EAELY BIRD TICKETS available until the end of February. Join us for a celebration of all things fungi in Bacchus Marsh in April 2026, for our 4th annual Moorabool Mushroom Festival! The event will be held at the Bacchus Marsh Town Hall with parking surrounding the venue and only 15 minutes walk from the train station. This 2 day festival will be looking at all aspects of fungi including: ecology citizen-science cultivation foraging food medicine mycoremediation mycomaterials Speakers include Dr Alison Pouliot: author of "Wild Mushrooming", "The Allure of Fungi" and "Underground Lovers" Stephen Axford and Catherine Marciniak on Fungi: Nature documentary of Follow the rain and author of Planet Fungi We're lining up a new line of speakers and returning favourites! EOIs Stalls holders, food, artist, music arists etc: https://thq.fyi/se/oDbl9Pc Volunteers https://thq.fyi/se/AjMdh0g:  

This is a volunteers registration page for the Moorabool Mushroom Festival. We need people's emergency contacts etc. 

This online course covers the fundamental aspects of mycology and fungal ecology. Classes will be live and recorded for people to re-watch later. Fundamentals of biology Fungal diversity and different types of fungi How to identify fungi Roles of fungi in the ecosystem including as decomposers and  How fungi interact with other organisms including relationships with plants and animals The course will run for 7 weeks and each class is around 1-1.5 hours long including Q and A. The classes will be on Tuesday evenings from 6:00pm-7:30(ish)pm (AEST). Your teachers Ema Corro is a founding member and coordinator of Mycommunity Applied Mycology. She has over a decade experience cultivating mushrooms and has researched mycomaterials and their properties at RMIT. Her main area of interest is fungal ecology and how it relates to land management and has contributed to the Fungi for Land project. She also has experience using environmental DNA to monitor fungi. She is currently studying a Master of Environmental Science and Management at UNE looking at using fungivorous animal scats to promote mycorrhizal fungi and plant-health in revegetation areas. Emily McIntyre is a graduate of a Masters of Ecosystem Management and Conservation, where her thesis explored the effect of biotic and environmental variables on soil fungi across an elevational gradient. She is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Melbourne, where she is studying the diversity and ecology of hypogeous fungi in south-eastern Australia. Her research explores the distribution and diversity of these fungi and their mutualistic relationship with the endangered Long-Footed Potoroo. She is also currently undertaking research through MYCOmmunity's Wild Fungi DNA Project to examine the effect of storm damage on soil fungi within Wombat Forest. Emily is most interested in learning about the interactions that fungi have with plants, animals, and abiotic factors, to better understand how ecosystems function. For more info email mycommunity@myco.org.au If you need a payment plan or other accomodations please get in touch. We want the course to be as accessible as possible. MYCOmmunity is an NFP and all profits from these courses help keep our community lab open and fund citizen-science projects.

This online course covers the fundamental aspects of mycology and fungal ecology. Classes will be live and recorded for people to re-watch later. Fundamentals of biology Fungal diversity and different types of fungi How to identify fungi Roles of fungi in the ecosystem including as decomposers and  How fungi interact with other organisms including relationships with plants and animals The course will run for 7 weeks and each class is around 1-1.5 hours long including Q and A. The classes will be on Wednesday evenings from 6:00pm-7:30(ish)pm (AEST). Your teachers Ema Corro is a founding member and coordinator of Mycommunity Applied Mycology. She has over a decade experience cultivating mushrooms and has researched mycomaterials and their properties at RMIT. Her main area of interest is fungal ecology and how it relates to land management and has contributed to the Fungi for Land project. She also has experience using environmental DNA to monitor fungi. She is currently studying a Master of Environmental Science and Management at UNE looking at using fungivorous animal scats to promote mycorrhizal fungi and plant-health in revegetation areas. Emily McIntyre is a graduate of a Masters of Ecosystem Management and Conservation, where her thesis explored the effect of biotic and environmental variables on soil fungi across an elevational gradient. She is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Melbourne, where she is studying the diversity and ecology of hypogeous fungi in south-eastern Australia. Her research explores the distribution and diversity of these fungi and their mutualistic relationship with the endangered Long-Footed Potoroo. She is also currently undertaking research through MYCOmmunity's Wild Fungi DNA Project to examine the effect of storm damage on soil fungi within Wombat Forest. Emily is most interested in learning about the interactions that fungi have with plants, animals, and abiotic factors, to better understand how ecosystems function. For more info email mycommunity@myco.org.au If you need a payment plan or other accomodations please get in touch. We want the course to be as accessible as possible. MYCOmmunity is an NFP and all profits from these courses help keep our community lab open and fund citizen-science projects.

This course goes for 6 weeks. Each class is on a Thursday evening, 1-2 hours long from 6:30 pm AEST (Victorian time). All classes will be recorded and available to watch afterwards for people who can't make the class or would like to revise. Learn all about the complex interactions between fungi and animals including: Insects that farm fungi Insects that live in mushrooms Fungi that trap insects Animals that eat fungi and lichen Birds that use fungi in their nests Animal and insect pathogens Zombie fungi Fungi using animals to disperse their spores The first class on June 5th will be an introductory session including an intro to mycology for those who have not done other mycology courses. Your teachers Dr. Vivian Sandoval is an entomologist passionate for the taxonomy and biology of insects associated with fungi, such as leaf-cutter ants and mycetobiont beetles. Vivian works for the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries with market access and fruit fly post-harvest disinfestation research. In her spare time, Vivian is foraging for fungi in order to study the complex biology of their inhabitants, with the support of the QLD Mycological Society. She is also the artist behind "Bugs and Beads", a gift shop specialised in insect/fungi inspired accessories, jewellery, stationary and educational resin blocks. Vivian wants to increase appreciation for insects and fungi, raise awareness, change negative perceptions and entomophobia with her products. Ema Corro is a founding member and coordinator of Mycommunity Applied Mycology. She has over a decade experience cultivating mushrooms and has researched mycomaterials and their properties at RMIT. Her main area of interest is fungal ecology and how it relates to land management and has contributed to the Fungi for Land project. She also has experience using environmental DNA to monitor fungi. She is currently studying a Master of Environmental Science and Management at UNE looking at using fungivorous animal scats to promote mycorrhizal fungi and plant-health in revegetation areas. Emily McIntyre is a graduate of a Masters of Ecosystem Management and Conservation, where her thesis explored the effect of biotic and environmental variables on soil fungi across an elevational gradient. She is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Melbourne, where she is studying the diversity and ecology of hypogeous fungi in south-eastern Australia. Her research explores the distribution and diversity of these fungi and their mutualistic relationship with the endangered Long-Footed Potoroo. She is also currently undertaking research through MYCOmmunity's Wild Fungi DNA Project to examine the effect of storm damage on soil fungi within Wombat Forest. Emily is most interested in learning about the interactions that fungi have with plants, animals, and abiotic factors, to better understand how ecosystems function. Melvin Xu Researcher at University of Melbourne on Entomopathogenic fungi, Vice President & volunteer at MYCOmmunity and Coordinator of the Fungi Group of Field Naturalist Club Victoria. Working in Council, Landcare, and volunteer groups, begun his home propagation from his own Australian Native Terrestrial Orchids and their symbiotic fungi. With his own stock of fungi and seeds hope to develop new protocols to include fungi into local nursery and future conservation of native Orchids. For more info email mycommunity@myco.org.au MYCOmmunity is an NFP and all profits from these courses help keep our community lab open and fund citizen-science projects. If you need a payment plan or other accomodation please contact mycommunity@myco.org.au

In 2025 we will be running a community project DNA sequencing fungi with our community laboratory partner BioQuisitive which is in Brunswick, Victoria. We will be starting off with some DNA barcoding workshops, and if there's interest we'll look at other areas such as making herbarium collections, whole genome sequencing and single species detection. If you are interested in being involved please sign up here and we will email you once we have more info. Dates TBA, but we'll probably start doing some workshops during mushroom season. These events will be free. We are also looking at online options. Please indicate what you are interested in and whether you want in-person or online options below. We also are going to be doing some free sequencing of specimens if you just want to send one in. 

Friends of Mallee Conservation exists to “Create a community built around the restoration of habitat in the Mallee and beyond”. We are based in the north-west of Victoria where it is hot and dry. Revegetation in this environment is difficult so we are always seeking new techniques that can be applied in the bush to repair our broken landscapes. We have recently been on a journey exploring how better “soil health” may help improve the success of revegetation. We are excited to invite you to join us for a three-part webinar learning about the role of fungi in our environment, techniques using fungi to restore landscapes, and exploring how this can be applied in the one of the toughest environments – the Mallee.  Our partners are: MYCOmmunity - We aim to increase community awareness about fungi and support citizen mycology. Fungi4Land - Our guide will focus on integrating fungi into current management tool kits. We know that healthy bushlands are resilient due to the myriad of interactions between our animals, fungi, plants and microbes. You can read more about our work here: www.malleeconservation.com.au myco.org.au/ fungi4land.com/working-with-fungi/ This project is funded by the Victorian Government through a Landcare grant from the Mallee CMA. Fungal restoration in the Mallee This event will take place on 3 consecutive Tuesday evenings from 6:30-8pm. 13 May, Session 1: Fungi ecology, problems & ID 20 May, Session 2: Restoration techniques 27 May, Session 3: Fungal restoration in the Mallee considerations

This online course covers the fundamental aspects of mycology and fungal ecology. Classes will be live and recorded for people to re-watch later. Fundamentals of biology Fungal diversity and different types of fungi How to identify fungi Roles of fungi in the ecosystem including as decomposers and  How fungi interact with other organisms including relationships with plants and animals The course will run for 7 weeks and each class is around 1-1.5 hours long including Q and A. The classes will be on Wednesday evenings from 6:00pm-7:30(ish)pm (AEDT). Your teachers Ema Corro is a founding member and coordinator of Mycommunity Applied Mycology. She has over a decade experience cultivating mushrooms and has researched mycomaterials and their properties at RMIT. Her main area of interest is fungal ecology and how it relates to land management and has contributed to the Fungi for Land project. She also has experience using environmental DNA to monitor fungi. She is currently studying a Master of Environmental Science and Management at UNE looking at using fungivorous animal scats to promote mycorrhizal fungi and plant-health in revegetation areas. Emily McIntyre is a graduate of a Masters of Ecosystem Management and Conservation, where her thesis explored the effect of biotic and environmental variables on soil fungi across an elevational gradient. She is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Melbourne, where she is studying the diversity and ecology of hypogeous fungi in south-eastern Australia. Her research explores the distribution and diversity of these fungi and their mutualistic relationship with the endangered Long-Footed Potoroo. She is also currently undertaking research through MYCOmmunity's Wild Fungi DNA Project to examine the effect of storm damage on soil fungi within Wombat Forest. Emily is most interested in learning about the interactions that fungi have with plants, animals, and abiotic factors, to better understand how ecosystems function. For more info email mycommunity@myco.org.au MYCOmmunity is an NFP and all profits from these courses help keep our community lab open and fund citizen-science projects.

Are you interested in participating in the Moorabool Mushroom Festival? You can participate as a: Stall Speaker Workshop presenter Supporting organisation General volunteer Please let us know on the form below. Tickets and more info available here http://thq.fyi/se/a49f52a61737

Join us for a celebration of all things fungi in Bacchus Marsh in April 2025, for the annual Moorabool Mushroom Festival! The event will be held at the Bacchus Marsh Town Hall, which is around 15 minutes walk from the train station and has parking near by. This 2 day festival will be looking at all aspects of fungi including: ecology citizen-science cultivation foraging food medicine mycoremediation mycomaterials Speakers include Dr Alison Pouliot: author of "Wild Mushrooming", "The Allure of Fungi" and "Underground Lovers" Sarah Lloyd OAM: author of "Where the Slime Mould Creeps" We're lining up a bunch of new speakers as well as some old favourites Program: https://myco.org.au/fungi-festival/ Participate We are looking for stalls, volunteers, speakers and supporting organisations: Expressions of interest here http://thq.fyi/se/65b754d0cf31

Mycommunity is planning to offer free DNA barcoding of fungi starting this year. The aim of this project is to rapidly increase knowledge of Australian fungi, and to offer a local sequencing service to citizen mycologists. We are still working out the logistics and what kind of records need to be kept for specimens. Signing up to this register will mean we will keep you updated on this project and how you can participate, including sending in specimens. We also want to collaborate with other organisations on this project. If you are part of a group that would like to be involved, please get in touch at mycommunity@myco.org.au.