Planet Fungi on safari in Sri Lanka
Fungi photography workshop at Rajarata University of Sri Lanka
Our August news is packed with tales from Sri Lanka, info on Planet Fungi - north east India screenings in Europe and Australia, new SKY TV series Islands features Planet Fungi time-lapses, truffle hunting in Greece and an update on Follow the Rain, our new documentary now in final post production.
We are forever grateful that our fungal obsession allows us to spend time with young, energetic scientists who are researching fascinating areas of mycology - fungi science.
For instance aqua fungi, thermophyllic fungi and a new species of the yummy edible mushroom Termitomyces are just a few of the innovative areas of mycology we learned about in Sri Lanka.
We were invited by Rajarata University to teach post-graduate and undergraduate students in the Faculty of Technology, best practice for taking high quality photographs of mushrooms.
Dr Aseni Ediriweera, a bit of a celebrity in Sri Lankan mycology for recent discoveries, taught the students taxonomy, microscopy and cultivation.
Unfortunately, an unseasonal dry heat wave meant the monsoon was extremely late and the forest very dry. This of course meant there was little fungi which was disappointing as our other mission in Sri Lanka was to photograph as many specimens as we could find for a new fungi field guide. So here is a gallery of the few specimens we found plus a taste of the local wildlife which was spectacular.
Sri Lankan Fungi Field Trip funded by the Asia Development Bank and Planet Fungi.
We also interviewed four of the young scientists about their current research and discoveries and will be editing those videos over the next few months.
“Our goal was to teach these scientists how to take accurate, identifiable and aesthetically pleasing fungi photographics using the camera in their back pocket - their phone. It warmed our hearts to see their fungi photography improve in leaps and bounds. We look forward to seeing their contributions on iNaturalist and in a future fungi field guide for Sri Lanka.” Stephen and Catherine.
PLANET FUNGI - NORTHEAST INDIA screenings
If you haven’t yet seen Planet Fungi - northeast India on the big screen, there are upcoming screenings in Europe and Australia.
Head over to Vienna in Austria, from 18 – 24 September for what promises to be a thought provoking and fun immersion in all things fungal. A stellar line-up of speakers at Pilz Fest Spiele include Merlin Sheldrake, Irmgard Krisai-Greilhuber, Joseph Strauss, Wolfgang Hinterdobler, Friederike Hoberg, Bertram Schmidt and Monika Schmoll to name a few. Included in the program is a screening of our Himalayan mushroom safari - Planet Fungi - northeast India, and two other documentaries featuring our time-lapses - The Kingdom and Fantastic Fungi.
Pilz Fest Spiele is hosted by the biotechnology company MyPilz whose fungal research is focused on modern methods of using mushroom properties to improve agriculture, environmental protection and industry. We have enjoyed getting to know (virtually) the co-founder René Lux and learning about this visionary science initiative.
A new species of luminous mushroom documented for the first time for science in 2018/2019 - full story in Planet Fungi - northeast India.
To celebrate International Fungi Day - Brunswick Valley Landcare will host a screening of Planet Fungi - northeast India plus a Q&A with Stephen and Catherine. Save the date, October 15 - more details to come.
Planet Fungi - northeast India also screened at Narooma Cinema in June as part of Fungi Feastivel, along with our fun short doco Flesh Eating Fungi, it also featured at the Yuy´Fest in Chiapas, Mexico in July.
If you are interested in screening this documentary don’t hesitate to contact us.
Planet Fungi goes truffle hunting
After attending a significant birthday in Greece for one of our most beautiful and closest friends, we headed north to the mountains. We had hoped to document some fungi there and share it with you, but the heat wave that was travelling through Greece at that time put a stop to that.
No rain = no mushrooms.
We did seize the opportunity to go truffle hunting after an invitation from the Meteora Natural History Museum and Mushroom Museum, to attend one of their regular tours.
Meteora in northern Greece is spectacular. Ancient monasteries perch on rocky monoliths defying gravity. It's definitely a photographer’s delight.
But what many visitors don't realise is that this area of Greece is also a hotspot for fungi, and in summer, truffle hunting is becoming increasingly popular.
This was a first for us, as although Australia has many truffles, they are primarily eaten by weird and wonderful marsupial animals, not humans.
We were keen to find out what all the fuss is about, and truffle pooch Lara and the fabulous team from the Meteora Natural History and Mushroom Museum delivered a fabulous tour along with a mushroom feast in the forest. And of course we did a video of our experience now on our YouTube channel.
We highly recommend this experience if travelling in that part of the world. Thanks to the Nikos Pallas, the Director of the Museum and his truffle hunting team. You can sign up for one here .
In northern Greece we also met a legend in Greek mycology George Konstantinidis and his partner in fungi, life and music, Despina Klisiari. By day George is a school teacher but out of hours he puts in countless hours as the President of the Greek Mycological Society.
By day Despina is a police officer and then in her free time volunteers as the secretary of the Mycological Society combined with many mushroom activities. George and Despina also perform in a band and are the creators/organisers of the annual Grevena Mushroom Festival. George has pretty much single-handedly built the fungi network and fungal awareness in Greece and has documented thousands of species. Wow - we get exhausted even thinking about all this duo do for fungi in Greece.
We felt George and Despina were definitely kindred spirits.
We interviewed George and will be sharing that video with you in the next few months.
Planet Fungi time-lapses in the K’Gari episode of ISLANDS.
PLANET FUNGI are proud to have contributed fungi time-lapses to telling the story of K’gari in the new TV series ISLANDS
Touch down on the largest sand island in the world, as stingrays hunt soldier crabs in the tidal shallows, acid frogs evade vicious predators and mushrooms glow in the dark.
Elumenati Installation at the Indianapolis Zoo
If you are travelling through Indianapolis - check out the Elumenati display at the zoo which includes a number of Planet Fungi time-lapses. It is part of a new welcome experience for the over a million annual visitors to the Global Center for Species Survival.
The showpiece is Our Living Planet, a 360° biodiversity experience in a 10m-diameter truncated dome with a four edge-blended projectors. We would love to experience it in person one day - so if you do send us an email and tell us what it was like.
Fungi Foundation takeover of @UN Biodivesity - Official account of the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity.
FUNGI FOUNDATION are awesome
Have you heard of Fungi Foundation? They are world leaders in getting the importance of the Kingdom of Fungi officially recognised by governments internationally. They are also the visionaries behind the 3F campaign - Flora, Fauna and Funga. Check out their takeover of the UN’s biodiversity instagram account. It’s full of beautiful videos, photos and information and we feel privileged to contribute some luminous fungi time-lapses to their takeover.
What the experts are saying about our new documentary - FOLLOW THE RAIN
We are very close to finishing our new feature documentary FOLLOW THE RAIN and it is at a very exciting stage.
We have sent it out to the scientists who participated and also to some of our most trusted experts in the film industry, for their feedback.
This is what they have to say.
“I am awestruck. It is SUCH a magnificent film. Catherine and Stephen have used all their passion and craft and wit and humanity to create something rich and moving. It is a wonderfully layered love story - an ode to fungi, to nature, to Stephen’s photography, to their own relationship.” Sonya Pemberton, Emmy Award Winning science filmmaker, Genepool Productions
"I was lucky to have a sneak preview of Stephen and Catherine’s new documentary, Follow the Rain. It was great to see the story of how new fungal species are discovered and named, threaded through with information on the vital roles of fungi in nature. As soon as I saw the time-lapse of the fungus growing up, shriveling back down again, tiny little insects taking a nibble, I was hooked. If you’re in the field you don’t notice that. It’s a completely new way of seeing fungi in nature.” Dr Tom May, Mycologist and Senior Botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.
“Every second is mesmerising. The time-lapse images are amazing”, Prof. Roger Shivas, mycologist and plant pathologist University of Southern Queensland.
A big thank you to our 277 crowdfunding investors. This is what your generosity is enabling. The composers Romano Crivici and Carla Thackrah are nearly finished the score for FOLLOW THE RAIN. We will lock that off in early September. The mix will be completed by mid October. The colour grade is next, then the VFX and graphics go in with completion at the end of November.
The combined donations of $10,000 from Big Scrub Foundation and Big Scrub Conservancy, plus $300 from 2 philanthropists, together with $19,273 donated by 255 individuals and organisations on Go Fund Me, and $2,955 from another 18 supporters has brought us within reach of our fundraising goal of $43,000.
Can you help us raise the final $10,472?
Every bit helps - large or small.
WHY WE ARE MAKING FOLLOW THE RAIN
Did you know humans are only just starting to understand how important fungi are to life on our planet and how critical they are in protecting us from the impacts of climate change? Now we realise that without fungi, the world as we know it would not exist - forests would not exist, and we would not exist. The push is on to document as many species as possible, as fast as possible, and then to understand what they do in the ecosystem.
Raising awareness about fungi is critical to achieving that goal. Your contribution will assist in achieving that mission.
This feature documentary will be the ultimate showcase for the beauty and science of fungi. Our passion for fungi has had the most extraordinary outcomes, from discovering new species, to immersing ourselves in fascinating fungi science, to creating exquisite time-lapses of fungi growing.
We are going to share our world of fungi with you in a way that has never been done before. We are pouring everything we have into this project – 10 years of passion and research. We know the story will be captivating, with fungi adventures in the Gondwana forests of the subtropics, the ancient grand forest of the Tarkine, the desert country of the Flinders Ranges and World Heritage forests of Lord Howe Island.
We will introduce our audience to passionate mycologists and fungi enthusiasts, and we even take you zombie fungus hunting. You will be investing in a project that is inspirational, showing how we can all make a difference to understand the planet we live on.
Our impact campaign aims to::
Create Policy change contributing to the work of the international 3Fs campaign - Fauna Flora and Funga. Fungi are recognized as critical to life on this planet, however they represent just 0.2 % of our global conservation priorities. In Australia biodiversity legislation still classifies fungi under plants and no fungi is listed as endangered due to inadequate research and funding. This project would be used as part of the lobby to change this so that conservation management strategies can be designed and actioned.
Raise awareness about the lack of funding for fungi science and the gaps that need to be filled.
Inspire individuals to participate in citizen science, giving them the tools and to document fungi and uploading their finds to iNaturalist and Atlas of Living Australia.
Educate and promote understanding of the critical role fungi plays on the planet and inspire government and individuals to conserve and nurture its habitat.
We know we can reach our goal. In fact, if everybody who receives this email gives just $25, $50, $100 or $200, we’d easily meet our target.
So we’re asking you to donate today.
Again a big thanks to all who have contributed so far and for those that have we would be grateful if you could spread the word far and wide via your networks to anyone else you think would be interested.
This mushroom is the reproductive body of one of potentially thousands of species of fungus in teh Australian sub-tropics that have not yet been identified.