MertonNews

Fungis to be with – Wimbledon’s nature club circle enjoys enlightening mushroom hunt

A forage for fungi was the order of the day for 16 youngsters and their families at Wimbledon Common in the local nature club’s latest wildlife event.

The search for mushrooms was led by Dr June Chatfield, of the South London Botanical Institute.

The morning started off with a talk at the information centre, followed by a question and answer session on the importance of mushrooms.

They were told how fungi are great decomposers and help to tackle climate change, consuming 50,000 leaves a day, breaking down organic matter and releasing carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and phosphorus into the soil and atmosphere.

Club assistant Luciana Teuma, with five-year-old Emily Warwick and Leandre Karsch-Baran, six, looking at Birch Bracket fungi (Picture: Auriel Glanville)

And they learnt that our food contains fungi, it is in our bread, cheese and numerous food preparations and drinks. Lego is made using fungal enzyme, itaconic acid, which surprised the children.

At the centre, the children picked up magnifying glasses and mirrors to go exploring and they found a whole variety of fungi, including the Common Ink Cap, Deceiver, Brown Roll Rim, Bonnet, Funnells, Meadow Puffball, Turkey Tail, Birch Bracket, Hairy Curtain Crust, Weeping Widow, Split Porecrust, and Violet Bramble Rust.

Nature club leader Auriel Glanville said: “We had a great morning discovering so many mushrooms out on Wimbledon Common and the children loved using their magnifying glasses, mirrors and id mushroom chart to try and identify the many varieties of fungi that they found.

Kids on a mission (Picture: Wimbledon Nature Club)

“We all gave June a big round of applause and thanked her so much for a helping us to discover the wonderful world of mushrooms.”

The next session will be on Sunday, December 1 when the theme will be ‘Natural Seasonal Decorations.’ It takes place from 10am to 12 noon (newcomers 9.45am to register) and is aimed at 6-14 year olds. It’s free to attend, with donations welcome.

The club is looking for more volunteers to help at events like these. If intereseted, please contact Auriel on: 07837 910072.  Or, mmail: auriel.glanvillebtinternet.com  Website: https://wimbledoncommonnatureclub.carrd.co

Pictured top: Left to right: Charlie Marrett, eight, Emmanuel Pastur Quintero, nine, Emily Warwick, Siena Hatts Page, nine, Leandre Karsch-Baran, and their expert teacher Dr June Chatfield (Picture: Auriel Glanville)

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