With every step we take across the floor of a healthy forest, we tread upon miles of fungal mycelium, serving as a conduit for nutrients and communication between plants and trees. Fungi also serve the vital role of rotting dead plants, breaking down the complex wood waste and recycling the nutrients trapped in the wood. From healthy lawns and gardens to invaluable partners in forest health, mushrooms and other fungi are the constant partners in our living biome. We invite them home for gourmet dinners and live in fear when our toddler puts one in their mouth. Join author and mushroom expert Greg Marley for an exploration of the fascinating role of fungi in our natural world.

Greg Marley has been collecting, studying, eating, growing, and teaching about mushrooms for almost 50 years. He spreads his love of mushrooms to hundreds through walks, talks, and classes across the New England. Marley is the author of Mushrooms for Health; Medicinal Secrets of Northeastern Fungi, (Downeast Books, 2009) and the award-winning Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares; The Love Lore and Mystic of Mushrooms (Chelsea Green, 2010). As a volunteer mushroom identification consultant to Poison Centers across New England, he provides expertise in mushroom poisoning cases. When not mushrooming, Marley works as a mental health clinician and consultant specializing in suicide prevention.

For a link to the Zoom event, please email elewis@rocklandmaine.gov by 4:00 p.m. on April 7 and identify the event you are interested in attending in the subject line. Limited seating will be available in the library’s Community Room to watch the Zoom call onscreen.