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

MOORABOOL MUSHROOM FESTIVAL

Alison will be speaking at the 2025 Moorabool Mushroom Festival.

Watch this space. More information will be posted here soon!

DATE: SATURDAY 12 APRIL 2025

LOCATION: – BACCHUS MARSH, VICTORIA

TIME: TBC

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

 

Fungus Discovery Workshop: What’s that Mushroom?

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

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 are also the creators of hollows that are vital habitat to gliders and myriad other organisms.

The workshop begins with the opportunity to explore a specimen table of mushrooms and other fungus resources. This is followed by an interactive seminar where Alison will share insights from over three decades spent in the field among fungi. We’ll then take a closer look at your collected fungus specimens, and you’ll learn the basics of how to identify them.

Alison’s books will be available for purchase.

This is a K2W Glideways event with funding from Great Eastern Ranges and WWF Australia – under the project Cores, Corridors and Koalas as part of a broader bushfire recovery effort.

For further workshops, forays and mushroom events please see here.

DATE: WEDNESDAY 30 APRIL 2025

LOCATION: GOULBURN, NSW

TIME: 6pm–9pm

MORE INFORMATION SOON!

 

THE DARK WEB – A FORAY IN FUNGAL REALMS

Like the online dark web, the clandestine workings of fungi in the subterrain are also hidden. Mycologists – scientists who study fungi – are starting to make sense of how they operate, but the detail of their activities and the players involved largely remains a mystery.

Although little known, the roots of almost every plant in the Australian landscape are intimately entwined with fungi. 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.

In this highly interactive seminar with ecologist, mycologist, photographer, Dr Alison Pouliot, we’ll explore these unruly fungal renegades and how they contravene the frameworks we use to understand life, but also how they might inspire the innovative thinking needed to navigate an uncertain future.

Alison will also share some stories from her adventures during the writing of her new book, Funga Obscura: Photo Journeys Among Fungi. 

Bookings are essential – phone the library on 6333 6281 to secure a seat.

Copies of Alison’s books will also be available for purchase.

DATE: THURSDAY 1 MAY 2025

LOCATION: Bathurst Library, 70-78 Keppel Street, 2795

TIME: 6pm

FREE TO ATTEND BUT PLEASE REGISTER HERE