This site is run by me, Allie Weill, a lichen enthusiast and educator based in Sacramento, California. I first became interested in lichens when I took a course about lichens in grad school and became enlichened (if you will). In the years since, I have led and assisted with lichen workshops, classes, and guided walks in the Sacramento Area and Bay Area, including a Lichens of the Bay Area course at Merritt College. I first taught my course at Merritt in the early days of the pandemic, when I had to quickly switch gears and develop an online course. Since my goal is to get as many people into lichens as possible, I started making some of my virtual lectures publicly available on Youtube, and now am aiming to provide a home base for those and additional resources I use with my classes on this site.

I will also use this page to share information about any walks or workshops I lead or co-lead. If you are interested in a lichen talk, walk, or workshop, get in touch!

Lichens are my side gig. I have a PhD in Ecology from UC Davis, focusing on fire ecology, and I’m a science writer and public affairs specialist for the federal government by day. But since my day job only lets me write about lichens occasionally, I sometimes write essays about lichens and my love for them for fun, or for the California Lichen Society Bulletin. I have posted some of my past writing on this site, pulled from my previous blog , and will probably add new ones on occasion!