Monday 8 September 2014

Moffat Show

On the 30th August we made our annual visit to the Moffat (agricultural) show.

Our contract farmer Jim Henderland entered some of our Blackface sheep from Corehead farm and they were awarded 2nd place! 


Meanwhile we ran a stall to highlight the work we've been doing in the local area, the events we are running and how people can get involved.


We ran a 'guess the age of the tree' competition. The age was 75 years old  and the winner will recieve an FSC guide to tree identification.



Another attraction to the stall was an array of fungi collected from a trip the day before in Perthshire.





Many of these grow in a mutally beneficial relationship with trees. This is known as a mycorrhizal relationship (mcyo = mushroom, rhizal = root). The fungi threads (mycelium) grow inside the tree roots allowing exhange between the two. The tree will give the fungus sugars it makes and in return the fungus brings the tree vital nutrients and water. So without the trees you simply won't get this type of fungi and without the fungi the trees will typically be stunted, prone to disease and may not establish at all.


We won't see many of these fungi fruiting at Corehead Farm yet, but in future years it will be very interesting to see which  fungi arrive to partner up with the trees as they develop into woodland.

Some examples of fungi we had include:

The Scarlatina Bolete (Boletus luridiformis) 
This species turns blue instantly when cut!


The Wood Hedgehog (Hydum repandum)
This species has spines or teeth rather than gills under its cap! 

Ali Murfitt
Education and Community Officer





  

 

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