​Naturalist Robert Vennell loves the outdoors so much that even trying to pin him down for an interview is like trying to glimpse an elusive forest-dwelling species. When he is not ‘outdoors’, Vennell can be found at Auckland Museum passing on his knowledge of natural history. He has also written the lavishly illustrated The Forgotten Forest: In search of the lost plants and fungi of Aotearoa, his third book.

What led you to become a natural science curator?

My masters research at university involved a lot of camping and tramping off track to set up motion-activated cameras. I was lucky to get a job as a collection manager at Auckland Museum, helping to collect and prepare science specimens for exhibitions. Currently I am curating the natural science galleries, and telling the stories of New Zealand’s remarkable wildlife.

Is this why you started writing?

Actually, from a young age I loved reading survival and adventure stories. So when I was given a field guide to edible native plants, I ate my way around our forests, researching in detail to make sure I wasn’t eating anything I shouldn’t. Suddenly the forest came alive for me – and made sense in a way it hadn’t before. Writing became a way to share what I had learned and hopefully inspire readers to deepen their connection to our natural world.

You were familiar with the forest, but what about the ocean in your second book, Secrets of the Sea?

I do a bit of spearfishing and free-diving, and have been lucky to grow up on the coast, so the ocean has always been a big part of my life. I wanted to find a way to highlight some of our native species hidden beneath the waves. In this country we are never far from the coast, so sea creatures have had a large impact on our history. 

Then you focused on fungi and smaller plants for The Forgotten Forest?

For a long time the mushrooms, mosses and moulds of the forest have been a bit of a mystery for me, and it has been like discovering a whole new world. These small overlooked creatures are some of the most bizarre and fascinating on the planet. Now, when I’m tramping, I spend a lot of time hunting through leaf litter for fungi, or exploring all the different liverworts and lichens growing on tree bark. 

How do you hook a reader’s interest in this usually unnoticed world? 

I wanted to find a way to introduce these overlooked species in an exciting and intriguing way so it didn’t feel like reading a biology textbook. I’ve written it like a storybook, heading off on a tramp into the bush and mountains and discovering these wonderful species along the way. 

What surprised you the most during your research?

Slime moulds, which look like a blob of glowing mucus on the forest floor. They are actually giant roaming amoeba that engulf microbes for food as they travel. They don’t have a brain but are able to navigate the forest. Scientists have even shown they can solve mazes. 

What will readers gain most from The Forgotten Forest?

A new appreciation for all the little things in the forest. If you take the time to slow down and develop your gaze for spotting these creatures, it will totally change your experience of tramping through the forest. 

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