We are thrilled to announce that we were successful in securing a $5,000 grant from the Wettenhall Environment Trust! This grant is to progress the groundbreaking work of nominating the critically endangered Tea-tree Fingers (Hypocreopsis amplectens) for Commonwealth EPBC Act threatened species protection.

These funds, together with donations from the Victorian National Parks’ Association, MYCOmmunity, and a range of generous individual donors within the Fungimap community, will help us fund expert mycological input by Dr Sapphire McMullan-Fisher in writing Conservation Advice and the other documentation required to progress this nomination, the first of its kind in Australia. There are currently no fungi listed on the Commonwealth EPBC Act threatened species list, and the process may take up to 2 years.

Already state listed in Victoria under the FFG Act, and globally listed via the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered, a successful Commonwealth listing for the Tea-tree Fingers would help unlock more funding and support for recovery of this species, as well as serving as a test case for fungi in government threatened species processes which are currently geared towards flora and fauna. We hope this is the first of many threatened fungi species put forward for Commonwealth listing, which is one of Fungimap’s strategic priorities.

We thank everyone who has been part of this campaign so far, and thank the Wettenhall Environment Trust for their vision and support!

Photo credit: Sapphire McMullan-Fisher