The photographic exhibition “They grow like mushrooms!”, on display at the Monastery of Arouca until the end of the year, brings together 20 photographs of different species and aims to inspire visitors to immerse themselves in discovering the incredible diversity of mushrooms. Each photograph reveals the beauty and uniqueness of these fascinating organisms that can be found in the UNESCO World Geopark of Arouca.

The photographs were taken by nature photographer Avelino Vieira, one of the members of the “Group of enthusiasts for the study of mushrooms in the Arouca Geopark”. This group was created in November 2022 and, since then, has been going on field trips to observe and collect specimens, as well as meeting weekly in the Science Workshop at Arouca Secondary School to make microscopic observations.

Daniela Rocha, coordinator of AGA – Associação Geoparque Arouca, says that “in order to be able to continue to observe these and other species, it is important to focus on the conservation of ecosystems and, to this end, AGA will continue to develop actions to raise awareness of the conservation and recovery of natural habitats.”

“They grow like mushrooms!” is part of the Chestnut Festival program and is the responsibility of AGA, with the support of the Municipality of Arouca, the Monastery of Arouca and the Science Workshop of the Arouca School Group.