When winter rains fall, life that was dormant underground begins to make its appearance. Mushrooms pop up all over our region – from the forest floor to your own backyard! In this story, we followed a group of Sonoma State University students and community naturalists as they identified and collected fungi during a guided mushroom blitz at Osborn Preserve in Penngrove, Sonoma County. The blitz was led by Dr. Melina Kozanitas, a postdoctoral researcher who studies fire, plant pathogens, and mycology. Explore the fascinating world of fungi on Bay Area Bountiful.

Produced by Chelsea Wood and Isabel Fischer

Special Thanks to

Dr. Melina Kozanitas

Osborn Preserve & Center for Environmental Inquiry

Kerry Wininger 

Makayla Freed 

Raquel Guevara-Bolaños 

Jesica Rodriguez 

Sage Harmon 

Roxane Grechman 

Adrienne Grechman 

Nikki Zecerri 

Ellyse Cappellano 

Victoria Brunal 

Emily Ledford 

Hale Garcia-Dean 

Jess Schmieg 

Tiffany Ko 

John Skanscomiz

Learn more: https://cei.sonoma.edu/preserves/osborn 

Photos of hyphae by

Laurel Fan / Wikimedia Commons 

André-Ph. D. Picard / Wikimedia Commons