Let us introduce you to the world of fungi. They are an alien world to us, which is full of powerful ancient lifeforms. The entire web of life is connected, it is connected thanks to fungi and we are only just beginning to understand them. They shape our world and hold the key for our future. In fact, mushrooms are a bigger part of our lives than we think, being present on every continent, living in all conditions. Millions of species.
However, our interactions are at such a subtle level that most people fail to notice fungi's talents.
When we imagine fungi we only think of the mushroom, the fruiting body. But that is only a small part of the entire organism. A more interesting story is the one we don’t usually get to see.
It takes place underground, where we can find the main body. It consists of fine filaments, which together form the mycelium.
But mycelium benefits our environment far beyond simply producing mushrooms for consumption. What has become increasingly clear are the roles of complex fungal populations on the health of the ecosystem. Mycorestoration is the use of fungi to repair or restore the weakened immune systems of environments, including our own. Fungi are keystone species that allow future plant and animal generations to flourish. Indeed, we have much to learn from this fascinating kingdom.
To better understand mycelium and how we can use it to restore urban spaces, we are growing 3 mushroom species. We are cultivating them at home on domestic organic waste.
Even though we are excited to eat fresh mushrooms, we are also interested in the composite mycelium and substrate structure. We produced a material with impressive properties and high potential for construction, which we were excited to observe.
