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.

Alison Pouliot, BA (Philosophy), BSc Hons (Zoology), PhD (Ecology/Mycology) is an ecologist, environmental photographer and author and has presented over 850 environmental seminars, forays and workshops in Australia and internationally. Alison greatly enjoys working with people from all walks of life to tap into their passions and ideas about the environment and environmental issues, with a focus on fungi.

Alison’s books, The Allure of Fungi, Wild Mushrooming and Underground Lovers will be available for purchase at the workshop. You can also visit Alison's website for more information and to see her amazing photography Alison Pouliot Photography – Photography and Fungi

Light refreshments & lunch will be provided - please RSVP by 13th of May for catering purposes.

This event is possible thanks to the shared work of the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust and Landcare NSW under the Private Land Conservation Matters project.