Learn about the history of humans and mushrooms and the impact they have on each other and their shared ecosystems. Familiarize yourself with some key features for field identification, sort out myth from fact, and open your eyes to the crucial ecological roles played by fungi in nature and at The Morton Arboretum. This class ends with a field excursion to look for fungi around the Arboretum grounds.
This program meets in person at the Arboretum.
Instructor: Madeline Jenkins, botanist and mycologist
Age: 16 and older
Course number: N301
Instructor
Madeline Jenkins, botanist and mycologist
Madeline earned a BA in anthropology from Beloit College in Wisconsin in 2014, an MS in ethnobotany from the University of Kent in Canterbury in 2022, and has been focused on mycology, botany, history and biology from a young age. She worked as a collections assistant at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago for several years in both their mycology and entomology departments, and has spent time doing behavioral and biological field work with wild primates in Peru prior to volunteering at The Morton Arboretum.
What to Know
This program meets indoors and outdoors. Check the forecast and dress for the weather.
Wear comfortable, sturdy shoes and plan to walk more than a mile on uneven terrain.
Please bring water, a pen, and a notebook.
This program is intended for beginners.
Program Schedule
This program meets the following three times.
Thursday, October 2, 2025, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 9, 2025, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 11, 2025, 10:00 a.m. to noon
Thornhill Education Center (parking lot P-21), West Side
