Café Champignon: Seminar, Book Launch & Conversation

Following in the French tradition of Café Philosophique, Café Champignon brings the curiosities of the Kingdom Fungi into active conversation. In this highly interactive seminar and discussion Alison will introduce us to both the science and aesthetics of fungi. She’ll share her experiences in the field with conservation groups, land managers and rangers, First Nations people and farmers, scientists and artists and others to ponder these curious organisms through multiple lenses. In particular, we’ll explore how we might navigate the tensions between ecology, aesthetics and conservation.

We will also launch Alison’s new book, which is both about fungi, and the photography of fungi. The title – Funga Obscura – unites the two. Through her stories we’ll cross continents and ecosystems, navigate lichen-covered landscapes, crawl in the fungal undergrowth, scale glacial extremes and duck between rainforest shadows.

You’ll have the opportunity to purchase signed copies of Alison’s books, The Allure of Fungi, Wild Mushrooming, Underground Lovers and Funga Obscura.

Participants are welcome to bring along fungus specimens for identification.

See here for further forays, workshops and other events.

DATE: WEDNESDAY 2 APRIL 2025

LOCATION: Currawong Bush Park Conference Centre, Reynolds Road, Doncaster East

TIME: 7PM-9PM AEDT

ALL WELCOME!

FREE TO ATTEND BUT PLEASE REGISTER BELOW

BOOKINGS

Reading the Fungal Landscape: Mushroom Identification & Fungal Ecology Foray

Relative to plants and animals, the diversity and significance of fungi is little known. Yet fungi are vital in creating and stabilising soils, nourishing and interconnecting plants, recycling nutrients, retaining and filtering water, restoring environmental damage and essentially underpinning ecosystem health and resilience.

This workshop introduces participants to the diversity of the Kingdom Fungi and the basic principles of fungus identification and fungal ecology. You’ll learn how to identify fungi using the senses, field guides and other resources. In particular, we will explore the functional roles of fungi in various ecosystem types and different approaches to incorporating them in conservation, land management, biodiversity monitoring and bush regeneration.

Even when fungi aren’t producing mushrooms, their ‘tracks and traces’ are present in the environment. We’ll examine various habitat types like old wood, living trees and soils to look for clues of the processes and functions performed by fungi in the environment. What do they tell us about tree and ecosystem health? Which are indicators of old growth? And how do fungi respond to fire, soil compaction and other environmental stresses? You’ll get to do the detective work to ‘read’ the environment through a fungal lens!

See here for further forays, workshops and other events.

DATE: THURSDAY 3 APRIL 2025

LOCATION: PARK ORCHARDS, VIC

TIME: 9AM–11:30PM

MORE INFORMATION & BOOKINGS OPEN SOON

MEETINGS WITH MUSHROOMS

What are all those fungi doing there in the landscape?

How do they help ecosystems function?

And which are delicious and which are deadly?

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

It includes an 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 and the importance of fungi in biodiversity conservation.

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

Participants are encouraged to bring along mushrooms for identification at the workshop.

Further workshops can be viewed at this link.

 

DATE: FRIDAY 4 APRIL 2025

LOCATION: – YEA, VICTORIA

TIME: 10AM – 4PM

COST: 145- includes lunch and refreshments

FULLY BOOKED

MUSHROOM MEANDER

Ever wondered what all those mushrooms are doing out there in the paddocks and forests and elsewhere in our surrounds?

Well it might just well be more than you imagine!

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

It includes an interactive foray on the basics of fungus identification, where participants will get to handle, examine and identify various fungi.

During this foray articipants 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 and the importance of fungi in biodiversity conservation.

Participants are encouraged to bring along mushrooms for identification at the workshop.

Further workshops can be viewed at this link.

 

DATE: SATURDAY 5 APRIL 2025

LOCATION: – MOLESWORTH, VICTORIA

TIME: 1pm–5pm

COST: 100- includes lunch and refreshments

FULLY BOOKED

MUSHROOM MEANDER

Ever wondered what all those mushrooms are doing out there in the paddocks and forests and elsewhere in our surrounds?

Well it might just well be more than you imagine!

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

It includes an interactive foray on the basics of fungus identification, where participants will get to handle, examine and identify various fungi.

During this foray articipants 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 and the importance of fungi in biodiversity conservation.

Participants are encouraged to bring along mushrooms for identification at the workshop.

Further workshops can be viewed at this link.

 

DATE: TUESDAY 8 APRIL 2025

LOCATION: – TOOLANGI, VICTORIA

TIME: 10pm-2pm

COST: 100- includes lunch and refreshments

FULLY BOOKED

MOORABOOL MUSHROOM FESTIVAL

The Dark Web & Funga Obscura : A Foray in the Fungal Underground

Once overlooked, fungi are the exhilarating new poster organisms reconfiguring our understanding of the natural word and capturing the public imagination.

Fungi underpin terrestrial ecosystems, forming cross-kingdom collaborations with countless creatures and intimately entwining with plants. 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.

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

In this illustrated and interactive seminar Alison will share insights from over two decades spent in the field with fungi along with some stories of her adventures during the making of her recent book, Funga Obscura – Photo Journeys Among Fungi.

Festival Website

DATE: SATURDAY 12 APRIL 2025

LOCATION: – BACCHUS MARSH, VICTORIA

TIME: 12:00–1pm

FESTIVAL BOOKINGS

Further workshops can be viewed at this link.

DATE: WEDNESDAY 23 APRIL 2025

LOCATION: Milton, NSW

TIME: 10:00am–3pm

BOOKINGS: Greg Tedder: greg.tedder@lls.nsw.gov.au

 

MUSHROOM FORAGING MASTERCLASS

In this 5 hour workshop I’m teaming up with the wonderful and knowledgeable forager, Diego Bonetto.

We’ll be combing the pine plantations to search for edible species and to learn how to recognise their toxic Doppelgängers.

This masterclass is designed specifically for those who already have experience in harvesting edible mushrooms and are eager to expand their knowledge.

We will focus on the highly sought-after edible species that can be found in pine forests, guiding you through the fundamentals of basic field identification, how to differentiate between edible varieties and their look-alikes, where to locate them, and their ecological significance.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

• 5 hours masterclass with Diego Bonetto and Alison Pouliot

• World-class knowledge of the fungi kingdom and edible mushrooms

• Cooking/preserving/tasting session run by Forage to Feast Australia’s Marnee Fox

• A wild mushrooms-specific recipes eBook

• Follow-up information with links and tools to continue your mushroom journey.

BOOKINGS

DATE: SATURDAY 26 APRIL 2025

LOCATION: Lithgow, NSW

TIME: 10:00am–3pm

COST: $195

 

MUSHROOM FORAGING MASTERCLASS

In this 5 hour workshop I’m teaming up with the wonderful and knowledgeable forager, Diego Bonetto.

We’ll be combing the pine plantations to search for edible species and to learn how to recognise their toxic Doppelgängers.

This masterclass is designed specifically for those who already have experience in harvesting edible mushrooms and are eager to expand their knowledge.

We will focus on the highly sought-after edible species that can be found in pine forests, guiding you through the fundamentals of basic field identification, how to differentiate between edible varieties and their look-alikes, where to locate them, and their ecological significance.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

• 5 hours masterclass with Diego Bonetto and Alison Pouliot

• World-class knowledge of the fungi kingdom and edible mushrooms

• Cooking/preserving/tasting session run by Forage to Feast Australia’s Marnee Fox

• A wild mushrooms-specific recipes eBook

• Follow-up information with links and tools to continue your mushroom journey.

BOOKINGS

DATE: SUNDAY 27 APRIL 2025

LOCATION: Oberon, NSW

TIME: 10:00am–3pm

COST: $195

 

MUSHROOM FORAGING MASTERCLASS

In this 5 hour workshop I’m teaming up with the wonderful and knowledgeable forager, Diego Bonetto.

We’ll be combing the pine plantations to search for edible species and to learn how to recognise their toxic Doppelgängers.

This masterclass is designed specifically for those who already have experience in harvesting edible mushrooms and are eager to expand their knowledge.

We will focus on the highly sought-after edible species that can be found in pine forests, guiding you through the fundamentals of basic field identification, how to differentiate between edible varieties and their look-alikes, where to locate them, and their ecological significance.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

• 5 hours masterclass with Diego Bonetto and Alison Pouliot

• World-class knowledge of the fungi kingdom and edible mushrooms

• Cooking/preserving/tasting session run by Forage to Feast Australia’s Marnee Fox

• A wild mushrooms-specific recipes eBook

• Follow-up information with links and tools to continue your mushroom journey.

BOOKINGS

DATE: TUESDAY 29 APRIL 2025

LOCATION: Lithgow, NSW

TIME: 10:00am–3pm

COST: $195