Who would have thought mushrooms could take you around the world?

Fungi are shaped by the environments they grow in, and in turn, they shape those environments. But they also shape the cultural stories that form around their amazing lives.

Please join Alison to hear some adventures and stories during the writing of her recent book, Mushroom Day and have her answer your questions about all things fungal.

Alison interacted with both the fungi and the people who seek them, and in Mushroom Day she profiles 24 fabulous fungi – one for each hour of the day – and their incredible life histories, stories, quirks and curiosities.

You can read more about the book here. Mushroom Day and Alison’s other titles will be available for purchase and you can get your copies signed.

Joining Alison will be associate professor Eloise Foo who will share some findings from her research on how fungi interact with plants, their environments and in particular, how this is regulated by plant hormones.

Devil’s Tooth & Vampire’s Bane – The Science & Aesthetics of Fungi

Throughout history, fungi have unsettled and enchanted in equal measure—organisms of uncanny form and ambiguous reputation. We are divided in our responses: some kneel to admire them, others dispatch them with a casual kick across the field.

Yet fungi reward closer attention. They can be understood not only through science, but through aesthetics—through the patterns, colors, and structures that arise from their hidden lives. This talk explores the fertile intersection of mycology and visual culture, tracing how fungal forms emerge from precise biological processes shaped by deep evolutionary time. We’ll encounter pigments, bioluminescence, and morphogenesis as expressions of underlying chemistry and genetics, while also considering how these features have been interpreted, stylized, and reimagined by human eyes.

This session invites you to see fungi not just as decomposers, but as living expressions of form, function, and emergent complexity.Alison will introduce us to both the science and aesthetics of fungi and also share some of her experiences during the photographing and writing of her recent books Funga Obscura: Photo Journeys Among Fungi & Mushroom Day: A Story of 24 Hours and 24 Fungal Lives

Mushroom Panel

Want to know more about fungi and how they infiltrate our lives?

Come and hear this lively discussion with panel members Alison Pouliot, Alana Mann,  Kim Ogden, Daniel Bar-Ness and Jamil Kay.

AUTUMN MUSHROOM HUNT

Autumn is here and the forests are flush with fungi. But accurately identifying fungi is tricky business. It takes time and skill and knowledge of important diagnostic features.

When and where do we find fungi and how do we differentiate the desirable from the deadly?

Join ecologist and environmental photographer Alison Pouliot on this exciting foray and dive deep into the fungal realm. While searching for mushrooms, forayers will also learn about the ecology of fungi and the basic skills for identifying them, as well as their fascinating cultural histories.

This event costs $75- per person and includes a copy of the book Wild Mushrooming: A Guide for Foragers (RRP $50) (or alternatively, a copy of The Allure of Fungi, or Alison’s other titles). Exact location details will be sent on the day before the event. Please note that while you will learn how to identify fungi, we won’t be collecting them during the foray.

Workshop – Reading the Fungal Landscape

Beneath our feet, vast fungal networks hum with life. Most plants—from towering trees to every orchid and most grasses—partner with fungi in vital alliances. In our nutrient-poor soils and unpredictable climate, these symbioses are the secret to their success.

The activities of fungi are mapped in their tracks and traces. But how do we read them? And what do they tell us about soil and plant health?

This lively, hands-on workshop begins at the specimen table, where we’ll meet fungi up close and explore their ecological & cultural stories. Then we’ll step outside to hunt for fungi in the field to discover these underground allies in action.

Curry Punk & Devil’s Tooth – The Science & Aesthetics of Fungi

Throughout history, fungi have confounded with their strange appearances and dubious connotations. Humans are sharply divided in their regard for fungi – some revere them, others kick them aside. Centuries of myth and misunderstanding take time to unravel and redress.

Yet without fungi, life as we know it would be unrecognisable. Fungi underpin terrestrial ecosystems, forming cross-kingdom alliances with countless creatures and intimately entwining with plants. As ecological first responders, they kickstart recovery following ecosystem disturbance.

Fungi also wobble our assumptions about life, offering a radical new lens on nature – and even on human society. At the dynamic intersection of science and art, their most compelling possibilities emerge.

In this highly interactive talk Alison explores the ecology and aesthetics of fungi, sharing field experiences from both hemispheres and stories from her adventures during the photographing and writing of her recent book.

Alison’s books will be available for purchase.

Workshop – The Fungal Garden

Fauna and flora are well recognised as part of biodiversity and conservation, but the Third F – the Fungi – are finally receiving more attention. In this workshop you’ll learn about the vital role of fungi in soil, plant and human health.

In this workshop we’ll use fungi as our starting point to learn about the vital architecture they provide in soils and the alliances they form with plants and animals. We’ll discover, up close, how fungi recycle vital nutrients, completing the cycle of life.

Following an interactive indoor identification session around a specimen table we’ll head to the field to the hunt for fungi and their kin. You’ll learn to recognise not just a variety of fungi but the vital clues that help us understand forest histories and health.

The forest is an archive of histories. The interactions of organisms are recorded and mapped in tracks and traces. But how do we read them? And what do they tell us about soil and forest health?

This event is sponsored by Torquay and District Landcare.

Foray – Mushroom Rendezvous

Fungi appear in all manner of guises from mushrooms to puffballs, to corals, to jellies and even kookier forms.

As we wander through the diverse habitat types of the Coastal Forest Lodge bushland, we’ll explore and examine a great range of fungi.

Participants will learn the basics of finding and identifying fungi and their associations with plants and animals.

Don’t forget to bring along your camera or magnifying glass if you have one.

This event is sponsored by Torquay and District Landcare.