Mycology in May - A fresh approach to Fungi
Mycology in May is a community-based event in the NSW Central tablelands involving discussions, education workshops and field walks with national and international mycology experts.
Community Participation - LP015-006
The issue
Fungi (Mycology) is neither plant nor animal. It is classified into a third Kingdom of its own and is rich in diversity. To date, Mycology has suffered from a lack of research, world-wide. Many species of Australian fungi have not yet been identified. It is known that fungi are linked to ecological health and can be beneficial in dispersing moisture and nutrients between plant roots beneath the soil surface, however not all of its landscape functions are yet fully understood.
The solution
Organized by Central Tablelands Regional Landcare (CTRL) and the Central Tablelands Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitator and supported by affiliated Landcare groups including Mid Lachlan Landcare, Mycology in May offers community members (citizen scientists) opportunities to undertake training and field work to gather and identify the diverse range of fungi in our region. People attending Mycology in May reported seeing the landscape with “new eyes” detecting a diversity of examples exhibiting positive functions of fungi at work.
The impact
Members of Mid Lachlan Landcare and other affiliated Landcare groups are buoyed with the news Mycology in May has the potential to be a regular event for the Central Tablelands. This will allow for wider training, research and identification of local fungi to be undertaken across the region. Mycology in May and its associated Fungi field work has enabled citizen scientists to gather information and set up data banks, expanding the knowledge and understanding of fungi in the NSW Central Tablelands.
Key facts
- CTRL’s ‘Mycology in May’ has become an annual community event offering education and identification skills to anyone interested in soil health, natural landscape functions and foraging.
- Experts visiting this region in 2022 included Alison Pouliot, Saphire McMullen-Fisher and Walter Jehne.