Fungi, Forage and Feast | 16.10.25
Thursday 16th October | 6.30-9pm
Step into the fascinating world of fungi at an evening dedicated to wellness, food, and discovery.
Meet pioneering fungi start-ups in the wellness space, enjoy mushroom-inspired canapés, and connect with a community of fungi enthusiasts.
The evening’s highlight will be a keynote talk by Alexandra Lea, renowned medicinal forager and ethnomycologist. Alexandra will share her expertise on medicinal fungi—how to find them and how to use them to supercharge your wellbeing.
Emma
Emma is the founder of the Hidden Heroes Campaign, a global fungi campaign, dedicated to helping people understand the importance of fungi and the planetary service they provide. Emma wants to cure people of their fungal blindness and help them understand how crucial fungi are to life on earth.
Emma’s passion for fungi came about through illness. Both her mother and her had about of misfortune back in 2017. Since then, Emma has immersed herself in the fungi kingdom and realised how integral fungi are to our daily lives. Fungi provide nutrients to the crops we eat, they create many of the ingredients found in our medicines and provide us with novel compounds to improve our wellness. We owe so much of our lives to fungi.
Emma works as a Sustainability Director for multinational firms. She just recently set up the sustainable sourcing function in a life sciences company and prior to that led a FTSE 100 company's position on sustainable plastics and mobilised the company to eliminate single-use plastics from their operations. She has a Master’s in Sustainability Leadership from the University of Cambridge and is passionate about sharing her knowledge and time to help businesses embed sustainability practices.
Alexandra
Alexandra, known as The Female Forager, is a biologist and ethnomycologist with a passion for helping others to reconnect with nature and discover the medicine it offers. Specialising in medicinal fungi, she draws on her scientific training and hands-on field experience, including work with two of the UK’s leading medicinal mushroom organisations, to explore the healing potential of the fungal kingdom. Through workshops, guided forays, and community programmes across the UK, Alexandra teaches others how to identify and work with edible and medicinal mushrooms and plants. She works with a wide range of groups, including those in the mental health sector, creating accessible and empowering spaces for people to deepen their connection with the land and its natural medicines. Alexandra helps people connect through their intuition, guiding them to the specific medicinal fungi they need. Her approach blends ecological knowledge with intuitive practices, encouraging a more personal and embodied relationship with the natural world. In collaboration with organisations such as the Psychedelic Society and Primal, she leads immersive educational experiences that combine ecological awareness, traditional wisdom, and modern science.
