Oct 3rd a virtual UK Fungus Day by the British Mycological Society! Fungi are amongst the world’s most important organisms. They are expert recyclers, plants depend on them, and they save lives (e.g. penicillin) and are important in the manufacture of many foods. If you want to get to know more about the different types of fungi, FSC have a ‘The Fungi Name Trail’ to help you name different groups BUT it doesn’t tell you if they are edible or not. It names 2 books to get children interested. ‘How the mushroom got its spots’ and ‘Fungus Fred goes foraging’. These are KS2-3 resources.
Regenerative agriculture is the way to boost soil health, encouraging biodiversity by working with natural processes. ‘We need to re-engage with the fields that feed us. We need to learn about and care about farming once more’, says James Rebanks a practising farmer here.
The Soil Association, Woodland Trust and Plantlife have worked together to produce a report on nitrates. While sampling the water in BoA, the Biodiversity Group found the levels to be high. The report ‘Fixing Nitrogen – the challenge for climate, nature and health’ states that too much nitrogen contributes to human caused climate change through nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. It poses several issues:
GHGs – emissions of N2O from the application of fertilizers are 300 times more potent than CO2.
Higher N2 inputs lead to less biodiversity across farmland and
There are public health implications with ammonia emissions mixing with other particles in the atmosphere which can cause respiratory illness.
Solutions are available e.g. holistic grazing, cover cropping fertilizers, planting beans/peas and leaving the roots which engage with the nitrogen in the atmosphere to decay in the soil.
Thanks to the Town Council for managing the wildflower/ community orchard at Bearfield this month, and to the people repairing the weir.