About Ken Roberts

Ken Roberts was a member of the DFG from almost its birth in 1995, and the Secretary of the group from 1997 until he passed away in 2009. He was a very kind, gentle character and a very knowledgeable man. His attention to detail was second to none and he was a massive asset to the DFG which had come to rely on him so much. He had a great interest in the world of fungi and was always amazed at the huge variety that the DFG would find.

Apart from the DFG Ken also had many other interests, including woodturning, and this is how the Ken Roberts Plaque actually came into being. Just before his passing in 2009 he had completed a wonderful wood carving that he entitled “The Edge of the Woods” (an image of which can be seen on this page). The plaque was very kindly donated to the DFG by his widow Rosemary (who has also now sadly passed away). It was decided that it would be a wonderful idea to offer this superb plaque as a prize each year for the best fungal find. Since implementation of this prize we have also kindly been given a decorative fungal plate that was kindly donated by one of our long standing members. This is now awarded as the second adult prize for any sort of unusual (size/colour/shape etc) fungi found by a member.

We now feel very privileged to be able to make this award as a fantastic tribute to a man who did so much for the DFG over the years and to keep his memory alive forever.

Ken Roberts Plaque

Rules for the award of the Ken Roberts Plaque

1. The Award of the plaque is in honour of the memory of Ken Roberts, past Secretary of the DFG.
2. The Award will be made annually at the Christmas meal or AGM to a member of the Dorset Fungus Group who has, during the year, best met the criteria set out in the Rules below.
3. The decision on which entry best meets all criteria will be made by the judges Mark Pike and Derek Monk. The judges and DFG identifiers themselves will not be permitted to offer any entries for the year’s award.
4. The judges will award the plaque for what they consider the rarest specimen found at any time during the year
5.  If for a particular year the judges consider that there are no suitable specimens found, then they hold the right to make no award.
6. The judges decision is final.
7. The judges will also award the separate fungi plate for the most unusual specimen (size/shape/colour etc) found during the year.
8. The find(s) can be from anywhere in the UK.
9. The find(s) can be made at anytime, and preferably seen by at least one of the judges. However, if the find is made away from a DFG foray and it is impracticable for a judge personally to see the find (for example because the enormous size of the find makes it impossible to transport), the judges, may, at their discretion, consider good quality photographic evidence.
10. Finds must be a member of the Kingdom of Fungi.
11. Finds with any legal restrictions on their picking should not be picked (eg. those on the Red List).

The winner of the Ken Roberts plaque will be entitled to keep the plaque from the date of the award until the following Christmas meal, or Annual General Meeting if no Christmas meal is held.