Welcome

Join the Canberra Fungi Group on any of our forays — field trips in and around Canberra.

Anyone with an interest is welcome to become a member, from beginners and novices to expert mycologists.

Events are posted each autumn, in fungi season

Specimen Scans

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Fungi photographed on a Canberra Fungi Group foray
Foray 01 — in situ
Fungi photographed on a Canberra Fungi Group foray
Foray 02 — cap detail
Fungi photographed on a Canberra Fungi Group foray
Foray 03 — substratum

Who we are

The Canberra Fungi Group is a volunteer citizen science group that seeks to locate, identify and record occurrences of fungi around Canberra. There is still relatively little known about fungi in Australia — their distribution, their substrata, their habitats.

Records made on a foray are submitted to NatureMapr, so a morning's walk becomes part of the public record of what grows here.

We do not teach people whether any fungi are edible.

Only people in our group with a licence under the Nature Conservation Act 2014 may take samples of the fungi we find, usually for scientific study — such as building a collection for the National Herbarium.

Events and activities

The season

Eight seasons of forays. The rail below shifts between them in place — it never leaves this page.

This season

There are no more events scheduled for 2026, and the 2027 season has not been determined yet.

For 2026 the season was three forays across April to June — Scrivener's Hut, McQuoids Hill and North Mitchell Grasslands — and a workshop on the macroscopic features of agarics at the Australian National Botanic Gardens on Saturday 30 May. A hand lens was useful. It did not cover identifying edible fungi.

  1. Sunday 26 April 2026

    10am – 12pm · rain date Sunday 3 May 2026

  2. Sunday 24 May 2026

    10am – 12pm · rain date Sunday 31 May 2026

  3. Sunday 14 June 2026

    10am – 12pm · rain date Sunday 28 June 2026

2025

Plate layout

Three two-hour forays across April to June, and a talk on what people used to say about fungi in print.

  1. The Pinnacle Nature Reserve

    06 APR 2025

  2. Red Hill Nature Reserve

    18 MAY 2025

  3. Goorooyaroo Nature Reserve

    15 JUN 2025

  4. History talk, Australian National Herbarium

    06 JUL 2025

06 APR 2025

The Pinnacle Nature Reserve

5 plates

18 MAY 2025

Red Hill Nature Reserve

5 plates

15 JUN 2025

Goorooyaroo Nature Reserve

06 JUL 2025

History talk, Australian National Herbarium

3 plates

Two hours on what was historically said about fungi in publications aimed at the general public, published between about 1850 and 1950.

2024

Plate layout

Forays and talks run for members of the Canberra Fungi Group.

  1. Mount Majura Nature Reserve

    14 APR 2024

  2. Uriarra Crossing

    25 MAY 2024

  3. Black Mountain

    22 JUN 2024

  4. Herbarium talk, Australian National Herbarium

    Saturday 20 July and 3 August 2024

14 APR 2024

Mount Majura Nature Reserve

5 plates

25 MAY 2024

Uriarra Crossing

4 plates

22 JUN 2024

Black Mountain

Saturday 20 July and 3 August 2024

Herbarium talk, Australian National Herbarium

4 plates

Two-hour talks on the herbarium itself, how a specimen travels from the field into the collection, and a viewing of display fungi specimens.

2023

Plate layout

Forays on the last Saturday of March, April and May, opened to the public at $10 and capped at ten people. Every one booked out.

  1. Gossan Hill Nature Park

    25 MAR 2023

  2. Coppins Crossing

    29 APR 2023

  3. Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve

    27 MAY 2023

  4. ABC Radio Afternoons

    30 MAR 2023

25 MAR 2023

Gossan Hill Nature Park

4 plates

29 APR 2023

Coppins Crossing

4 plates

27 MAY 2023

Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve

30 MAR 2023

ABC Radio Afternoons

Sonja, the group's founder and coordinator, was interviewed about fungi in Canberra and about the group.

Field recording — ABC Radio, 30 Mar 2023

0:00 / --:--

Canberra FungiABC Radio 30Mar2023

2022

Plate layout

Bookings through Eventbrite, capped at ten. Every foray reached the cap.

  1. Gossan Hill Nature Park, Bruce

    06 MAR 2022

  2. Coppins Crossing

    19 MAR 2022

  3. Oakey Hill Nature Reserve, Lyons

    10 APR 2022

06 MAR 2022

Gossan Hill Nature Park, Bruce

Cancelled due to rain.

19 MAR 2022

Coppins Crossing

5 plates

10 APR 2022

Oakey Hill Nature Reserve, Lyons

5 plates

2021

Plate layout

The first year records went to the Canberra Nature Map. Bookings were trialled through Eventbrite, capped at eight, and every foray filled.

  1. The Pinnacle Nature Reserve, Hawker

    27 MAR 2021

  2. Isaacs Ridge Nature Reserve

    10 APR 2021

  3. O'Connor Ridge Nature Reserve

    17 APR 2021

  4. Molonglo Gorge Recreation Reserve

    16 MAY 2021

  5. Umbagong District Park, Latham

    30 MAY 2021

27 MAR 2021

The Pinnacle Nature Reserve, Hawker

5 plates

10 APR 2021

Isaacs Ridge Nature Reserve

5 plates

17 APR 2021

O'Connor Ridge Nature Reserve

5 plates

16 MAY 2021

Molonglo Gorge Recreation Reserve

5 plates

30 MAY 2021

Umbagong District Park, Latham

2018

Plate layout
  1. Aranda Bushland Nature Reserve

    15 APR 2018

  2. Jerrabomberra Wetlands Nature Reserve

    06 MAY 2018

  3. Red Hill Nature Reserve

    17 MAY 2018

  4. Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve

    17 JUN 2018

15 APR 2018

Aranda Bushland Nature Reserve

06 MAY 2018

Jerrabomberra Wetlands Nature Reserve

6 plates

17 MAY 2018

Red Hill Nature Reserve

17 JUN 2018

Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve

We met at half past nine. It was a wonderful day, and a good number of interested people came along.

2017

The earliest season the group has online. No photographs from it survive on the old site — only the dates and the places.

  1. Aranda Bushlands

    30 APR 2017

  2. Mt Rogers Reserve

    07 MAY 2017

  3. Red Hill Nature Reserve

    28 MAY 2017

  4. Red Hill Nature Reserve

    25 JUN 2017

30 APR 2017

Aranda Bushlands

07 MAY 2017

Mt Rogers Reserve

28 MAY 2017

Red Hill Nature Reserve

25 JUN 2017

Red Hill Nature Reserve

Supported by

Fungimap

From the field

Attending forays

Before you come

01

Who can attend?

Members may attend our fungi forays. No prior understanding of fungi is required to participate, and those with experience should also be willing to assist.

For a period until 2023, forays were limited to only 10 adult participants who had registered, as we did not have memberships. We are now able to have up to 16 members attend each foray.

02

What to expect?

The Canberra Fungi Group is a not-for-profit citizen science group which aims to increase knowledge of fungi in the region. Records of fungi made during the foray will be submitted to NatureMapr.

We do not consume any fungi found on forays, nor do we seek to identify edible fungi.

Only people in our group with a licence under the Nature Conservation Act 2014 are permitted to take samples of the fungi we find, such as for the purpose of scientific study (like to create a collection for the National Herbarium).

We need people to find, identify, and record fungi on the foray. We usually work as a group: discussing and identifying fungi found. We currently have only a few volunteers with experience in identifying and recording fungi or to lead the forays or these events, so please help out with this if you can.

Members sign in, get a brief explanation of fungi and how the foray will run, we then search for fungi, photograph them, attempt to identify them so we can upload them as a record. Upon leaving, members sign out so we know no-one is missing.

Each foray goes for 2 hours (although you can leave earlier, but don't forget to sign out), and has an alternative date in case the first one is cancelled. Forays will be cancelled if it is raining, often within 1 hour of the scheduled event: check our Facebook site for cancellations, and we'll email members of the cancellation.

Children can come along under the supervision of their parent/guardian. Please do not attend if you are unwell.

03

What to bring?

Turn up wearing sensible enclosed walking shoes/boots for the outdoor reserve, clothes appropriate to the weather (usually long-sleeved to protect from branch scratches or animals, and rain jacket), hat, sunscreen and enough drinking water.

You may also wish to bring the following equipment if you have it: camera with macro function, hand lens, fungi identification resources.

Useful apps on your phone include:

Forays run with the support of Fungimap. Read the risk assessment before your first one.

Contact and join

Come with us

There is no membership form up at the moment: the 2026 events are done and 2027 hasn't been set. Write to us and we'll add you to the mailing list, so you hear when the next season opens.

Membership, 2026 season

  • Individual$20
  • Family$35
  • Fungimap membersFree

Please don't send photographs of fungi for identification — the sites above are the place for that.

Write to us

canberrafungigrp@gmail.com

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