Join us as we take a trek along the Pioneer trail in Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve and learn about the lichens that inhabit the coastal redwood ecosystem. What is a lichen? What is their lifestyle like? How can we identify lichens in the field? Learn all this and more during a walk through the forest. Participants will learn introductory material on lichen biology, receive basics for field identification of major lichen genera, and of course, identify lichens during the walk!

Brittany K. Long is a PhD candidate in Plant Biology at UC Davis. She studies mutualistic relationships between photosynthesizing organisms and fungi, especially lichens, trees, and mushrooms. Brittany has years of experience in public outreach, field work, and teaching, and actively prioritizes scientific communication in her career. A long-time lover of lichens, her interest in them really took hold when she took a class on lichenology at Cal Poly Humboldt as an undergraduate. Since then, Brittany has been active in the California Lichen Society and Northwest Lichenologists and teaches lichen identification workshops at UC Davis. Brittany loves sharing her passion for nature with others and seeks opportunities to share nature with the public whenever possible.

Be sure to layer up, bring drinking water, a snack or lunch, a notebook and something to write with.

Cost: $18 (20% off as a Stewards member) does not include the $10 per vehicle park entrance fee, which you can pay at the kiosk or automated payment station at the park entrance. No refunds.  You will receive 20% off as a Stewards member  Click here to sign up.