Without fungi, there would be nothing...as a citizen scientist, every walk feels like an adventure.

I Discovered an Endangered Species in my Hometown

Philipp Hummer

A few weeks ago I went for a walk in the nearby park to make my usual rounds, with my smartphone in my pocket and a bunch of citizen science apps installed - every walk feels like an adventure.

Investigation of my fungi observation.

In a park nearby, there is a wetland that I've been observing for a few years now and on this day I noticed some tiny mushrooms. Whenever I stumble upon a mushroom, I record the observation using "Pilzfinder" by the Mycology Society of Austria, running on the SPOTTERON Citizen Science platform: https://www.spotteron.net/.

Through my participation I have also learned to identify different mushroom species I have never heard of before. I also learned that mushrooms contribute to our daily lives by being an essential part of the carbon cycle and by interconnecting with trees and plants. Without fungi, there would be nothing.

Habitat where the fungi was discovered.

The next day I saw there was a message in the Pilzfinder App saying that the mushroom I found is Psathyrella typhae - a red-listed endangered species, and my observation is the first confirmed record in Vienna, Austria!

Needless to say, that made me very happy!

My participation is part of something bigger: a collective urge to understand the world better, and to help to protect it in times of biodiversity decline.

Read the whole story of this great discovery on the SPOTTERON blog: https://www.spotteron.net/blog-and-news/how-it-feels-to-be-a-citizen-scientist-making-an-amazing-find-citizen-science-app-for-mycology

The world is full of little things we know very little about.
Pilzfinder map of fungi locations near my discovery.

Philipp is fascinated by nature, especially by entomology and ecology. I apply my passion as a designer of citizen science projects for Spotteron.

Vienna, Austria