Who’s behind Chicago Mushroom Club?

The purpose of Chicago Mushroom Club is to encourage interest and education in Mycology, document local fungi, work with the community to decrease the fear of mushrooms, and (eventually) host cookouts, workshops, and virtual seminars.

 

Vice President Mead

Mead likes frogs, fungi, biomimicry and garbage. Message her photos of yours on Instagram @mmmeaddd

bearded man in polo

President Dylan

Dylan likes science and movies. He also likes writing and watching ridiculous video essays on YouTube.

Follow him on Instagram @dylansthoughts, he’ll identify your mushroom pics for free!

 

“Taylor’s group focuses on identifying mushrooms in the area, taking photos and learning about the surrounding area. “Understanding your physical surroundings is very important. Foraging is a great way to be more in touch with nature. If you are not comfortable eating wild plants and fungi, just take pictures,” Taylor said. “Photos are a satisfying trophy as well. 90% of the time I go out looking for mushrooms I only return with photos and that’s just fine.”

—The North Wind, 2021

 

“‘[Fungi open] our eyes to a world that’s existed for millions of years and will continue to do so, regardless of human infrastructure, destruction, or the anthropocentric ideals that still permeate our culture,” Dylan says. “People get way more engaged with nature when they start noticing mushrooms.’

Dylan and Mead document their findings on iNaturalist, a social network where anyone can share photos of plants, animals, fungi, and more—and they encourage their meetup attendees to get in on the action. At his first meetup, Bradley spotted a tiny, cup-like fungus from the genus Merismodes and became the second person in Illinois to observe and document the fungus on iNaturalist. The first observer? Dylan, of course. “

- Thrillist Chicago, 2023

CMC was founded at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan in 2021. The club existed as a school entity for the first year, hosting outings weekly and offering virtual seminars. Mead and Dylan moved to Chicago in the beginning of 2022 to pursue personal growth. CMC came along with them. Now, the club is an advocate of urban Mycology and appreciating nature in densely-populated areas. The club has intentions to host in-person meetups of all sorts as well as virtual seminars for learning about the wonders of Mycology.