There’s something intriguing about fungi.

The fungi kingdom is all through local forests and the Aongatete Forest Project wants to share their knowledge with the public.

The conservation group is offering a guided Aongatete Fungi Walk in their part of the forest with Echo Walking Festival. AFP manages 500ha of native forest in the Kaimai Mamaku Conservation Park.

Visitors will go on an educational walk around the Aongatete Short Loop searching for fungi and learning about its fascinating role in the ecosystem as decomposers, symbionts and pathogens.

Vital role

AFP deputy chairwoman Karen Smillie said fungi plays a vital role in the ecosystem.

“If it wasn’t for fungi and insects we would be surrounded by piles of non-decaying matter. Our plants have evolved to co-exist with the fungi in the soil.”

Uenuku Ainsley and Lucas Blackler are the walk guides. Ainsley is an AFP and Project Parore volunteer. Interested in nature, he started researching fungi during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

“Fungi just has a such a huge variety of uses in the ecosystem – a lot of it is done underground,” he said.

Ainsley’s favourite fungi at the moment is the cordyceps fungi, a parasitic fungi known for infecting insects and other arthropods by infiltrating the host’s body and taking it over. They kill the insect and then emerge from its body.

Uenuku Ainsley is fascinated by fungi. Photo / Rebecca Mauger

Some species are used in traditional medicine and cordyceps is being explored for its potential therapeutic benefits for multiple sclerosis.

The Aongatete Fungi Walk is a 2.2km guided stroll.

Fungi facts:

Scientists have identified more than 144,000 species of fungi and it is believed millions are undiscovered

Fungi get their nutrients by absorbing organic material

Fungi “work” with plants in a symbiotic system which connects through plant roots to exchange nutrients

Some fungi produce their own light and glow in the dark

Fungi can grow very fast, sometimes within hours with the right damp conditions

Uenuku and Karen check out bracket fungi in the trees. Photo / Rebecca Mauger

Most fungi is beneficial but some can cause stomach upset, others can cause death such as the amanita phalloides (death cap mushroom)

The details

What: Aongatete Fungi Walk

Where: End of Pikirangi Rd (off 834 Wright Rd)

When: April 14

Tickets: www.echowalkfest.org.nz