This UK Fungus Day, join us for Fungi Field Day at the Botanic Garden to celebrate fungi and their relationships with plants. Come along to learn, engage and play, and discover what we can do to help conserve the fungal diversity around us.
Highlights include:
🍄 A range of talks from expert speakers about fungi, lichens and slime moulds.
🔬Science outreach stall with microscopes to view fungi that live deep inside plant roots.
🎨 Mycorrhizal fungi-inspired ‘artscaping’ provided by the arts and wellbeing charity Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination.
🍃 Guided fungal forays around the Garden.
🎯 Fungi crafts and games stall plus face painting!
Programme of talks (Classroom)
10:30 – 11:15am: Arbuscular Time and Subterranean Weather
Annabel Howland (Artist, UK and Netherlands) and Dr Jen McGaley (Plant Scientist, University of Cambridge)
After an introduction to the incredible microscopic world of mycorrhiza from Dr Jen McGaley, Annabel Howland will talk about role the symbiosis between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi has played in her work since 2012, and why arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi continue to fascinate. Annabel will show slides of work from selected projects and screen her latest video works Arbuscular Time (2025, approx. 9 mins) and Subterranean Weather (2025, approx. 5 mins).
12:00 – 12:45pm: Lichens: Yesterday, today and tomorrow
Dr Gothamie Weerakoon (Natural History Museum, London)
Dr Gothamie Weerakoon is currently Senior Curator of Lichens and Slime Moulds at the Natural History Museum in London, responsible for managing one of the world’s largest lichen and slime mould collections. She has worked extensively on the lichens of South and South East Asia, and has described no fewer than 75 new lichen species! As well as lichen taxonomy, Dr Weerakoon leads projects to protect threatened lichens, use lichens as bioindicators in vulnerable tropical habitats, and acquiring bioactive products from fungi that live inside lichens.
1:30 – 2:15pm: Natural Allies: How Underground Fungi Support Crops in a Changing Climate
Dr Jeongmin Choi, Crop Science Centre, University of Cambridge
Plants form a beneficial association with soil fungi known as arbuscular mycorrhizae to help plants absorb water and nutrients. This symbiosis can be a crucial tool to improve crop resilience as climate change causes more frequent droughts and soil stress. In this talk, Dr Jeongmin Choi will share her lab’s research on how these incredible fungi could reduce the need for fertilisers and help crops better cope with drought – a promising step toward more sustainable and resilient farming.
3:00 – 3:45pm: Mycorrhizal mosaic: How fungal diversity sustains plant nutrition
Dr Alan Wanke, Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge
When we look at the ecosystems right outside our doorstep, the diversity of plants is among the first things that catches our attention. Yet beneath our feet lies an invisible network of microbial interactions that quietly sustains these plants. Since the earliest days of life on land, mutualistic relationships between plants and fungi have been crucial for plant nutrition. Plants have evolved various ways to engage with, communicate with and regulate a wide range of fungal partners, improving their ability to extract vital mineral nutrients from the soil.
In this talk, Dr Alan Wanke will present the diversity of fungal strategies for nourishing plants and show how studying these hidden partnerships is transforming our understanding of the nutrient networks beneath our feet.
Getting to the talks:
All talks will take place in the Botanic Garden Classroom. Entrance is from the Brookside Lawn, and seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Fungi art adventures (Schools’ Garden)
1.30 – 4.00pm: Fantastical Fungi Artscaping
Join Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination (CCI) artist Filipa Pereira-Stubbs and friends to explore the magical world of fungi beneath our feet. Taking inspiration from the ‘Fantastical Forest’, an artwork of semi-transparent hangings made with communities across the region, you will be painting the underground fungal network using magical inks made from the natural world.
At 1.30pm, 2.30pm and 3.30pm, there will be the opportunity to learn how to sample plant roots with scientists from the University of Cambridge. You will take root samples from plants in the Botanic Garden Schools’ Garden to reveal the hidden fungi under our feet. The discoveries will be used for the Botanic Garden’s ‘Fungi of the Botanic Garden Trail’ released after the event. Free tickets for the sampling must be booked online.
This activity is part of the Botanic Garden Fungi Field Day and is being led by CCI and Dr Jen McGaley from the Crop Science Centre, University of Cambridge. CCI have been working with Jen since 2021 to involve communities in sampling and learning about mycelium.
Ages 3 +
Children must be accompanied at all times. Unaccompanied adults welcome.
Guided walks and stands (Main Lawn)
10.00 – 4.00pm
Science and games marquees, guided walks and fungi-themed face painting.
Enter a magical world at the Mycorrhiza Marquee, where you can talk to scientists about fungi and mycorrhizal symbiosis, and look at mycorrhizal root samples under a microscope.
Visit the Games Stand for fungi-based fun and drop in any time for mushroom-themed face painting.
Get to know the fungi growing across the Botanic Garden by going on an expert-led guided walk. Walks run for approximately one hour setting off from the Mycorrhiza Marquee and are suitable for all ages. Timings released on the day at the Mycorrhiza Marquee.
