Join us for Fungi Field Day at the Botanic Garden to celebrate fungi and their relationships with plants in the run up to UK Fungus Day.
Highlights include:
🍄 A range of talks from expert speakers about fungi and their interactions with plants.
🔬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
10 – 11am: Fungi: The hidden heroes of your garden
Discover the crucial role that fungi play in your garden. Join Dr Raphaella Hull, from the Botanic Garden Learning Team, to learn how to cultivate healthier, more resilient plants by understanding and harnessing the fungi in your soil. Get ready to become fascinated by the soil food web!
11.30 – 12.30pm: WTF: What’s the fungus? A 101 of mushrooms and mycology
Ever wondered why people find fungi so fascinating? Perceived as life-giving, mind-expanding and deadly, they simultaneously inspire fear, wonder and confusion. Join Mike from the London Fungus Network for a beginner’s guide to mycology – the science of fungi. Discover the crucial role of fungi in ecosystems and human culture and learn the basics of mushroom identification. Featuring an opportunity to explore the LFN Mobile Fungarium and get up close with fungi of all shapes and sizes.
1.30 – 2.30pm: Exploring the rules of trade in plant-fungal symbiosis
Come along to hear about cutting edge research into the network of fungi that live in the soil and connect plants to each other. Dr Leonie Luginbuehl, from the Department of Plant Sciences, and members of her research group will talk about their work investigating the rules of trade that govern resource exchange between plants and fungi.
3.00 – 4.00pm: Phytophthora: The plant destroyer that unleashes botanical chaos
Join Dr Paul Beals from the Animal and Plant Health Agency on a journey through time from the earliest recordings of Phytophthora to present times and future threats. It will highlight the socio-economic impact of this organism along with a fascinating insight into the discovery of a cure. We will look at different ways Phytophthora species attack and kill a range of plants from shrubs to trees across allotments and woodlands, methods you can use to detect and identify this organism from others common pathogens and management practices to help reduce the risk in your garden. We will conclude by highlighting some of the future risks and good biosecurity approaches to help prevent further incursions of this plant destroyer.
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
1.00 – 4.00pm: Fantastical Fungi Artscaping
Join Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination (CCI) artist Hilary Cox Condron 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.
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.
Free child tickets for this event must be booked online. Adults do not need to book to accompany however please note that adults will be required to pay for Garden entry on arrival. Click here to book free children’s tickets.
Guided walks
Fungal forays will run throughout the day. Sign-up sheets will be available at the stalls on the Main Lawn.
