Hello again,
This is Ali the grassland fungi apprentice, almost three months in and waiting for the mushrooms to emerge in their Autumn glory!!
The time is flying by so fast. I’ve spent the last month out and about all over Scotland learning how to identify wildflowers..and (gulp) grasses and sedges.
Grasses are more beautiful and varied then I ever realised and there are hundreds of them! I no longer have the peace and tranquillity of wandering through a field and saying ‘look at that grass’! I’m now trying to name them all. Grassland has become a lot more exciting.
I’ve also learnt that the fields of luxuriant vibrant dark green grass is a product of agricultural intensification only made possible by adding large amounts of nutrients to the land, ploughing and reseeding. There isn’t much in there then other then a few species. Not much for bee’s, butterflys and other insects to feed on. I’ve had the opportunity to survey some of the now very rare unimproved grasses – grassland that has had no fertiliser added (Britain has lost 95% of its unimproved grassland in the last 50 years). When you do see one of these rare fields, its amazing, so much beauty and variety….. there are violets in the fields!!
I’m glad to be developing this understanding, to know what we have lost and hopefully to be part of conserving and enhancing grasslands for the future.
I’ve been on some wildflower courses. One in Glencoe which was stunning, and one near Edinburgh with BTCV. Its amazing how much wildlife there is around the city. I’ve also been out surveying in the Cairngorms at Mar lodge with the BSBI (Botanic society of the British Isles) who are worth joining if you want to learn more about how to I.D. plants.
When I’m not out in the field I’ve been in the mycology lab at the botanic gardens learning more about the CHEG species I will be surveying this Autumn.
There’s an amazing new website for Scottish fungi if you’re interested, it has everything on from how to collect and indentify them, recipes and also upcoming events and workshops.
http://sites.google.com/site/scottishfungi
Come on little mushrooms……..