Mushroom fest will be outstanding in its field

FANS of all things fungi, plus the mildly curious, can start looking forward to the Moorabool Mushroom Festival on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 April.

Highlights include talks from mycologists, foragers, growers, artists and scientists, such as Dr Alison Pouliot, the author of Wild Mushrooming, The Allure of Fungi and Underground Lovers.

There will also be workshops on mushroom cultivation and foraging where participants can learn safe foraging practices and how to identify edible species and their look-alikes, and attendees can browse stalls featuring a variety of fungi-related products.

Organiser Ema Corro of not-for-profit organisation MYCOmmunity – Applied Mycology and Learning Lab, is a mycologist herself.

She said she started the science and education group in 2018 in order to conduct mushroom cultivation workshops, short courses on mycology and different science projects.

She said the broad range of what goes on at the festival is designed to interest as wide a section of people as possible.

“We want people to learn about fungi and in particular we want them to get involved in citizen science and education and take the opportunity to get involved,” Ms Corro said.

“It’s a way to get the word out, it’s something different and there’s not many opportunities to hear about this (field) in a way that’s accessible to the public.”

The Moorabool Mushroom Festival takes place between 9am and 5pm at the Bacchus Marsh Public Hall.

Further details are available on the MYCOmmunity website.