This researcher wants your help mapping Atlantic Canada's mushrooms
This researcher is fascinated with fungi and he's enlisting the public to find out more about what he calls an understudied life form.
Alfredo Justo, who is currently the curator of botany and mycology at the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John, is leading a mission to document every mushroom species in Atlantic Canada.
Justo knows it's a lofty goal — that's why he isn't doing it alone.
The MycoMap Atlantic Canada Network is open to anyone living in or visiting Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
"The basic steps are quite easy if you are out there, looking for mushrooms," Justo told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show.
According to Justo, becoming a "community scientist" is as simple as taking a photo of a mushroom and uploading it along with a description to the project's website and spreadsheet.
He will also personally accept any dried specimens found in Newfoundland and Labrador or New Brunswick and then attempt to map its DNA before housing them in the New Brunswick Museum.
Mushrooms found in other provinces would be handled by other scientists involved in the project, he says.
There are at least 3,000 different species of mushrooms in Atlantic Canada, Justo says, but less than 25 per cent of them have been documented.
"We have a good knowledge about plants and big animals like birds or mammals, but mushrooms are very difficult to study," said Justo.
"They are very tricky."
Tracking DNA would help scientists figure out the exact number and types of species found in certain provinces, and where they thrive.
Justo says this province's boreal forest and unique climate makes it home to mushrooms that are not typically found anywhere else. However, he says it's difficult to pinpoint the rarity of a species because of how little information is available right now.
He's looking forward to seeing the discoveries people make with the MycoMap project.
"It has been, for me, a scavenger hunt that has been going on for over 25 years now," said Justo.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
21 hours ago
- CBC
Canada's brightest young minds gather in N.B. to showcase solutions to global challenges
Some of the brightest young scientific minds in Canada are in Fredericton this week, presenting their research into how to solve many of the world's problems, including in the fields of climate change, public health, food security and sustainable energy. "We're a long way from the old days of the baking-soda volcanoes and Styrofoam-ball solar systems," said Reni Barlow, executive director of Youth Science Canada The 63rd annual Canada-Wide Science Fair began Monday, featuring about 340 projects, the best from 100 regional fairs across the country. It's open to the public for a final day on Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Fifteen of the competitors are from New Brunswick. "These are real-world scientific investigations or engineering innovations, and they really are quite astounding," Barlow said. Project categories include aerospace, agriculture, fisheries and food, digital technology, disease and illness, energy, environment and climate change, natural resources and plain old scientific curiosity. "It really spans quite the gamut," he said. The student scientists are in Grades 7 through 12 and some are from the CEGEP level in Quebec. Grade 7 student Arnav Samanth of Saint John's Millidgeville North School did a project to help improve radiotherapy cancer treatment for patients who have a tumour in the thoracic region. His dad works in cancer treatment. "When the patient breathes, the cancer tumour can move and radiation can go to the wrong areas," Arnav said. "So this is dangerous for the patient." He built a model of a device to coach patients on their breathing during this treatment that is more user friendly and portable than what's currently available. First-year CEGEP student Mateo Jarquin of Sherbrooke, Que., built a robotic hand that can use a camera from anywhere in the world to detect and copy finger movements in real time. "It was a real Tony Stark moment," when he first got it to work, he said. Then, he tested out the remote capability with the help of his cousin in Ontario. "He was able to control the robotic hand as if it was his actual hand," said Mateo. "He didn't have to wear any gloves or physical attachments … that kind of restrict your movements." He said it could have all kinds of applications, like disarming bombs, space exploration or remote surgery. Mateo posts videos on YouTube under the name Mateotechlab. He said he hopes it inspires others to try hands-on learning. "I didn't know how to do any of this before I got started … 3D printing, coding. ... In my opinion, there's no better way to get good at something than to simply start doing it." Grade 10 student Sara Waqas goes to STEM Innovation Academy in Calgary. She likes to read journal articles and watch science videos online and thinks about what she might do to fill the gaps in scientific knowledge. For her project, Sara designed a molecule that she hopes could help the 33 per cent of patients who are resistant to current antipsychotic drugs for schizophrenia. She said it's more effective at targeting dysfunction in the brain, and she hopes it will help improve quality of life and function for people with schizophrenia. Grade 8 student Callie Dennis of Highview Public School in Pembroke, Ont., developed a way to compost plastic using mushrooms. "I see blue oyster mushrooms growing all over in the back behind my cottage, and I saw an article that said maybe mushrooms might have the potential to degrade plastic. So I decided I'm curious about this. I'd like to see for myself." She used mycelium spores on barley to grow mushrooms on plastic bottles. The mushrooms degraded 24 per cent of the plastic. She sees a day when instead of putting plastic bottles in a recycling bin, they can be composted in the backyard. "Our Earth is just infested by this gross plastic stuff. I feel like we should take better care of the place that helps us stay alive." From science fair to real-life applications Almost all of the projects at the science fair are based on a personal interest or hobby, Barlow said. "It's an opportunity to explore what science, technology, engineering and math are about by immersing yourself in a real problem or a real research situation and taking it as far as you can go," he said. "Many of them tell us afterwards that it was a life-changing experience." Some go on to publish or commercialize their projects or start companies. For example, Adam Noble of Peterborough, Ont., won best project in 2013 and went on to found Noblegen, which produces food materials from algae, Barlow said. About 5,000 students from the area are also visiting the fair and a trade show related to science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, which is happening at the same time.
National Post
a day ago
- National Post
Canada's Top Youth Scientists Awarded $1.3 Million at the 2025 Canada-Wide Science Fair in Fredericton
Article content FREDERICTON, New Brunswick — From groundbreaking schizophrenia treatment research to innovative sea turtle robots, Canada's top young scientists showcased world-class research and innovation this week at the 63rd Canada-Wide Science Fair. At an awards ceremony this evening at the University of New Brunswick, 219 finalists were recognized with nearly $1.3 million in scholarships and awards at the country's premier youth science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) event. The fair's Best Project Award in Discovery went to Sara Waqas from Calgary for her project, 'Neurobiologically Informed Targeted Schizophrenia Treatment: A Multi-Omic, fMRI Approach', while the Best Project in Innovation went to Evan Budz from Burlington, Ontario, for his project 'Development of an Autonomous Bionic Sea Turtle Robot for Ecological Monitoring using AI'. Article content 'Tonight's winners are a powerful example of the impact youth can make through STEM,' said Reni Barlow, Executive Director at Youth Science Canada, organizers of the Canada-Wide Science Fair 2025. Article content 'This week, we've witnessed the power of youth curiosity in action,' said Reni Barlow, Executive Director at Youth Science Canada, organizers of the event. 'Every student who undertakes a STEM project deserves to be celebrated for their dedication and creativity. Tonight's winners are a powerful example of the impact youth can make through STEM.' Article content Top winners, selected by over 200 judges, include: Article content Best Project Awards Best Project: Discovery Article content Sara Waqas from Calgary, Alberta, for Article content Neurobiologically Informed Targeted Schizophrenia Treatment: A Multi-Omic, fMRI Approach Article content . Article content Article content Link to project Article content Best Project: Innovation Article content Evan Budz from Burlington, Ontario, for Article content Development of an Autonomous Bionic Sea Turtle Robot for Ecological Monitoring using AI Article content . Article content Article content Link to project Article content Platinum Awards – Discovery Best Junior (Grade 7/8) Article content Claire Sehn from Peterborough, Ontario, for Article content . Article content Article content Link to project Article content Best Senior (Grade 11/12/Cégep) Article content Hejin Wang from Saint John, New Brunswick, for Article content . Article content Article content Link to project Article content Article content Platinum Awards – Innovation Best Junior (Grade 7/8) Article content Trisha Haldar from Windsor, Ontario, for Article content Visual Drug Interaction Checker Article content . Article content Article content Link to project Article content Best Senior (Grade 11/12/Cégep) Article content Chloe Rae Filion and Sophie Rose Filion from Fenwick, Ontario, for Article content The Home Smog Alarm: How clean is your home's air? Article content Link to project Article content * * * * * Article content The 2025 Canada-Wide Science Fair featured 390 student finalists, from Grade 7 through Cégep, showcasing 339 projects. The event drew more than 5,000 visitors and more than 30,000 online viewers. The Canada-Wide Science Fair and STEM Expo continue in person at the University of New Brunswick tomorrow, Friday, June 6, until 2:30 p.m. ADT, with projects remaining online for public viewing afterward. Article content The 64 th edition of the Canada-Wide Science Fair will be held at the Edmonton EXPO Centre and the University of Alberta from May 23 to 30, 2026. Article content Members of the public are invited to meet the best project and platinum award winners on Friday, June 6, at 8:30 a.m. ADT in the Richard J. Currie Center at the University of New Brunswick. The panel discussion will also be broadcast live. Article content Media members are encouraged to participate. Article content Winners will be available for media interviews throughout the week of June 9, 2025, by contacting Mary Moniz at mary@ Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content For more information: Article content Mary Moniz Article content Article content Torchia Communications Article content Article content Article content Article content 647-278-0152 Article content Article content mary@ Article content
CTV News
4 days ago
- CTV News
Simcoe County students compete at national science fair
Student County District School Board students representing Team Simcoe at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Fredericton, N.B. A half-dozen students from Simcoe County have been representing their schools on a national stage at this week's Canada-Wide Science Fair in New Brunswick. The Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) confirmed that six projects were selected from local grade 7-to-12 students for the Fredericton, N.B. event, making up 'Team Simcoe.' Here are the SCDSB students representing Team Simcoe and their respective projects: Aaryav S. - Cookstown Central PS, AI Waste Sorter. Annabel W. - Georgian Bay District HS, Pollution in the Pond: The Heavy Metal Crisis. Anne B. - Cookstown Central PS, The Road to a Greener Future: Exploring the Thermal Conductivity of Graphene Nanoparticles in Asphalt. Fatima A. - Cundles Heights PS, CardioCall: An Oxygenated Response. Katriina A. and Madison R. - Elmvale District HS, How Does Colour Impact Our Sense Perception. Solomon K. - Bear Creek SS, Mitigating stress using combined vagal stimulation and traditional therapy The six were selected from the annual Simcoe County Regional Science and Technology Fair (SCRSTF) in April, where elementary and secondary students from across the county showcased their science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills. The SCDSB says this year's regional fair featured 198 projects, with 130 coming from the SCDSB's 23 schools. The five categories were animal and plant sciences, computer science and engineering, earth and environmental sciences, human and health sciences, and physical and mathematical sciences. The Canada-Wide Science Fair began this past Saturday and runs through this upcoming Saturday.
