2nd Nature Walk (theme: Fungi) on Chestnut Hill Reservoir

For the 2nd nature walk, the theme was Fungi. I took my walk on October 5, 2022, in the forest adjoining the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. I’m not going to lie, the weather was pretty bad for us humans, as it has been cloudy and drizzling all day long. On the other hand, the fungi had to be quite happy with the rain as they grow best when there is abundant moisture available. (Obviously, fungi do not have emotions, but I like to see it this way. LOL) Even though I was not that motivated to get wet, I put on my rain jacket and hiking shoes to have a good grip on the ground because it can be slippery when wet (IK what a try hard, but I recently had knee surgery, so safety first!) and set off for my walk. The temperature was very cool at around 57°F, and there was little lighting due to the clouds blocking the sunlight. In the last nature walk, it had been challenging for me to spot fungi; however, I was hopeful that this walk would be different because of the rain.

At first, I was having a hard time finding fungi, but after the first fungus was spotted, the others were also observed quite rapidly. My first observation was at 4:54 PM, and the last was at 5:33 PM. Most of the fungi that I observed were found on dead trees or branches and in spots with shade. There were several types of fungi with different forms, sizes, shapes, and colors. Some fungi had a stem or stalk-like feature supporting the mushroom cap; others didn’t have a visible stalk or stem and just came out of the tree or a dead branch. There were white, brownish, and orangey like color fungi. I only observed one fungus that came out of the soil; the others were on trees and branches.

After observing the many different types of fungi on the nature walk, I was very interested in knowing how many different species there are and how diverse they are. I was super surprised at what I found when I read about it. According to my findings on the web, it turns out that there are about 100,000 known species of fungi (after accounting for synonyms); but the total number of fungal species worldwide is thought to range from 0.8 million to 5.1 million. OMG, that's a lot, right?!? Not only are there countless different types of fungi, but each one has a significant role in the ecosystem. Fungi are essential organisms that promote biodiversity. They support the operation of healthy forest ecosystems by developing mutualistic, symbiotic relationships with plants, breaking down organic matter, assisting in the cycling of nutrients, supplying food for animals, and producing a variety of habitats for various forest organisms. Lastly, if you are very interested in this nature walk theme of fungi, like me, and would like to explore a little more about the magical world of fungi, I genuinely recommend you watch the film or documentary “Fantastic Fungi”. It is available on Netflix and dives into the beauty, intelligence, and solution the fungi kingdom offers to us (humans) in response to some of our most pressing medical, therapeutic, and environmental challenges. In fine, one will be surprised how an organism that looks so simple is much more complex and important than it appears.

Posted on October 6, 2022 01:07 AM by