Education & Outreach Report 2018

Dr Eleanor Landy

Fungal Education & Outreach Chair

The BMS Fungal Education and Outreach (FEO) committee is committed to raising awareness of fungi and fungal science across the whole educational spectrum; from enthusiasts, families and children to higher education and business. To this end, the FEO committee has continued to support both the field committee and fungal research committee in developing tangible outcomes for public engagement in 2018.

Education:

We continue to build close links with the Royal Society of Biology through membership of their Education Policy Advisory Group (EPAG) steering group committee, which reports to SCORE and Ofqual on primary, secondary and post-16 science education issues. As well as this group, we have widened our involvement with other educational groups such as MiSAC (Microbiology in Schools advisory committee) and PLINK (Plant Link UK). Our Primary and Secondary school resources portfolio was expanded this year and have been shared with the educational community on various web-based platforms e.g. TES (Times Educational Supplement).

Resources old and new are currently under development/renewal and will be available to download from the BMS/UKFD website in due course. We are continuing to develop liaison with schools through our outreach arm, UK Day, with several teachers using our educational resources to develop lesson plans within the classroom and after school science clubs.

We are working toward a second British Mycological Society FEO award for outstanding contribution to Education and Public Outreach and shall announce the outcome after the Spring 2019 vote on this matter.

The Eileen Chattaway models are now housed and on display at the Bournemouth Natural Science Society Museum (since this spring) and are available to loan to interested members subject to Terms and Conditions. Any interested parties must register their interest in the models via our BMS administrator Norman Porrett. The models were displayed at BNSS throughout August and was visited by 345 adults and 145 children with the exhibition being well received. The models have not yet been refurbished and are currently on display in their botany room.

This year the BMS sponsored the 30th MiSAC Annual Competition to produce information for a new teenagers’ web site called ‘What fungi do for us’, with the purpose of increasing an understanding of the wide range of commercial uses of fungi in everyday life. In total, there were 405 entries consisting of 307 in the KS3 (S1/2) group and 98 at KS4 (S3/4). Many participants took the opportunity to work together in groups of up to 4, making a total of 608 students having had the experience of contributing to the competition. Money awards totalling £1,255 were made to prize winners and their establishments, and some entries were awarded a commendation. All students who did not receive an award have had their work acknowledged by receiving a certificate of entry and each participating establishment will receive some microbiology teaching resources. Further information is available at: http://www.britmycolsoc.org.uk/education/secondary/bms-sponsored- misac-competition-uk-2018/misac-competition-uk-2018-winning-entries

Our 2018 UKFD secondary school’s competition was not well supported this year with only 11 entries over all categories and we will replace the school-based category system for next year with a more generic photography competition for the public at large.

Outreach:

The BMS’s UK Fungus Day 2018 (UKFD18) kick started this year’s Royal Society of Biology’s ‘Biology week’ activities for the sixth year running with over 80 events nationwide over the weekend of 6-7th October 2018, ranging from fungus walks, informal talks, competitions, workshops, film screenings, menu developments and large-scale public engagement events to name but a few endeavours. We were able to support twelve groups with funding to make their events happen! The FEO worked alongside our BMS recording group network to provide resources to use at UK Fungus Day outreach events and local forays. These were made available by post and/or to download from the UK Fungus Day website and were welcomed by the field mycology community.

We are continuing to develop our social media platforms raising awareness of fungi and fungal science through our UK Fungus Day initiatives. BMS UK Fungus Day currently has over 4,170 followers on Twitter and is growing continually. The UK Fungus Day outreach arm provides support year-round to all who wish to promote fungi in the public arena and we are certainly reaching a very wide audience. Our Facebook following has also grown to over 650 followers which is a testament to the calibre of the variety of events shared for UKFD this year.

BMS FEO continue to develop closer relationships with external organisations, this year we supported the outreach arm of Kew Gardens – ‘Grow Wild’ in providing literature and educational material to support their fungal grow kit initiative. We have been building further collaborative ideas with Grow Wild in 2018 as can be seen in our support of their Twitter feeds on fungi and UKFD events at the University of Leeds.

For 2019, we are looking forward to future projects including the training of volunteers in using social media to promote fungi, running lifelong learning mycology courses with accreditation and developing resources for the education of all in fungal science.

And now for the UKFD reports from around the country…

Pembrokeshire Fungus Recording Network

David Harries (Picture credits: Tom Moses)

On the 6th October 2018, overnight rain cleared in good time for our UK Fungus Day event. This year we returned to Orielton Field Study Centre, Pembroke, by kind invitation of the Head of Centre, Chris Millican. In addition to free access to the woodlands surrounding the centre, we were provided with a classroom in which to set up displays and posters and supplied with hot drinks and home-made biscuits at lunchtime. FSC staff supported the event with Esther Revell helping to organise the room and set up the displays whilst Sarah Nicholls and Rich Edwards accompanied the group around the site. Rich had helpfully marked up some interesting specimens prior to the visit including a particularly impressive collection of Geastrum triplex (collared earthstar). The event was fully subscribed with visitors from as far afield as Cardiff whilst closer to home Tom Moses (Pembrokeshire Coast National Park) brought along a group of youth rangers who clearly enjoyed the event. Members of the network took turns to share their fungal expertise with the party and were well supported with information and anecdotes from two of our lichen specialists, Robin Crump and Trevor Theobald. Mike Karpaty and Dave Levell took the lead on woodland species whilst I provided input on some of the grassland fungi that cropped up at ground level including Clavulinopsis helvola (yellow club) and C. corniculata (meadow coral). Jane Hodges dutifully kept track of the records: no mean feat when dealing with a large public group. Star find of the event was a collection of a blue discomycete on dead wood. Details were forwarded to Dr. Brian Douglas at Kew who has given a provisional identification of Peltigeromyces species similar to P. microsporus. Coincidentally, the following week, a collection of similar material was made by Clare Blencowe during the BMS recording week in Cornwall. Further investigation of these collections is underway, but they may represent the first UK records.

Buckinghamshire Fungus Group

Penny Cullington

(Photos provided by Sue Shave and Penny Cullington)

This annual event, held at the Museum for the last four years, was again a very successful and satisfying occasion with really pleasing numbers (over 500) attending through the day. Collecting specimens to make a good showing proved even harder work this year than last, in fact I’d not have believed what we managed to produce was in any way possible. After our hottest and driest summer on record – followed by a frighteningly dry September in our area, our group’s weekly fungi walks had proved really disappointing with the first event, September 8th, producing merely 21 species – a record low for one of our autumn meetings. Many species, even common things, have not yet made an appearance in the Chilterns, so it was with some fear and trepidation that we approached this event: I found myself wondering whether all the effort on publicity, focusing on our impressive display of local fresh fungi, was going to make the whole event rather embarrassing if we failed to achieve. Was this going to be the first year without Amanita muscaria to catch the eye at the head of the display table to set people talking? Luckily (and to my amazement) we managed to find a really good showing of Amanitas including A. phalloides – always a crowd pleaser being not only a good topic of conversation but bearing an important salutary lesson to those who consider they might know enough about fungi to go out and collect for the pot. It was placed safely under a display case away from prying fingers! Our faithful band of helpers / collectors had really done their stuff and we spent a hectic two hours getting everything set up with specimens labelled as best we could, posters, books and information leaflets in place, Derek’s microscope and display screen all connected and the childrens’ corner ready with play-doh, badge-making and a collage on the wall for them to contribute to. There was just time for a quick snap of our display and team before we opened at 11.00. The morning was busy right from the off though it was noticeable that we had far fewer specimens brought in by visitors for identification than in previous years, reflecting the dearth of fungi around at the moment. Many were astounded by the amount we’d managed to find: in excess of 100 different species. The piles of BMS information leaflets needed constantly topping up and the 50 Oyster spawn packets had run out well before we closed. The usual lunchtime lull came as a relief, allowing time for much needed refreshment, but things soon picked up again in the afternoon and we were kept busy with chat and questions until 4.00 when it was time for the major clear-up session. My grateful thanks to the County Museum for once again hosting and supporting the event, and especially to Mike Palmer from the museum for designing and organising much of our publicity, also for manning the children’s corner throughout the day. Thanks, are also due to our sponsors the British Mycological Society for supplying leaflets, booklets, our UK Fungus Day T shirts, also funds for some extra equipment. Finally, and perhaps most importantly I must thank our valiant team of BFG helpers, without whom an event of this sort would not be possible. Below are a few photos to give a flavour of the day.

GWENT FUNGUS GROUP

Roger Evans

The event our small group arranged for UK Fungus day 2018 was held on the afternoon of 7th October at Pentwyn Farm, a Gwent Wildlife Trust Reserve at Penallt, Monmouth. Approximately 30 people attended, they were able to inspect a demonstration of 40 named specimens collected during the previous days. Amongst these a large fruit body of Dyers Mazegill proved to be a good talking point. Stands with photographs of rare and colourful fungi also stimulated much interest. Several visitors brought with them specimens in various states for us to attempt to identify. Visitors were then guided through some fields, a copse and a privately-owned woodland near the reserve. There were plenty of fungi for them to find (particularly Parasols) and members of the group were kept busy with identifications. On returning to the start visitors were very appreciative of the afternoon and several people expressed a wish to join our group. Our thanks go to Gwent Wildlife Trust & Dr Stephanie Tyler.

Historic Environment Scotland (Holyrood Park, Edinburgh)

Cameron Diekonigin

Holyrood Park, the vast area behind the Palace of Holyrood in Edinburgh was the venue for the Historic Environment Scotland (HES) UK Fungus Day public event, and I had been invited to help and to lead the foray.

Forward planning pays off In the week running up to the event, I met up with Keith one of the HES rangers and we agreed to organise a two-part approach or ‘talk n walk’: 1. The introductory talk would be from within the excellent education centre. It would focus on how fungi form an integral part of our environment and how they can be found everywhere throughout the year. The talk would be supported by a display of fungi models, wall posters, quizzes, and leaflets. 2. The walk would be around part of Holyrood Park looking for fungi and it would also involve the public utilising their new acquired fungi knowledge.

Keith and I checked out the chosen route in readiness for the pubic event and as we walked, we were delighted to find the black slime truffle Melanogaster ambiguus growing under Tilia.

Public event Sunday 7 October 2017 This was well attended with 25 people turning up. Everyone arriving was given a BMS bag with various goodies inside such as fungi leaflets and pens. They also had a fungi quiz to complete before the event started to allow any latecomers to arrive.

The talk lasted longer than expected, due to the questions and activities that had been planned. Following on from the talk, we had good weather for the fungus walk, where as well as looking for fungi, there were regular stops to understand and demonstrate how any fungi found were adapted to live in their environment. We didn’t manage to replicate the finding of a truffle however we did manage to find a good range of ascomcyota and , both large and small. People were particularly fascinated to learn that lichens were not just a type of moss but were in part, a fungus as well as finding out that Otzi the iceman had been carrying the same species of bracket fungi as that they had just seen.

This public event was such a success that HES asked if the event could be repeated specifically for the team of HES rangers so that they themselves could incorporate fungi on various future HES walks. Some of the fungi models on display in the Holyrood education centre (left)

Close up of the model of Sarcoscypha (right)

Ranger Specific Fungi Event 20 November 2018 Through emails it was decided to extend the scope of the event to include additional elements to better enable the rangers to promote fungi. Such extras included exploring what they felt the public would be most likely to ask about fungi as well as a crash course in understanding fungi identification.

15 rangers attended and again, ran over time in part due to their enthusiasm, the rangers wanting to spend more time looking for fungi. We weren’t as fortunate as in the previous event with the weather; it was bitterly cold and wet however all were equipped with the right outdoor clothing.

Discussing ergot (Claviceps

purpurea) with the rangers.

Holyrood Park and Arthur’s seat (the highest peak) are in the background.

Plans for 2019 At the time of writing (November 2018), HES have asked if we can have the same event but for repeated for 3 days next year rather than the two.

Leith Community Croft

Gihan Soliman, MSc (President of the International Curricula Educators Association and Board member of the Permaculture Association Britain)

The event at Leith included a mini foray, a mushroom costume festival, children’s activities and a mushroom growing workshop.

UK Fungus Day Bristol

Rich Wright

This year’s event was another big success. We had around 250 visitors, despite the weather being a bit miserable. I went the extra mile on the line up this year, extending on what we’d had the year before by getting the local universities and their students involved. Everyone had a wonderful day! We had lots of positive feedback and engagement. The plan is to make it bigger and even better next year! The line-up this year included:  Talks  The Lost and Found Fungi Project – Oli Ellingham – Kew Gardens  Intelligence in Brainless Organisms (Myxomycetes) - Richard Mayne and Neil Phillips – UWE  How Fungi Changed the World - Rich Wright – Forever Fungi  Grassland Fungi Forays at Elm Tree Farm  Emma Williams and Fabio Godinho  Fungal Folklore and Mushroom Magic  Storytelling and ethnomycology - Kat Lyons Storytelling and Poetry  Gourmet and Medicinal Mushroom Cultivation Displays  Patrick Mallery – Upcycled  Tables and Posters  Fungal and Other Diseases Effecting UK Trees - Scarlet Maguire  Automated Analysis of Fungal Networks - Geoffrey Liddell  Second Hand books and Engagement - Lucy Wallis-Smith and Suzanne Zilka - Justin Smith Foundation  Mushroom Movies  The Creeping Garden – Slime Mould Documentary  The Mushroom Medley – Fungi clips from documentaries over the years  Kids Area  Making ‘Favourite Fungus’ bunting!

Thanks to all those who supported and got involved!

Cornwall Fungus Recording Group

Pauline Penna

The National Trust estate at Lanhydrock kindly hosted UK Fungus Day in Cornwall again this year. A marquee next to the café and cycle hub is ideally placed to attract the attention of visitors.

A display of fungi, backed by the ‘Genus’ posters, a slide show of local fungi and a range of publicity materials drew people in. The ‘Common Fungi’ leaflet always goes well, along with the Oyster Mushroom kits. Group members were on hand to answer questions about the display.

During the morning there was a foray for the public down in the wetter part of the woodland. Despite the rain 25 people came along and there were plenty of fungi to be discovered and discussed. Some photogenic displays of Mycena and a cluster of Cordyceps militaris drew particular interest. A local youngster comes along every year and astonishes us with his growing field identification skills. Next year we may hold a children’s foray, he would be delighted to share his knowledge and enthusiasm.

It would be good to change our venue next year despite the great help and hospitality from all at Lanhydrock. A new approach to engaging the public and raising awareness of fungi would be helpful. Any ideas are welcome.

Manchester Schools

Ali McKernan

October is always a highlight for any fungi enthusiast, but the fantastic range of activities for UK Fungus Day this year probably made it my favourite Autumn to date! Based in a primary school in Manchester, the bulk of my fungal outreach is delivered to the children I work with, and this year we really pushed the boat out. Over the course of the week I was able to introduce nearly 100 children to fungi through various activities, many devised by the BMS themselves. Red balloons helped us learn how a mushroom gets its spots. String, glitter, breadsticks and umbrellas combined to demonstrate how a mycelial network is created, and plasticine and oyster spawn helped the children design and grow their own mushrooms! As well as organised forays, we even used fungi to help promote social and emotional wellbeing this year, with select groups inoculating birch logs with various strains of mushroom, including the spectacular 'Lion's mane fungus'. They loved the drilling, waxing and hammering as I anticipated they would, but I could never have imagined just how much they would enjoy heaving the big logs around! I guess you can't beat the satisfaction of a little manual labour!

A new venture for me was to embrace the wide-reaching potential of social media platforms. I was delighted to be asked by The Wildlife Trusts to do a full 'Takeover' of their Instagram account. With nearly 60,000 followers, it was a great opportunity to promote all things fungi. I made a series of short videos introducing fungi and its many fascinations. It seemed to be very well received, and they've already approached me to do some more work with them in 2019. (Not very modest, but quotes from their page if you wanted:) 'Honestly, I thought it was incredibly fun and engaging. Looking forward to seeing more of you!', 'I've really enjoyed these today. Fab Science communication skills!', ' This is what wildlife enthusing should be about'.

Youtube was another platform I chose to engage with to help bring fungi to the masses, establishing my own channel as 'The FUNgi Guy'. I've made a series of whimsical 'beginner's guides' that appear to be growing in popularity, with several hundred subscribers and some videos clocking up thousands of views!

I'll always try and embrace a new opportunity to promote fungal science, so I was delighted to be invited to speak at two different community groups for UKFD this year. A healthy display of fungi, BMS literature and hands on activities saw a whole new cohort of the local community learn about fungi for the first time. We were all delighted to stumble upon a deadly mushroom in the car park as we were leaving - proving I wasn't joking when I told them that fungi were "all around us".

Like a mycelial network itself, UK Fungus day is spreading across the nation, and I'm grateful to have been given the opportunities to share my knowledge with folk who are (mostly) happy to listen. Keep your peepers peeled for 2019, it's likely to be bigger and better than ever before!

Glamorgan Fungus Group

We had a very successful Event at Parc Slip Nature Reserve with around 40 people attending during the day. This year our displays were very informative thanks to support from BMS with literature and a grant to purchase poster display frames and other materials. Also, we had several high-quality photos of fungi - thanks to Steven Murray and Annie Irving.

Our specimen table contained quite a number of different species and was of great interest to all who attended. The mini Foray around Parc Slip attracted about 15 people - thanks to Steven Murray and Gerard Siron for leading this. Thanks also to WTSWW for allowing us to use the Discovery Room and the staff in the cafe who provided excellent lunches and refreshments. Before the public event opened, we had an Extraordinary General Meeting where the following Officers were elected: Steven Murray Chairman, Mark Steer Secretary and Gerard Siron Treasurer. Our Constitution was also revised and approved.

Thanks to all who helped in the preparations and on the day and all who attended!

Notts Fungi Group

Di Mears

This year we were based at the new RSPB visitor centre at Edwinstowe. We had our usual display of fresh specimens brought in by members of NFG, display boards showing pictures and information about fungi, leaflets from the BMS, samples of oyster mushroom spawn to give away and activities for children. Throughout the day NFG members were on hand to identify fungi and answer questions and a volunteer from the RSPB helped us with the children’s activities. Our boards etc were very close to the restaurant so we had a more or less constant stream of visitors. We did three walks through the National Nature Reserve to look for fungi and in all we had 65 members of the public join us. Despite the very dry weather we saw a good range of fungi including bracket fungi, Amanitas, Milkcaps, Brittlegills, Bonnets and Boletes and we were able to discuss the importance of fungi in the woodland. We recorded a total of 49 fungi and this included salicis which was a first record for Notts. As usual the edibility of fungi was high on the agenda and our visitors were particularly interested in a Parasol mushroom and a large example of the Beefsteak fungus on an oak tree. The hoof or tinder fungus is iconic for the reserve and there were lots of examples to point out to our visitors. Children really enjoyed the walks and we provided badges, colouring activities, word searches and ‘how the mushroom got its spots’ to engage them back at the display table. The oyster mushroom spawn was a very popular freebie and one of our visitors has sent us a picture of her oyster mushrooms growing on a paperback book! Let’s hope she enjoys eating them. This event is important for raising the profile of fungi with the general public as knowledge is generally restricted to what can be bought at the supermarket! Our visitors are always surprised at the range of fungi from black crusts to colourful toadstools and we hope that some of them will develop an interest in this very diverse and interesting group of organisms. Without the help and support of the BMS, the RSPB for providing the venue and NFG members for their help on the day this event would not take place which would be a loss to everyone!

WEST WEALD FUNGUS RECORDING GROUP

Eleanor Lawrence

WWFRG attended all three days (Friday–Sunday) of the Woodfest at the Royal Horticultural Society’s gardens at Wisley in Surrey, which included UK Fungus Day on Sunday 7 October. We were given a small chalet, which we stocked with BMS and WWFRG publicity material and which was attended by a rota of WWFRG members, with special thanks to Barry Hodgson, Sue White, Fay Newbery and Eleanor Lawrence. From here we led two fungus walks each day despite a dire lack of fungus, and appalling weather on the Saturday. We prepared a set route for a walk of an hour so that people could see as many as possible of the few fungi that had appeared, and which would provide an opportunity to talk about the importance of fungi generally. Fortunately, the woodchip mulch in the borders had provided a relative abundance of a few species, which gave visitors an opportunity to identify them from the books with the help of WWFRG members. The walks on Friday and Sunday in fine weather attracted around 12 to 20 visitors each, and were led by Dick Alder, Mike Waterman and Janet Bostock, with help from Fay.

Almost continuous rain on the Saturday reduced visitor numbers, and we were very glad of the chalet! Even so, about half a dozen people gathered for each walk, led by Sara Shepley and Peter Herring, whose efforts in far from ideal conditions were much appreciated.

The literature provided by the BMS proved popular, especially the items for children, and all those who attended the walks said how much they had enjoyed them. Because of the dearth of fungi we had not been able to prepare an outside table with a good variety of specimens gathered earlier, as we usually do at similar events, and which we find is a sure-fire attraction and talking point. Nevertheless, our efforts seem to have been appreciated by the many visitors and by the RHS.

Your British Mycological Society Fungal Education and Outreach Committee 2019

Chair: Dr Eleanor Landy To manage incoming enquiries and liaise with external agencies and internal members of the British Mycological Society regarding all aspects of Education (Primary, Secondary, FE, HE and Lifelong learning) and Outreach (Building collaborations with institutes, societies, media and the General Public). To ensure reporting of all activities of the committee to members and non-members in a timely manner. To ensure that the public face of the British Mycological Society is seen as one that embraces and encourages education and outreach for all members of society both in the UK and Internationally. To support individuals and groups in their endeavours to promote fungal science. Secondary School Adviser: Mr Nathan Smith To liaise with groups involved in age 11-19 education in the UK. To promote and develop resources for learning sequences that enhances the profile of fungi within the age range. To support MiSAC in their work as well as Universities who offer fungal education opportunities that are endeavouring to engage the age group. Primary School Adviser: Mr Ali McKernan To liaise with groups involved in age 4-11 education in the UK. To promote and develop resources for learning sequences that enhances the profile of fungi within the age range. To support Societies and other agencies, looking for opportunities to enhance the primary curriculum. Academic Research Adviser: Dr Linda Davies To liaise with Universities, Industry and Research Institutes involved in Fungal Research. To provide a link between academia and the non-specialists, whatever their background. To support early-career academics, post-docs and PhD/Masters students as they emerge onto the international stage and facilitate their appeal to the general public. Public Outreach (x 2): Dr Ann Miller and Dr Martha Crockatt To provide a link to meet with biology-based or non-biology-based charities/societies/research institutes/industries/groups and find a way for fungal biologists to assist them in making their ideas about fungi informative and realistic. Life Long Learning: Dr Rich Wright To provide information to interested parties regarding training opportunities beyond academic environments. To include non-scientists in our endeavours to promote fungal science. To ensure that adults with changing interests can be included in our community.

Dr Eleanor Landy Ali McKernan

Application for funding (Deadline 1st June 2019) Summary of Event (short paragraph):

Venue(s): Date: Details of funds required (brief overview):

______Breakdown & Justification Total ______

______Total: Funding requested up to a maximum of £150 ______

Freebies & Other items to order for UKFD 2019

Below is the list of items to choose from which are provided FREE and are requested from [email protected]

 Pocket Guide to Fungus  Supermarket Challenge  Magnifying Rulers  UKFD Pens  UKFD T-Shirts (S/M/L/XL)  Fungi Face-Off cards (1 free pack per event)  Recording Fungi Leaflet  British Mycological Society Leaflet

Below if the list of items that have a fee and should be requested by the named party directly:

 Oyster Mushroom Kits from Ann Miller [email protected] (2019 prices available upon request)

 Additional Fungi Face Off Packs (£6 each from BMS administrator) [email protected]

Follow UK Fungus Day online and on Social Media and send us links to your social media so that we can advertise your events! https://www.facebook.com/BMSUKFungusDay/

Twitter @ukfungusday

https://www.ukfungusday.co.uk/

Are you interested in SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING?

The FEO are looking at facilitating the training of interested group members and event organisers of UK Fungus Day/other BMS events. Funding would cover the delivery costs and individuals would need to finance their travel and subsistence for the training day. Are you interested in a morning learning more about Facebook or afternoon developing a Twitter profile? Initial delivery would be London-based to help you estimate costs. If you are interested, please email [email protected] with SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING in the subject title.