At last! Funga could make it into classrooms.

"In just a single spoonful of soil, there are hundreds of species of fungi.“, says the latest”Report on the global conservation status of fungi and plantsof theKew Royal Botanic GardenAnd the fact is that the fungal kingdom is so diverse that, according to the most up-to-date estimates,There are 2.5 million species of fungi on the planet.However, we only know about around…155 thousandAt the rate at which species are being discovered and described,It will take us between 750 and 1,000 years to fully understand the fungi kingdom..

Despite its cross-cutting nature and importance in maintaining the balance of ecosystems,Fungi have been underrepresented in all areas, including education.When they are mentioned, they are reduced to their role in the development of pharmaceutical products, in the fermentation process, and to their pathogenic capacity.

But soon this could change: in a historic moment for Chile, the term ‘funga’ has been included alongside ‘flora and fauna’ in theProposed Update to the Curriculum Bases for 1st Primary to 2nd Secondary.Fungi will finally be able to have the space they deserve in education, where they are studied in an integral way, as a kingdom encompassing an enormous diversity of fundamental roles for terrestrial ecosystems, beyond the microscopic realm.

We welcome the fact that the Ministry of Education has listened to, received and incorporated Fundación Fungi’s recommendations, in order to move forward with efforts to propose updated content aligned with the environmental and educational challenges we face as a society.

The use of the term ‘funga’ in the proposed new curriculum—a word that was co-defined by the executive director ofFungi Foundation,Giuliana Furci, along with Latin American mycologistsFrancisco KuharandElisandro Ricardo Drechsler-Santos-It is much more than a simple linguistic update: it represents a huge step towards teaching in which future generations understand the essential roles of the fungi kingdom on the planet.Those generations will be the same ones that, in the near future, will be in charge of implementing more and better policies for the conservation and protection of the environment.

To tackle urgent problems, it is essential to study and understand nature in its entirety, recognising its complexity and the interconnectedness of the beings that make it up.That is why one of Fundación Fungi’s objectives, for the past decade, has been,The idea is for girls and boys to learn as much about fungi as they do about plants and animals.

This path has led us to donate our field guides to public libraries and schools, and to carry out hundreds of interventions, talks and exhibitions on the…fungi kingdom in educational establishments…, to create a free mycological curriculum and to train teachers and educators from Chile, the United States and Brazil. And, more recently, to…to inaugurate Chile’s first permanent exhibition hall in conjunction with the Museo Interactivo Mirador (MIM).

From this new curriculum proposal, we particularly highlight the inclusion of mycological content within the training axis “Life Science”, in the learning objectives for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 8th year of primary education, ensuring that boys and girls aged between 6 and 13 acquire knowledge related to fungal diversity, alongside plants and animals.

To continue making progress and reduce the historical gap in teaching about fungi compared with plants and animals, we recommend including specific learning objectives on the fungi kingdom. These should cover topics such as fungal life cycles, their ecological roles, and species classification, in a similar way to the content that currently exists relating to flora and fauna.

What is the next step? The proposal is being refined in line with the feedback received during the public consultations. The final version will be published in November this year, to be implemented from March 2025.

It fills us with hope that this curriculum proposal will become a reality and that soon girls, boys and adolescents throughout Chile will become the …naturalists that we need so much.

It’s time to give fungi the recognition and place they deserve!

*This opinion column, written by Daniela Torres, was originally published in El Desconcierto, a Chilean digital media outlet.*