Meeting Reports October 2025

Title : Fungal Foray at Lindholme
Leader : Kevin Gilfedder
Attendees :
Aims : To find and record the Autumn Fugal Display

This meeting was postponed due to ill health

Meeting at Parklands Weds 1st October 2025 7pm

10 Members were in attendance.
Apologies were received from 3 members

Notices since the last indoor meeting:

The Venue for the AGM was discussed, with the options being Potteric Carr or the Hall at St Catherine’s. The Tofield Room at Potteric is large but has access issues whereas the end of the cafe is probably too small for the relatively large membership we now have. Opinion was split over whether having an option of a walk around Potteric as an attraction would encourage more attendees than the quality of the venue and catering on offer at St Catherines. The option of a walk around the grounds was discussed. The option might be to move on for a walk at Potteric afterwards. It was agreed that St Catherine’s was the preferred venue. It was suggested that it might be possible to visit the St Caths venue for the New Year Walk and plant hunt in early January.

Presentation:

The evening presentation was an illustrated review of the year’s outings by members of the Society. The first contributors started with their images of various outings including the Sandall Beat Fungus Foray, the Moss survey of Austerfield Quarry. the Harvest Mouse Hunt at Sykehouse and New Year Walk at Barrow Hills. Other images were from the visit to Ash Hill Farm in search of forester moths and a pond dipping session at Thorpe Marsh.

The second set of images included a photo of bee orchid, a species that was in short supply due to the drought in many areas. There was also a photograph of five flower spikes on the green winged orchid at Brodsworth Hall. Photos of various galls that were of interest this year were shown including the silk button gall, a gall which was incredibly abundant on oaks.

The third set of images showed additional outings starting with the springtime walk around Conisbrough Parks (a landscape threatened by a huge Solar Farm development). A short video of a stoat bounding along a field margin was shown. The spring flowers at Sayles Plantation, Brockadale and misty views of the sunrise on the Sandall Beat Dawn Chorus walk were also featured. Other subjects were the very well-attended (free!) DNS visit to the beautifully tended grounds of Brodsworth and also the extremely well-attended Lindholme Open day.

The presentation ended with an aerial film of a tractor sending up clouds of dust as it cultivated a very dry field on Conisbrough Parks at the height of the drought in August.

The meeting closed at 9pm.

LH.