During the warmer months - and well into the autumn -, Slovenians of all ages head into the woods, with their gazes directed downward, towards the undergrowth. They are doing something that their ancestors have done for centuries – they’re foraging the woods for edible mushrooms.

Mushroom picking has a long tradition in Slovenia. Popular Slovenian dishes frequently feature mushrooms as a key ingredient, and books an edible fungi fill bookstore shelves. For many, picking mushrooms is a passion and a number of mycological associations have been established to promote the hobby.

The Ljubljana Mycological Society was set up in 1961. At the time, public education was an important part of the association’s mission. Because more than 3000 mushrooms grow in Slovenia’s forests, mix-ups of edible mushrooms with their poisonous counterparts were all too common, and many people ended up violently ill or even dead because they ate the wrong kind of mushroom. The Mycological Society was successful in reducing the number of poisonings with an education campaign and with the launch of several publications helping people to identify various types of fungi.

Today, the Mycological Society and its more than two dozen counterparts around Slovenia regularly organize exhibitions of mushrooms, which enable amateurs to explore the wealth of fungal life found in Slovenia’s forests.

In recent years, they have also embarked on a very different mission: to protect mushrooms from over-picking. Foragers are instructed on how to pick mushrooms without causing too much damage to their natural habitat, and are told to avoid disturbing rare varieties. The government has joined in the effort and has placed several endangered species on a “do not pick” list.

In an age when more and more Slovenians are drawn to the woods, the country’s mycological associations are working hard to promote a sustainable approach to mushroom picking and ensure that this Slovenian tradition can live on for years to come.