Liz Holden

I have always been interested in the natural world but got high jacked by the fungi after finding the extraordinary fruit body of Clathrus rubra (Red Cage Fungus) in a Devon garden. Thus I have been looking closely at the fungi for the last twenty-five years, attending a number of evening classes, British Mycological Society workshops, forays and voluntary recording projects to consolidate my identification skills in the early years.

During the last twelve years, I have been involved in many fungal field surveys. Most of this work has been undertaken in Scotland but I have also worked in Wales, Northern Ireland and for an all too brief but wonderful week in Sweden in August 2009. This has involved undertaking survey work and offering management recommendations for a range of habitats including coniferous and broadleaved woodlands, grasslands, montane heaths and sand dune systems.

I am particularly interested in sharing my fascination with the identification, recording and ecology of fungi and a good part of my work is in the field of education. I am one of the founder members of the Grampian Fungus Group, and have been leading forays and fungal workshops for this group since 1997. This has included working with my local ranger services to develop a teaching programme for primary school children.

My involvement in the Plantlife Scotland hosted ‘Lower Plant and Fungi Project’ has enabled me to work on the production of a number of fungal information leaflets, including ‘Scotland’s rare tooth fungi’, ‘Managing Trees in Scotland’s open spaces for lichens, bryophytes and fungi’’, ‘The wild and wonderful world of Scottish fungi’ and two identification guides to the fungi of Scottish pinewoods. Since 2006, I have also been an adult tutor at Kindrogan Field Centre, running the week long course ‘Identifying Fungi’.

As well as undertaking surveys and leading forays, I can therefore offer a selection of one day workshops on a range of mycologically related topics including ‘fungal microscopy’, ‘an introduction to fungi and their identification’, ‘introducing children and the public to fungi’ and ‘managing grasslands and woodlands with fungi in mind’.

See my c.v. for more details.

Liz Holden April 8th 2010