Activity

Fabulous fungi

Go on the hunt for fabulous fungi. How many different shapes, colours and sizes can you spot?

A lone Fly Agaric toadstool protruding from the leafy and mossy woodland floor.

This Experiencing Nature activity can be completed as part of Families Wild Challenge.

Estimated time: 1-2 hours Season: Autumn Skill level: Not too tricky

Instructions

Find your fungi

Fungi grow in lots of places, but they all need damp conditions to survive. You’ll often see them in rotting tree stumps and damp soil near living trees. Puffballs grow in grassy fields, so look out for big white blobs while walking through them, you might also spot the magical shape of a Fairy Ring. Remember to look up as well as down at the ground when on your mushroom mission. Many fungi like the Jelly Ear Fungus grow on dead branches.

Four Amethyst Deceiver mushrooms protruding from a layer of dead, damp autumn leaves.

See how many fungi bingo sheet matches you can find

You'd be super-lucky to see all of them, but if you do, make sure you shout bingo. Remember not to touch the fungi. As well as being delicate and easily damaged, some are poisonous. It’s best to stay safe by looking at them rather than touching. If you do touch fungi, remember to wash your hands thoroughly afterwards or before eating.

A young child in a meadow, laying on their front with their head perched on their hands, staring at a collection of Fly Agaric mushrooms.
Partnering with

The RSPB is a member of BirdLife International.More