“Where is Mrs Bear these days?” you might be asking yourselves.
Mrs Bear is still working at Landcare Research – Manaaki Whenua as part of the Science teachers Leadership Programme. Her latest big venture has been attending the New Zealand Fungal Foray 2018, held in Lake Brenner in the Southern Alps. Scientists from around the world meet to learn more about fungi, and to focus their search to a different location each year, in the hope of finding new species of mushrooms.
Every morning, scientists (65 in all) set out in small groups to forage for fungi in different collection sites around Lake Brenner. In the afternoon, everyone gathered to identify, examine and verify the finds of the day. A pop up science lab was set up in the local community hall with banks of microscopes, driers, laptops, camera stations and tables to help with the ID process. The evening was set aside for further discussion and analysis; there was even a (successful) night hunt for bioluminescent fungi, that glow in the dark.
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| You have to look closely to find some of the smaller mushrooms. |
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| A tiny selection of some of the mushrooms found near Lake Brenner. |
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