about

I’m a self-taught amateur mycologist with a passion for demystifying fungi and combatting mycophobia. I’m also an avid mushroom photographer, artist, and chef.

I’m 28 years old, I identify as queer/nonbinary, and I use they/them pronouns. I live at Twin Oaks Community, an egalitarian commune in central Virginia. I live an outdoorsy, DIY lifestyle that is highly aligned with my values of social justice and sustainability.

I create pictorial, text-based, animated, video, musical, and interactive content aimed at educating the public about mushrooms. Common themes include identification, field guide literacy, conservation, cultural history, accessible science, cooking, and general appreciation of fungi.

I also lead virtual and in-person workshops on mushroom identification, as well as teaching a weekly Forest School to a group of children between the ages of 2 and 10.

I look forward to helping you learn!

Jules

Mission

  • To counter mycophobia through education on the important ecological roles of fungi, identification, and human uses
  • To encourage better environmental stewardship through the protection of macro and micro environments
  • To support social justice in the sciences and the world as a whole.

Accomplishments

I’ve taught Introduction to Mushroom Identification workshops at Mushroom Mania RVA, the Twin Oaks Queer Gathering, and the Communities Conference. In July 2021, I will co-lead a mycology internship for undergraduates at Binghamton University. I will teach the students how to identify mushrooms and how to make short-form videos about fungi. We are currently in the process of publishing a peer-reviewed paper in the journal Mycotaxon.

Aspirations

I’d like to make my passion for fungi and science communication into a full-time job by teaching long-form online and in-person courses, selling my mushroom art, marketing values-aligned products, and publishing books. I intend to create an online class in 2022 and accumulate a body of work for a coffee table book by 2023. Ultimately, I’m interested in pursuing a PhD in mycology and devoting my life to the study of fungi.