Bioluminescent and UV Fluorescent Organisms of California

Saturday, January 11
from 3:30PM to 5:30PM
at the MCBG Farmhouse

You don't have to travel to the tropics to see organisms that glow at night! California has organisms that are bioluminescent and produce their own light to attract mates, get rid of predators, or to help them find a new place to live. There are also plenty of organisms in California that are UV fluorescent under a black light, the biological function is a bit nebulous, but their glowing beauty is not. This talk will give a wide survey of these glowing organisms, where to find them, how to see them, and how to document them. We will conclude the talk with a brief optional field walk to get an up-close look at some specimens and explore the Gardens.

THE DETAILS

• If you have one, bring a UV flashlight (recommended option). 
• Come prepared to use your cell phone camera to capture some of the glowing wonders and upload them to iNaturalist!
• The class will include an indoor talk and a brief optional field walk outside. Be prepared for the weather with appropriate layers.
• Bring a water bottle, paper, and a pencil/pen.
• If you are sick, please stay home.

REGISTRATION

Audience size is limited! Registration must be completed in advance online or at the Gardens main entrance. Please note all workshop fees are non-refundable unless the workshop has been canceled or rescheduled by the Gardens.

CLASS FULL – Please CLICK HERE to be added to the waitlist. If we have any cancellations, we will contact you in the order the waitlist responses were received.

Register Now

Talk Registration .......................... $35 per participant and includes Gardens admission for the day

Member Talk Registration ............ $25 per current MCBG Member  
*Click Members Sign In Here to receive your discount

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Damon Tighe grew up in Calaveras County, California and made his way to the Bay Area to attend Saint Mary's College in Moraga to study Biology and Chemistry. After stints as a teacher in Portland, Oregon, a filmmaker in Bozeman, Montana, he returned to the Bay Area to work on the Human Genome Project at the Joint Genome Institute and now works for Bio-Rad Laboratories helping teachers bring biotechnology and modern biology education into classrooms. He has fallen head over heels for fungi ever since running out of food on the John Muir Trail and wondering of the mushrooms "can I eat that?" He currently volunteers with the Fungal Diversity Survey helping to build a DNA sequence and voucher-based herbarium to understand California's diversity of mushrooms.

TRACKING YOUR OBSERVATIONS

You can contribute as a citizen scientist and keep track of all your observations made in nature using the iNaturalist app. This powerful tool allows anyone with an account to help identify and document anything you observe in nature including birds, bugs, plants, scat, marine life, and more. iNaturalist observations are also helpful to scientists because they document a species in a location and date, and the phenology (blooming, fruiting, larvae, adult, etc.).

• Download iNaturalist to your phone or mobile device and begin to build your profile and observations!
• Click here for some helpful video tutorials to get you started
• Familiarize yourself with iNaturalist and check out all of the observations that the community has made at the Gardens so far — MCBG Community Page
• Prepare your smartphone or digital camera for a day of photographing the flora and fauna of the Gardens