While this work can take many forms, here are some examples of project ideas for Radical Mycology groups:
Increase Community Resilience
Create edible and medicinal mushroom installations at community gardens, food banks, green spaces, food justice centers, food-focused non-profits, etc. Work with food justice organizations to educate individuals and families on the benefits of growing their own
fungi. Teach cultivation-based workshops. Build alliances with and offer mycological support to local Indigenous communities. Offer to help perpetuate any traditional practices with fungi or increase community resilience by sharing skills on mushroom/lichen identification, mushroom cultivation, and remediation. Develop and maintain a local fungal culture library and/or spore bank to help preserve genetics as well as share with other RM group members locally and in the Mycelial Network. Support local ecologies
Organize forest surveys to search for threatened mushroom and lichen species. Use your surveys to support campaigns for forest protection and to contribute to species distribution maps through Mushroom Observer and the North American Mycoflora Project. Safely and thoroughly design and install remediation projects with native fungal species and strains and other supporting organisms. Increase species diversity and redundancy by spreading mushroom spawn in every nook, cranny, and shady spot of your town. Inoculate fallen trees with edible mushrooms. This practice will help speed up decomposition, reduce fire hazards, and provide habitat and food for local fauna. Recompose Organic Waste
Develop relationships with local coffee shops. Use their spent grounds to grow mushrooms. Give these mushrooms to local food banks or shelters. Remove invasive plants to clear land for a community garden. Use this plant material as a mushroom substrate to build topsoil and compost for the garden. Set up local stores, co-ops, and schools with “cardboard & coffee digesters” to create free spawn to the community, while providing an opportunity for education. Glean agricultural waste from local farms to use as a mushroom substrate. Give the spawn or mushrooms produced to local food banks, Food Not Bombs, or other food justice organizations. Create relationships with local mushroom farmers and glean “spent” blocks, unmarketable mushrooms and other waste streams. Use these products to create medicines or for remediation installations. Adapt local mushroom species to local waste streams to produce spawn and mushrooms while creating highly resilient and closed-loop food systems. Regenerate Disturbed Habitats & Mitigate Pollution
Adapt local fungal species to soil contaminants. Grow out large quantities of this fungus and provide the spawn to local community members and organizations for remediation installations. Install mycofiltration systems in parking lots to reduce pollutant runoff into storm drains and local water systems. Education & Outreach
Teach mycological workshops at schools of all ages and at your local Free Skool. Children love to play with mushrooms and watch mycelium grow. Learn by teaching. Give presentations on the concepts and skills behind Radical Mycology. Table at community events and local mycological society gatherings. Lead urban mushroom and lichen forays. Discuss the impacts of pollution on lichen populations while noting the abundance of wild food and medicine that can be harvested in urban areas. Document species distribution through Mushroom Observer and the North American Mycoflora Project to contribute to the citizen science of mycology. Hold educational and awareness-building events to address local issues of pollution concern, environmental racism, or illegal polluting practices by industries. Build Awareness around Fungi
Perform street theater or hold a puppet show dedicated to fungi, decay, ecology, or remediation. Create zines, videos, or other media to share your knowledge. Share these resources with the Mycelial Network. Group Building Activities
Hold art parties to create fungi-themed and fungi-based artwork. Host a mushroom-themed potluck. Go mushroom hunting together to study your local ecology, collect specimens to culture, and harvest food and medicine.
