Mycolab's Herstory
Mycolab started out as a seed inspired from our participation in the Radical Mycology Community. We originally had a little Vermont Myconode through which we experimented with cultivating fungi in our apartments. We then raised funds through New England Grassroots Environmental Fund;s SEED grant (thank you!!!) to build a true lab in the basement of an ephemeral permaculture community that was hosted on a lavender farm in Charlotte. This was an amazignly fertile and inspiring time for us in which we learned a ton about cultivation, held monthy collective meetings and educational workshops, and grew spawn for local mycoremediation pilot projects MycoEvolve was conducting.
After inevitable community shifts occured the lab transitioned into germination mode relocating into a barn and repurposed whine cooler (culture library still there). Jess reentered academia for furthur training and the group became more oriented towards serving marginalized members of our community. This lab is now dedicated to serving these communities in ways which increase ecological literacy, accessability to scientific learning, and oortunities to engage and train all interested in the needed service of ecological restoration. While fungi are a huge part of this work, so are microbes and plants!
Last summer the lab hosted Abenaki members of Alnobaiwai to offer reclamation ceremonies at a site where we are conducting Myco-Phytoremediation research; this location like so many needs remediation from years of colonial land practices that still contribute to watershed degradation. We currently plant seeds to begin community remediation projects in urban areas which engage residents as primary stakeholders, decision makers and leaders.
This lab is currently our volunteer, community service offering and we will continue to write grants to New England Grassroots Environmental Fund and other local organizations to fund these endeavors as we slowly shift the paradigm through decolonial, racially just, accessible, non capitalist forms of community care, earth tending and rematriation. Stay tuned for what will manifest in the coming moons!!!
After inevitable community shifts occured the lab transitioned into germination mode relocating into a barn and repurposed whine cooler (culture library still there). Jess reentered academia for furthur training and the group became more oriented towards serving marginalized members of our community. This lab is now dedicated to serving these communities in ways which increase ecological literacy, accessability to scientific learning, and oortunities to engage and train all interested in the needed service of ecological restoration. While fungi are a huge part of this work, so are microbes and plants!
Last summer the lab hosted Abenaki members of Alnobaiwai to offer reclamation ceremonies at a site where we are conducting Myco-Phytoremediation research; this location like so many needs remediation from years of colonial land practices that still contribute to watershed degradation. We currently plant seeds to begin community remediation projects in urban areas which engage residents as primary stakeholders, decision makers and leaders.
This lab is currently our volunteer, community service offering and we will continue to write grants to New England Grassroots Environmental Fund and other local organizations to fund these endeavors as we slowly shift the paradigm through decolonial, racially just, accessible, non capitalist forms of community care, earth tending and rematriation. Stay tuned for what will manifest in the coming moons!!!
