At Chicago Mushroom Club we just really love the idea of democratized knowledge. There's no falsity or there's no putting on airs at our club - come as you are. Some days we might be a little just talking about the species got nothing else on our mind but fungi. Other times, we're a little more sociable. But it doesn't matter what you're like mentally if you're just looking at mushrooms. From the start, we try to make sure that it is accessible to everybody of any background. We want to make information accessible to people who otherwise might not even think that something like mycology is for them.

We share our library of resources with our members. We share all of our favorite spots, we share everything we can, and we believe in empowering people to become autodidactic. There's no reason you have to go to college or have to take on incredible debt just to feel like something or know or be more connected with your surroundings in biology as a whole. We love introducing people to the ways that they can contribute to citizen science in a major way.

I feel like special interest groups and clubs like the Chicago Mushroom Club gives people with good hearts and maybe a shared interest ways to meet and ways to connect. So it's really great for community building.