Explore the plants, birds, bugs, and fungi of winter on a walk led by two incredible guest leaders, Joanne Schwartz and Bob Allen. Visit the Mother Oak, the oldest oak tree on the habitat reserve which supports many flora, fauna, and fungi throughout the wintertime.

Interpretation Level: High
Difficulty Level: Easy
Ages: 16 and up

More about our Guest Leaders:

Joanne Schwartz is a very avid, amateur mycologist who has studied fungi since the 1960’s. She has collected and photographed fungi throughout the new and old world and has participated in field studies in Japan, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia as well as the Redwoods and islands of coastal California, the Sierra, Wyoming, Montana … everywhere she goes! Always searching for fungi to study, photograph and identify, Joanne is often found looking down while hiking. She is also an eager mycophagist (fungi-eater) and prepares wild fungi for tasting and for the dinner table whenever possible. Joanne served on the Board of the Fungal Diversity Survey (FunDiS) which empowers Citizen Scientists to study (document, voucher and sequence) fungi in their local areas. She has received funding for fungal DNA sequencing projects here in Orange County and on the Channel Islands.

Bob Allen is an adjunct professor of biology at Santiago Canyon College and Orange Coast College. He is a Research Associate in Entomology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and at the California [Rancho Santa Ana] Botanic Garden. He is also an author of, Wildflowers of Orange County and the Santa Ana Mountains: occnps.org/wildflower-book.html

Please note: participants must be registered or on the wait list by 4:00 pm on Friday, February 7.