Ep. 139: Funganista - From Music Stardom to Mycological Obsession (feat. Andy Overall)

Today on Mushroom Hour we are graced by the presence of mycologist and musician Andy Overall. Andy has had a fascinating journey from the Blue Zoo and pop stardom back through the hedges and woodlands when he became interested in mushrooms back in the early 1990’s. He realized he needed something else, another interest other than his involvement with music. Growing up as a boy during the 60’s in the English, market town countryside, of Braintree, Essex he nurtured an interest in nature…And then along came David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and everything changed course for a while! Later in life his rekindled interest in fungi evolved into obsession as he began to see an infinite variety of fungal species appearing before him and he wanted to get to know them all. Since his obsession began, Andy has published magazines, countless articles and in 2017 his first book all about fungi -  “FUNGI-Mushrooms & Toadstools of Parks, Gardens, Heaths and Woodlands”. He is the fungi recorder for the London Natural History Society and a Group Leader in the London Fungus Group. I’m excited to learn about the mycological journey of a culture creator, artist and naturalist and his explorations into what he so poetically dubs, “the jewels in nature’s crown”   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• From Wilderness to Ziggy Stardust   
• Birth of Blue Zoo   
• Shifting from Pop Stardom to Mycology   
• Evolution of the Amateur Mycology Community   
• Professional Surveying for Fungi    
• Insights from Biodiversity Databases   
• Making Better Decisions About Forest Management   
• Role of DNA in Fungal Surveys   
• Heathrow Airport Cortinarius    
• Contributions of Amateur Naturalists   
• Tips to Making Better Observations   
• Process of Mushroom Spotting & Identification    
• Ethnomycology Travels in Oaxaca, Czech Republic, Australia   
• Published and Unpublished Works of Gaston Guzman   

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Andy Overall Website: http://www.fungitobewith.org/   
• London Fungi Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/LondonFungusNetwork/   
• British Mycological Society: https://www.britmycolsoc.org.uk/   
• Blue Zoo Website: http://www.bluezoo.org.uk/   
• Roger Phillips (Legend): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Phillips_(photographer)   
• Marcel Bon (Mycologist): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Bon   
• Mark Spencer (Botanist): https://markspencerbotanist.com/   
• GIGL: https://www.gigl.org.uk/londons-open-spaces/   
• Cortinarius heatherae (fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortinarius_heatherae   
• Laetiporus sulphureus (AKA Chicken of the Woods): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laetiporus_sulphureus