Fungi and Soil Health: An Underground Conversation

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, including fungi from the various local habitat types and those from further afield. In addition to their ecological significance, we will also discuss various cultural aspects of fungi and their use in land restoration.

Following an interactive indoor session around the specimen table, we will then head to a local field site to search for fungi of interest.

Also be a part of an interactive soil pit discussion with Geoff Minchin, Local Land Services, including understanding and improving soil health.

FUNGI & SOIL HEALTH: AN UNDERGROUND CONVERSATION

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, including fungi from the various local habitat types and those from further afield. In addition to their ecological significance, we will also discuss various cultural aspects of fungi and their use in land restoration.

Following an interactive indoor session around the specimen table, we will then head to a local field site to search for fungi of interest.

Also be a part of an interactive soil pit discussion with Geoff Minchin, Local Land Services, including understanding and improving soil health.

BOOK LAUNCH: FUNGA OBSCURA

Alison will share some stories of her adventures during the writing and photographing of the book.

MYCOLOGY IN THE MIX: Fungus Ecology and Identification Workshop

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, including fungi from the various local habitat types and those from further afield. In addition to their ecological significance, we will also discuss various cultural aspects of fungi such as edibility and toxicity and their use in land restoration.

Following an interactive indoor session around the specimen table, we will then head to a local field site to search for fungi of interest.

Workshop: Fungi and Soil Health

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, including fungi from the various local habitat types and those from further afield. In addition to their ecological significance, we will also discuss various cultural aspects of fungi and their use in land restoration.

Following an interactive indoor session around the specimen table, we will then head to a local field site to search for fungi of interest.

Also be a part of an interactive soil pit discussion with Geoff Minchin, Local Land Services, including understanding and improving soil health.

Fungus Discovery Workshop – Field Foray and Interactive Seminar

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 underpinning ecosystem health and resilience.

The foray begins with an exciting field trip to local environments to search for fungus species of interest, followed by dinner and an evening interactive seminar that includes a specimen table of fungi to examine and explore.

Participants will be introduced to the diversity of the Kingdom Fungi and the basic principles of fungus identification, with the opportunity to handle and examine fungi from the various local habitat types and those from further afield.

In addition to the ecological and mycological aspects, we will also look at cultural aspects of fungi such as edibility and toxicity and their various utilitarian uses.

There will be ample opportunity for questions and conversations.

Reading the Fungal Landscape Workshop

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 underpinning ecosystem health and resilience.

But 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!

In addition to the ecological and mycological aspects, we will also look at cultural aspects of fungi such as edibility and toxicity and their various utilitarian uses.

There will be ample opportunity for questions and conversations.

Slow Mushrooming: Mushroom Identification Workshop

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 the field to search for fungi.

This workshop is of value to those who want to learn to identify any fungi, not just edible species.

Please note that although we won’t be collecting fungi during the foray, as we may be in areas where collecting is forbidden, you’ll get to learn many skills for finding and identifying fungi and have a memorable foray!

Participants are welcome to bring fungus specimens to the workshop for identification.

There will be ample opportunity for questions and conversations.