Izzy McLeod

Went on a lovely walk near Clytha Castle with @pocket_rambles and we made many discoveries! One of my most abundant fungi walks of the summer and we met a toad what a day! Found a snowy ink cap for the first time, that was the one living on the cow pat. Also my first time seeing an oak polypore ooze! Very cool stuff, I will make a whole video about that one. It was surprisingly not sticky but in fact watery. Didn't expect that. Also I captioned this on tiktok and then saved and didnt realise tiktok auto bleeps swearing 😂😂 so oopsies for that I did not mean to bleep I will happily swear on the internet. Think I'm enjoying making these slightly chaotic videos from a walk! Feeling much more natural than others I've tried 😎

Love a good bog, this one was especially good. And this video is a good insight into how I talk to and about the natural world when I'm alone in it, tho there was more singing than usual. Bogs bring out a tune apparently 😅🎵 Filming and talking and singing is not only me unmasking and having fun but it's also how I learn! I'm really learning as I go on this whole queer ecology thing and these videos are part of that. Often ill video things to then look up or try and I'd when I'm home, and I am always wondering out loud "what are you?". There's no one way to learn about the natural world and meet your non human neighbours, as long as you're respectful. Once again at @rspbcymru ynys hir for this video. It's beautiful. There's a bog full of sphagnum moss (aka peat) among other things. I did see some birds too, but they're a little hard to film on your phone when you have no binoculars Of course mister shrew made another appearance, what a guy.

I made friends with a shrew in a sphagnum moss bog! What a day it was. I was wandering off the board walk in @rspbcymru ynys hir and saw a tiny fluffy brown creature running across the path. On further investigation it was this tiny little shrew! And once I had stopped for a bit he was very content to continue foraging for food around me and even underneath me at some points! I made a friend 🐹 and I was really surprised by just how tiny he was and how soft he looked. I really wanted to touch him but I resisted!! This is only a minute of an interaction that lasted a good 15 minutes, and I lost track of time and then had to bolt it a mile up a hill before the visitor centre closed 😅 where I also saw a family of mice eating off the bird table Also @rspb ynys hir is one of the most beautiful places I've been! So many birds, and clearly lots of other wildlife too. Say hello to Mr Shrew in the comments! Give the lil guy some love!

Me n some of my pals xo 1. Artist bracket high up a tree 2. Probably a bolete, there are lots of species with yellow pored and a brown cap so 🤷🏼‍♀️ 4. Some kind of trametes, possibly ochre bracket! 5. Inside a very good hollow tree

Carnedd community garden?  Thanks so much to those who came to our nature walk and co-design workshop on Sunday! funded by @wwfcymru community grants for #GreatBigGreenWeek We had a great walk around the site and have now found at least 36 different species of flora, fauna, and funga (there's a lot more than we didn't id) and then talked about what we might want out of a community garden/how we might want to help nature thrive further on the site and made some beautiful collages!  The next steps in the coming months are looking like: 🌱 having a lot more conversations with people about what a community garden could look like, how people want to be involved, and what logistical barriers we need to overcome to make that happen 🌱starting to apply for funding to get things up and running and maybe start running workshops (ideas included moss sculptures, bird feeders, bug hotels, ponds, moss safaris and fungi walks) 🌱getting out and enjoying the space!  I'm also going to neaten up the ID sheet we made and put it up in reception so if you find anything we haven't outside please come and add to it! ( Can reccomend @inaturalistorg if you want some digital assistance in IDing) I know a lot of people wanted to be involved with this workshop but couldn't make it along on Sunday so hopefully 🤞🏼 we can get another one going. But for now I'm very open to conversations in the comments, what would you want out of a community garden at carnedd? Are there any workshops you'd like to run/take part in? Skills you'd want to learn?

Upcoming fungi workshops at St Fagans @museumwales for the #CelebrationofNature on the 29th June. You can get your free ticket from the link in my bio 🍄🎨🖌️ They're all creative workshops involving printing with mushrooms using natural inks (and paint if that's what you prefer) and discussions around fungi and the natural world. We've got: 10:15-10:45 am Queer Ecology: a fungal perspective 12-1:30 pm Family fun with fungi 2 - 3:30 pm Ethnomycology: Our lost connection to the fungal world Made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund

Queer ecology and clay: a look interconnectedness and mutualism in the natural world at @cardiffumbrella funded by @wwfcymru community grants for #GreatBigGreenWeek Thank you everyone who came to the workshop Tuesday! We talked mutualism, looking at an oak tree and following it's many relationships with organisms big and small from ectomycorrhizal fungi in their root systems to tiny tarigrades living in moss on their bark. Then we made with clay inspired by this symbiosis, with some people even making their pieces collectively. One of my favourite things about running workshops like this is seeing which pieces of information stick with people and I spire them to create, and how my talks are interpreted artistically! Tarigrades were a pretty common feature of the making in this workshop, as well as of course fungi. Also a reminder the second workshop of this series is over at @carneddcaerdydd on Sunday, 1-3:30pm! We'll be doing a bioblitz/nature walk around the site and then a creative workshop imagining and co-designing what a community garden could look like here!

Upcoming workshops as part of #GreatBigGreenWeek funded by @wwfcymru Workshop 1: Is there such thing as an individual? Queer ecology talk and clay workshop. Tuesday 11th June, 6-8:30pm, @cardiffumbrella space in the Capitol centre. In the “Is there such thing as an individual” workshop we’ll be exploring symbiosis and mutualism in interconnected species and eco systems in the natural world to ask ourselves, what really is an individual? And how can we as humans living in an individualistic society learn from the natural world? There will be a talk followed by clay workshop where we’ll be collectively making our own symbiotic relationships and ecosystems using clay. Workshop 2: Cranedd community garden? Outdoor exploration, imagination,  and co-design workshop Sunday 16th June 1-3:30pm @carneddcaerdydd Our second workshop "Cranedd community garden?" will be held at @carneddcaerdydd there’s untapped outdoor areas that could be utilised by the Cranedd and wider communities. What could this look like? How could we use it? Can we be inspired by mutualism in nature to build something that benefits communities and the natural world? In this workshop we’ll have a walk around the site to see what’s already there and connect a bit to nature and then come inside to discuss, draw, and collage what community managed, nature focused space could look like. We will be utilising collage, drawing, and group discussion to start envisioning and planning the space. Please note this will still be outside if it's raining so bring check the weather appropriate footwear and clothing/umbrella to participate in the outdoor section of this walk.

Some pictures from the Queer Fungi Workshop @chapterartscentre Thank you everyone who came down on staurday! It was a wonderful time. We talked queer coded mushrooms, fungi mating types, the colonial history of taxonomy and how speciesism, racism and queerphobia are all interconnected, symbiosis and thinking micelially for collective liberation. Lots of wonderful art was made, from strange blackout poetry, to colourful painting using musrhooms, lots of collages, and even an epic focused around Batman's encounter with a stinkhorn mushroom. I never know quite what to excpect is made when I do workshops like this but it is always amazing. Sad instagram won't allow enough photos in a carousel to share it all. If any of your artwork is up here and you'd like credit please let me know. Thanks again @chapterartscentre for having me and @curatedbyraven for bringing me in and helping me make this happen. For those that missed it I do have more workshops in the pipeline and will post about them soon!

Workshop this Saturday 18th at 6pm @chapterartscentre ! Get it in your diaries and drop in! Come join me for a few hours to learn about the wonderfully queer world of fungi before we get stuck into some zine making. All materials provided and a chance to try mushroom printing, collaging, blackout poetry and more! We shall be exploring the world of queer ecology through looking at symbiosis, dismantling ideas of individualism, binaries and hierarchy's and the colonial history of taxonomy and how that links to the gender binary. It is also Nakba day this week so we shall be talking about thinking micelially for the liberation of Palestine and wider collective liberation.

AD | Having a gender euphoria moment in my @origamicustoms , I think the second picture says it all It's rare I see a brand that ticks basically all my boxes but they do! Trans owned and inclusive, size include (everything is custom made as standard), ethically and sustainably made. And I look really good in it so 💁‍♀️😍 I'm wearing the lycra binder with size opening and the bamboo flat front jock strap. Fyi. I have a full interview with owner Rae over on my blog if you want to hear more about how the brand operates. Link in bio!