PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP – Visualising the Environment

PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
Visualising the Environment

Photographic images shape perceptions and the ways in which we understand the environment.

This highly interactive workshop explores a wide range of environmental themes through an illustrated seminar, active discussion, image critique, demonstration of techniques and a practical field trip. It goes beyond the literal representations of ‘nature photography’ to address the thought processes behind creating compelling and meaningful images and visual stories.

The role of images is rapidly changing in the age of digitization, social media and mass dissemination. What makes some images convincing and others banal? How can we visualise environmental issues such as climate change that are often abstract and insidious? And how can images convey not just scientific concepts and improve environmental literacy, but also evoke an environmental ethic?

These questions and more will be actively explored in the con-text of participants own interests in environmental photography and the environment more generally.

BOOKINGS

DATE: Saturday 9 March 2024

PLACE: Bonnie Doon Community Centre, 75 Arnot St, Bonnie Doon Vic 3720

TIME: 10:00am – 4pm

PRICE: $80 per person, including lunch

BOOKINGS

PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP – Focus on Trees

Focus on Trees – Tree Photography Workshop

Large old trees are vital keystone structures in rural and urban landscapes. However, the value of these trees is often overlooked in planning such as road and fire management. Documenting these trees visually is important both as a scientific record and in drawing attention to their significance and conservation.

This workshop specifically focuses on assisting participants to improve both their technical and creative skills in photographing trees. Tree photography provides many challenges and each of these will be discussed and techniques for overcoming them demonstrated throughout the workshop.

This is a very hands-on, interactive workshop combining theoretical, critique and practical sessions. It begins with a discussion of participants’ interest in photographing trees as well as any challenges or issues they may have experienced. This is followed by a session where participants’ pre-submitted images will be constructively critiqued by the group (during which participants are free to remain anonymous), followed by a field trip to put techniques into practice.

 

BOOKINGS

FULL BOOKED

DATE: Friday 15 March 2024

PLACE: Heathcote

TIME: 10:00am – 4pm

PRICE: Free to attend but bookings essential

BOOKINGS

SEMINAR – Russula Roulette

SEMINAR – Russula Roulette 

Every mushroomer knows the danger of not being able to differentiate edible mushrooms from toxic lookalike species. In Switzerland, the Pilzkontrolleure, or mushroom inspectors have been saving lives for over a century by plucking poisonous mushrooms from people’s baskets and sending them home with the edible fare. Despite being tinier than Tassie, Switzerland has 409 mushroom inspection offices staffed by 1500 inspectors.

Furthermore, a publicly accessible online atlas of fungus distribution (including 937 endangered species) helps foragers find their target mushrooms. The Swiss are well versed in fungi and foraging and this has also stimulated mycological research and resources.

Yet in Australia, all biodiversity – including fungi – is protected at all three levels of government and hence foraging is illegal on public land.

Over the last couple of decades Alison has divided her time between hemispheres working both with fungi and their followers. In this talk Alison will explore the tensions between foraging and conservation and the different approaches of various nations to both protect species and keep hunters happy.

This talk is part of the Moorabool Mushroom Festival 2024.

Further workshops can be viewed at this link.

BOOKINGS

DATE: SATURDAY 23 MARCH 2024

TIME: 1pm

VENUE: BACCHUS MARSH TOWN HALL 207 Main St, Bacchus Marsh VIC 3340

BOOKINGS

WORKSHOP – Slow Mushrooming

SLOW MUSHROOMING

Fungi are diverse, delicious and sometimes deadly. With interest in foraging for wild food on the rise, learning to accurately identify fungi reduces both poisoning risk to humans and harm to the environment.

Developing the skills to find fungi requires slowness, not speed. The workshop will focus on assisting participants to identify a few edible species thoroughly, rather than many superficially. We will engage multiple senses to examine the major diagnostic features of edible fungi alongside their toxic lookalikes.

We will also follow the principles of ‘ecological foraging’ – an approach based on care, conservation and an understanding of ecosystem dynamics.

Following an interactive indoor identification session around a specimen table we will then head to a private property to search for fungi.

Please note that no fungi will be collected during this event.

Further workshops can be viewed at this link.

FULLY BOOKED

DATE: FRIDAY 22 MARCH 2024

LOCATION: MACEDON

COST: $145

TIME: 10:00am – 4pm Includes lunch and field guide

WORKSHOP – Slow Mushrooming

macrolepiota

SLOW MUSHROOMING

Fungi are diverse, delicious and sometimes deadly. With interest in foraging for wild food on the rise, learning to accurately identify fungi reduces both poisoning risk to humans and harm to the environment.

Developing the skills to find fungi requires slowness, not speed. The workshop will focus on assisting participants to identify a few edible species thoroughly, rather than many superficially. We will engage multiple senses to examine the major diagnostic features of edible fungi alongside their toxic lookalikes.

We will also follow the principles of ‘ecological foraging’ – an approach based on care, conservation and an understanding of ecosystem dynamics.

Following an interactive indoor identification session around a specimen table we will then head to a private property to search for fungi.

Please note that no fungi will be collected during this event.

Further workshops can be viewed at this link.

FULLY BOOKED

DATE: THURSDAY 28 MARCH 2024

LOCATION: ANGLESEA

COST: $145

TIME: 10:00am – 4pm Includes lunch and field guide

FORAY – What’s that mushroom?

FORAY – What’s that Mushroom?

The forests of the Otways are a hotspot for fungi. Yet, they are little known and poorly documented. Fungi are fundamental to forest health and resilience. They create and stabilise soils, nourish and interconnect plants.

During this exciting foray, we’ll wander through the various habitat types on a local private property, searching both for fungi and for clues to the incredible work they do – creating hollows, supplying food to native fauna and recycling organic matter. You’ll learn the basics of how to identify fungi in the field using the senses.

Bring your camera or notebook, but most importantly, your curiosity.

Forays will be held in Marengo near Apollo Bay, and is limited to 12 participants.

Please note this survey is run entirely outside so be sure to be dressed for all kinds of weather!

This workshop is sponsored by Southern Otways Landcare.

Further workshops can be viewed at this link.

BOOKINGS

DATE: WEDNESDAY 10 APRIL 2024

TIME: 13:00 – 15.15

COST: $45

BOOKINGS

FORAY – What’s that Mushroom ?

FORAY – What’s that Mushroom?

The forests of the Otways are a hotspot for fungi. Yet, they are little known and poorly documented. Fungi are fundamental to forest health and resilience. They create and stabilise soils, nourish and interconnect plants.

During this exciting foray, we’ll wander through the various habitat types on a local private property, searching both for fungi and for clues to the incredible work they do – creating hollows, supplying food to native fauna and recycling organic matter. You’ll learn the basics of how to identify fungi in the field using the senses.

Bring your camera or notebook, but most importantly, your curiosity.

Forays will be held in Marengo near Apollo Bay, and is limited to 12 participants.

Please note this survey is run entirely outside so be sure to be dressed for all kinds of weather!

This workshop is sponsored by Southern Otways Landcare.

Further workshops can be viewed at this link.

 

Please note this survey is run entirely outside so be sure to be dressed for all kinds of weather!

This workshop is sponsored by Southern Otways Landcare.

Further workshops can be viewed at this link.

BOOKINGS

DATE: WEDNESDAY 10 APRIL 2024

TIME: 10:00 – 12.15

COST: $45

BOOKINGS

SEMINAR – Unruly Renegades of the Subterrain

Seminar – Unruly renegades – Exploring the Fungi of Southern Otways 

Although little known, the roots of almost every plant in the Australian landscape are intimately entwined with fungi. These clandestine relationships extend beyond trees to include every orchid and most shrubs and grasses. Symbioses are the secret to success in our highly variable climate and nutrient-deficient soils.

Fungi not only help plants access water and nutrients, but also increase their resistance to drought and disease. They build architecture in soils, aerate them, and allow water to gently percolate to deeper horizons. Despite this, ‘the third F’ slips through ideas about nature and conservation that focus on flora and fauna.

Unruly fungal renegades contravene the frameworks we use to understand life. However, they might also inspire the innovative thinking needed to navigate an uncertain future.

In this illustrated and interactive seminar Alison will share insights from two decades spent in the field with fungi, both locally and across hemispheres, with a focus on local fungi from the Southern Otways.

Join us at 6:30pm for a light supper and to peruse the fungus display, with the interactive seminar beginning at 7pm. There will be time for questions and conversations as well.

This workshop is sponsored by Southern Otways Landcare.

Further workshops can be viewed at this link.

BOOKINGS

DATE: FRIDAY 12 APRIL 2024

TIME: 6:30pm – 9pm

VENUE: Apollo Bay Senior Citizens Centre, 4 Whelan Street, Apollo Bay

COST: $15

BOOKINGS

WORKSHOP – Discovering & Fostering Fungi

WORKSHOP – Discovering & Fostering Fungi

This 3.5 hour workshop with both theoretical and practical components introduces participants to the diversity, ecology and curiosities of the Kingdom Fungi, specific to fungi found in region but also within a wider Australian and international context.

It includes a 90 minute session around a specimen display table where participants will learn the basics of fungus identification, fungal ecology, and the natural and cultural history of fungi. Fungus specimens from the local area will be displayed and examined. We will also explore the role of fungi in restoration and revegetation, in particular, how we can encourage fungi to flourish in our gardens and on our farms, and how the community can contribute to scientific understanding and recording of fungus distribution.

Following the indoor session will be an exciting foray through various local habitat types to search for species of interest. Participants will learn to recognise the various diagnostic characteristics used to identify fungi in the field and understand their ecological significance in local ecosystems.

Participants are encouraged to bring along specimens for identification.

This workshop is sponsored by Southern Otways Landcare.

Further workshops can be viewed at this link.

BOOKINGS

DATE: SATURDAY 13 APRIL 2024

TIME: 11:00 – 2:30pm

VENUE: Apollo Bay Senior Citizens Centre, 4 Whelan Street, Apollo Bay

COST: $60 including lunch

BOOKINGS

FORAY – Otways Fungus Foray

Otways Fungus Foray

Fungi delight and intrigue and provide the connective network of terrestrial ecosystems. The forests surrounding Gellibrand harbour some of the most diverse and bizarre fungi in the state.

This workshop introduces participants to the diversity, ecology and curiosities of the Kingdom Fungi, specific to fungi found in the Otways region but also within wider Australian and global contexts.

It will include a ninety-minute interactive session on the basics of fungus identification where participants will get to handle, examine and identify various fungi. Participants will also learn to recognise the various diagnostic characteristics used to identify fungi in the field. Fungi will be discussed in regard to their ecological roles and also cultural aspects such as edibility and toxicity.

We will then partake in an exciting two hour foray through various local ecosystems to search for species of interest.

It can get chilly in the forest so be sure to dress warmly!

For further workshops please click here.

OPEN FOR BOOKINGS

SUNDAY 14 APRIL 2024

12pm–4pm

COST: $80 or $75 concession

GELLIBRAND, VIC

BOOKINGS:  03 5235 8348 OR coordinator@gellihouse.org