves. This flexible program allows you to complete monitoring once per month from April to October/November in one to five different forest preserves. Kane County fungus monitoring is a two-year commitment and includes working with a partner.
Volunteers must attend a training session (held in March/April), which will introduce fungal characteristics, importance, and diversity. You will also get brief training on how to record data using various resources. Fungi are recorded via notes and photography. There is no collecting done.
Please contact program coordinator Crystal McAllister at msmcallisters@yahoo.com (DuPage) or Barb McKittrick at mckittrickbarb@kaneforest.com (Kane) to indicate your interest or to ask questions about the program. Interested IMA members will need to apply to become a volunteer of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County or Forest Preserve District of Kane County.
IMA on iNaturalist
Members of the Illinois Mycological Association post their mushroom photos to iNaturalist to record fungal diversity for the Chicago region. Observations from IMA surveys and individual members are recorded here as part of the North American Mycoflora Project. Members of the IMA may have their user name added to the list and their observations will also show up here.