Walk Leader: Dr. Margery Daughtrey, plant pathologist at Cornell’s Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center

We are happy to welcome Dr. Margery Daughtrey, plant pathologist at Cornell’s Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center, for a walk and talk in a nearby wooded landscape. Margery will enlighten us about the activities of pathogenic and saprophytic fungi, how they act on plant material—and thus their benefits to a forest ecosystem. Learn about the interactions of the shoestring fungus with oaks, the cooperative relationships that comprise lichens, the connection between the chicken of the woods mushroom and trees falling in a windstorm. Stories of microscopic and macroscopic fungi will expand your consciousness of these beings, which are more closely related to us than to the plant kingdom. We’ll see what evidence of fungi we can discover on our walk, and then return to the museum for a microscopic view of some of the east end’s fungal residents. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, such that it is too rainy to enjoy a stroll, please join us at the museum anyway for an illustrated talk on fungi and some peeks into the microscope. This special presentation will create a better understanding of the relationship between fungi and the forest. We send a special thank you to the Jane and Alfred Ross Foundation for sponsorship of this special event. This is a free program.

Advanced reservations are required for all events. For more information, reservations, and directions to meeting places, please call: (631) 537-9735.