Walter Sturgeon, a field mycologist and author of "Appalachian Mushrooms: A Field Guide", will lead a program on mushrooms and mushroom hunting on March 30th at the Dover Public Library. (Submitted)

Dover, Ohio - The Dover Public Library will be hosting a program on mushrooms and mushroom hunting on Saturday, March 30th, starting at 10 am. 

The program will be led by Walt Sturgeon, a field mycologist with over 40 years of experience studying and identifying mushrooms.  His photos of mushroom and fungi can be seen in numerous mushroom field guide publications, three of which he co-authored: Waxcap Mushrooms of Eastern North America; Mushrooms and Macrofungi of Ohio and the Midwestern States; and Mushrooms of the Northeast. He also was a contributing author to the Encyclopedia of Appalachia. 

Sturgeon will be discussing Appalachian Mushrooms: A Field Guide, his long-overdue guide to finding and identifying the mushrooms and fleshy fungi found in the Appalachian mountains from Canada to Georgia. The guide includes information on more than 400 species including their edibility and toxicity, habitat, ecology, and life cycles. 

Sturgeon has received the North American Mycological Association (NAMA) Award for Contributions to Amateur Mycology, and Northeast (North America) Mycological Federation (NEMF) Eximia Award, both for contributions to the advancement of amateur mycology. He is the past president of the Ohio Mushroom Society and has associations with many other mycological organizations. 

 A book signing will follow the program, which is free and open to all. For more information or to register, contact the Dover Public Library at 330-343-6123.

DOVER PUBLIC LIBRARY