The Gloucester County Nature Club will meet Thursday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. at the Holy Nativity Lutheran Church at the corner of Woodbury-Glassboro Road and Mantua Avenue, Wenonah.
The November program will be “Lichen: The Fungus Among Us,” presented by Jennifer Bulava, Lead Park Naturalist, Burlington County Parks System.
This presentation is an overview of the important roles that lichens and fungi play in the environment. Discover the many ways that people and animals use lichens. Join Jennifer to gain a better appreciation for the beneficial and amazing relationships of the fungi kingdom.
Trees secretly talk to each other underground. They’re passing information and resources to and from each other through a network of fungi — a mat of long, thin filaments that connect an estimated 90 percent of land plants. Scientists call the fungi the “Wood Wide Web” because adult trees can share sugars to younger trees, sick trees can send their remaining resources back into the network for others and they can communicate with each other about dangers like insect infestations.
The relationship between these fungi and the plants they connect is now known to be ancient and largely one of mutualism, in which both organisms benefit from their association.
Jennifer Bulava is responsible for planning and coordinating nature programs and all other aspects of environmental education for the public within the Burlington County Parks System.
Meetings are scheduled for the second Thursday of the month, September through June, and are free and open to the public. For more information, please visit www.gcnatureclub.org.
In other news:
Daylight savings time is past and the nights are drawing in. Come view the night sky to see if the moon is in the millpond or if Orion the Hunter can be found.
Park in the upper lot. Bundle up if it’s cold. The paths are paved or gravel and the length of the walk is half a mile.
