Fun with Fungi – VMN 2026 Recertification Pin Artwork
Each year, previously certified VMN volunteers who complete another 40 hours of approved volunteer service and 8 hours of approved continuing education earn a unique recertification pin for that year. In most years, we have held a contest to choose the artwork for the pin; we are fortunate to have many VMN volunteers with artistic talent! We decided the 2026 recertification pin would be a mushroom, and we invited VMN volunteers to submit their artwork of any fungus species native to Virginia. Why a fungus? We chose this group of organisms because fungi play an important role in our ecosystems as decomposers, mutualists, and a source of food for many organisms. Plus, mushrooms (the reproductive structure of fungi) fascinate humans and serve as food for them, too! The winning artwork was selected based on input from several mushroom experts from our partner organizations and volunteer corps. Thank you to Pat Mitchell (president of the Blue Ridge Mycological Society), Abi Mountford (Virginia Tech student and Virginia Master Naturalist Communications and Marketing Intern), David Schmale (Virginia Tech professor), and Penny Firth (VMN volunteer, Central Rappahannock Chapter–read her article on mushrooms written for our VMN LinkedIn page).
As you can see, our talented VMN volunteers came through again with a multitude of wonderful submissions. The judges had really hard decisions to make! In the end, after multiple rounds of voting, they chose Kelly Malone Dudley’s lovely Indigo Milk Cap.
Kelly is in the Central Virginia Master Naturalist chapter, and she wrote, “Lactarius indigo was one of the first mushrooms I learned to identify, and while I think they are all beautiful and choosing just one fungus was difficult for me, after several rough drafts I knew this was the one. Indigo Milk Cap is native to Virginia (especially over here in the Appalachian Mountains). It is of course striking, but it’s also easy to spot, doesn’t really have any lookalikes, is edible, can be used in dyes, and it bleeds blue which is just cool.”
One of the judges, Pat Michell of the Blue Ridge Mycological Society, wrote, “The Mushroom as well as the artwork stand out because of the color and beauty. I think the artist did a great job. It’s also a very interesting Mushroom. We currently know it with just one name, with at least one other distinct variety, but it is possible that there are multiple species hiding within Lactarius indigo. This mushroom can be found in Asia, Europe, and Central America in addition to here. Because of this, we really need to make more collections and have them sent for sequencing and documentation, and then housed in herbariums or fungariums. This is just one of many reasons that this particular species could help promote the need for community science. It is also mycorrhizal to a wide variety of tree species so it has a wide range in our area. It’s something that a lot of folks will come into contact with and would be cool to showcase and have a story behind the organism.”
Want to know how you can get this fabulous Indigo Milk Cap mushroom pin? You need to be a (1) currently enrolled Virginia Master Naturalist volunteer, (2) who has achieved your initial certification in a previous year, and (3) has completed and logged in Better Impact a minimum of 40 hours of chapter-approved volunteer service and 8 hours of chapter-approved continuing education in the 2025 calendar year. If you achieved your initial certification in 2025, then you are not eligible for the 2026 recertification pin unless you complete an additional 40 hours of service and 8 hours continuing education during 2025. The VMN State Office compiles the list of recertifying volunteers based on reports in Better Impact, so be sure to get your hours entered. And, if you prefer not to receive pins, you may indicate that in the Additional Info of your profile in Better Impact, too.
We are so thankful to ALL the volunteers who participated in this year’s artwork contest. They all showed such creativity, passion for the natural world, and dedication to lifelong learning!
Below, view the other wonderful submissions for the 2026 VMN recertification pin artwork.
