Tasty fried mushrooms with your breakfast may be the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word fungi, but did you know that they are essential to mitigating climate change?

In fact, the fungi kingdom is far more diverse and vital than we could have imagined. From incredible carbon storage and ability to improve the health of forests to even providing sustainable packaging and breaking down plastics!

Grab a coffee and join us for a chilled chat about the remarkable world of fungi. We couldn't dive too deeply into any one aspect, or we would probably still be recording the episode. But we wanted to provide an introduction to an easily overlooked group of organisms that are truly fascinating and absolutely essential to the health of our planet.

We had a great time recording this episode and hope you enjoy listening.

Get in touch:

As always, please do feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions, feedback, comments, or just want to say hi! The easiest way to get in touch is to ping us a message on Instagram:

Steve - @a.bird.in.the.lens

Matthew - @a.bug.in.the.lens

Timestamps

00:00:00 Catch up

00:03:00 Introduction to the world of fungi

00:18:09 Fungi and the environment

00:39:28 Innovative fungi technologies

00:48:31 Wrap up

Links

https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/whats-a-fungi

https://microbiologysociety.org/why-microbiology-matters/what-is-microbiology/fungi.html

https://microbiologysociety.org/blog/the-fungus-that-makes-zombie-ants-could-use-biological-clocks-to-control-their-minds.html

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/fungi-stores-third-carbon-fossil-fuel-emissions-and-could-be-essential-reaching-net-zero

https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/mycorrhizal-fungi-hold-co2-equivalent-to-a-third-of-global-fossil-fuel-emissions/

https://www.conservation.org/blog/study-fungi-could-be-vital-for-reaching-climate-goals

https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2023/04/14/fungi-makes-meal-of-hard-to-recycle-plastic.html