Arizona Mushroom Society to be featured at KSB Speaker Series

Keep Sedona Beautiful will hold its next Preserving the Wonder Speaker Series event on Wednesday, March 8, at 5 p.m.

This month’s speaker is Mike Dechter, executive director of the Arizona Mushroom Society. He will be speaking about “The Fungi Kingdom and Sedona Specific Fungi and Edible Mushrooms.” Please visit the KSB website, KeepSedonaBeautiful.org, for details.

Dechter will start the presentation broadly with the basics of the fungi kingdom and why they are both helpful and fascinating in their own right. Then he’ll talk more specifically about edibility, covering the myths to the must-do’s for learning to eat wild mushrooms. Lastly, he will discuss the unique characteristics driving fungal diversity in the Sedona area and share details and photos of a number of locally found species.

Dechter works for the Coconino National Forest and is past president and current executive director of the Arizona Mushroom Society. He has led over a hundred wild mushroom forays throughout the state in support of education and scientific discovery. Mike lives in Flagstaff and can often be found around Sedona looking for new and interesting fungi.

For over 50 years, Keep Sedona Beautiful has been dedicated to protecting and enhancing the scenic beauty and natural environment of Sedona and the Verde Valley. For more information about Keep Sedona Beautiful, please visit KeepSedonaBeautiful.org.