June 2025 Activity Details - Friday meeting, and Sunday outing to Helidon lowlands.

CLUB MEETING: 7 pm, Friday 6 June 2025  St. Anthony’s Community Centre, Memory Street, Toowoomba 

Assoc. Professor

Tomatoes
Photo from Wikipedia: 
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John Dearnaley will speak on Australian Serendipita fungi and their interactions with native plants and crops

John Dearnaley is Associate Professor in Plant Microbe Interactions, School of Agriculture & Environmental Science, University of Southern Queensland. 

His research interests include the taxonomy, ecology and economics of Australian fungi, in particular, those that are fungal symbionts of plants. 

He has published widely on this interesting group of fungi during his 30 year research career. 

Currently, he and his students are working on a range of projects centred on the taxonomy, ecology and bioactive properties of rainforest endophytes (fungi that live inside the tissues of plants.) Recent research has found that inoculating plants with Serendipita sp. increased the fresh weight of tomatoes and improved immunity against the powdery mildew pathogen in an alternative, eco-friendly and non-chemical approach. 

Other research includes the taxonomy and ecology of Australian Marasmiaceae (Pinwheel fungi), Australian mammals that eat fungi, fungal biomaterials (materials that are derived from or produced by fungi), and the symbiotic relationship between fungi and plant roots in agriculture.

CLUB OUTING: Sunday 8th June 2025. Helidon Lowlands

Paynter Rd waterlilies

Meeting Time: 8.30 am

Where: Withcott; the car park beside the Freedom Fuels Service Station 

Description: Normally we head for the hills at Helidon but this month we're never very far from Rocky Creek which meanders into Lockyer Creek west of Helidon.

Activities: We will be visiting a property in Paynter Road along a watercourse, then shrubby woodland on Ashlands Drive (look out for Painted Button-quail), and lastly Helidon Spa for waterbirds.

Level of Fitness: 

Ashlands Drive

There is easy vehicle access to all stops. Easy walking at all stops although walking along the watercourse and around the waterlilies is through a well-grassed paddock. 

What to Bring: 

Helidon Spa

Bring morning tea, lunch, chair and a friend.