Adelaide Fungal Studies Group

Introduction:

Fungi are vital and deliver essential services for a healthy ecosystem. They are in fact the giants in the natural ecosystems.

Anyone with an interest in fungi is welcome to join the Adelaide Fungal Studies Group (AFSG ) and no experience is required. Within the group there is always someone to share their knowledge. The information from fungi forays provides valuable information enabling and furthering the understanding of fungi.

Pam Catcheside started the AFSG in 2001 and Pam and the AFSG have achieved much over the past 20 years.

How to become involved

If interested please contact Anita Xian Convenor of AFSG  atinadoow95@gmail.com

Why it is important to raise awareness re-fungi?
Aims of AFSG
What happens in the AFSG?
Summary Our History and Achievements to date

Summary Our History and Achievements to date

History

Pam Catcheside started the Adelaide Fungal Studies Group in 2001. Pam was the South Australian Fungimap Co-ordinator and played an active part in Fungimap since 1997. At that time Fungimap was running conferences around Australia, the inaugural one being at Denmark, WA in 2000. At that Conference there were talks, workshops and forays. As SA Co-ordinator, Pam felt she would like to start a group in SA where people could come along to meetings and forays and, in an informal way, learn about fungi and their importance in the environment and enjoy their variety, strangeness and beauty. The Fungimap experience was very relaxed, everyone was welcome, no previous knowledge was necessary and the camaraderie infectious. Pam wanted similar experiences for those in SA who wanted to find out about fungi.

The inaugural meeting was held on 10th July 2001 at the State Herbarium of SA with Dr Teresa Lebel speaking about truffle fungi. Dr Teresa Lebel is now employed as a mycologist at State Herbarium in SA. This meeting was a success, encouraging Pam to approach the Field Naturalists Society (see LETFNSSA) to seek to become affiliated with that Society and to become a Club of the Society. The FNSSA agreed and the AFSG became official.

Achievements to date

  • Education of the many past and present members of the AFSG
  • Fungal forays during the fungal season
  • Running of the annual forays for the Junior Field Naturalists
  • Provision and running of workshops in e.g. Mount Gambier, Port Lincoln
  • Weekend forays
  • Running of scholarship programme for students at a weekend foray (scholarship funding provided by FNSSA)
  • Meetings with talks
  • Workshops on identification, microscopy…
  • Provision of enjoyment to naturalists, photographers …
  • Provision of lists of fungi recorded on forays to Fungimap and from there to Atlas of Living Australia
  • Provision of lists of fungi recorded on forays to Department of Environment and water (via Pam Catcheside’s annual permit report
  • Poster of the fungi of the Adelaide Hills (with NRM)
  • Some AFSG members have given talks to interested groups
  • Sponsored a number of species for the projected publication “Fungi Down Under”

AFSG would like to build on the achievements of the past 20 years and would welcome anyone interested in being involved to contact.