Mycolab is the community branch of MycoEvolve which aims to:
- offer education, training and mentoring to those entering the field of ecological restoration
- support local, community initiatives aimed to conserve and repair wild lands
- foster ecoliteracy throughout the community with focus on marginalized peoples
- share curriculum that MycoEvolve develops and research MycoEvolve conducts in creative, accessible ways
- form effective collaborations with various businesses, individuals, schools, & organizations to support social/ecological helath
Examples of some of the programming facilitated in 2022
Conservation to gather baseline data, Community Science Ecological Inventory was conducted at the Pine Street Barge Canal Spring 2022- Fall 2022 Every 2nd & 4th sunday of the month from 3-5 pm All (from newbie naturalists, to amateurs to professionals) joined us in discovering who in the trophic web (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, flora, fungi, invertebrates, birds...) lives on this land and to record it for a baseline inventory. This parcel of land on Unceded Abenaki Territory is a Brownfield Site abutting a Superfund Site and has the potential to become a model of how the community can learn about the resilient earth here, document this as baseline data to guide a long term restoration - remediation plan including becoming an accessible living laboratory to grow community ecoliteracy & skills.
Over 60 folx over 6 months brought binoculars, hand lenses, field guides, iphones for Inaturalist entries to contribute to this multi-trophic inventory. We are analyzing and presenting our findings in the coming moons. Stay tuned!! This event was hosted by MycoEvolve's Mycolab who was formerly in partnership with Friends of the Barge Canal. Thanks to NE Grassroots Fund for their initial support.
Above are images of some Community Science Inventory days. Most photos are on our Inaturalist Project site.
Over 60 folx over 6 months brought binoculars, hand lenses, field guides, iphones for Inaturalist entries to contribute to this multi-trophic inventory. We are analyzing and presenting our findings in the coming moons. Stay tuned!! This event was hosted by MycoEvolve's Mycolab who was formerly in partnership with Friends of the Barge Canal. Thanks to NE Grassroots Fund for their initial support.
Above are images of some Community Science Inventory days. Most photos are on our Inaturalist Project site.
Ecological Restoration Workshops
Mycolab along with a few folx in the Friends of the Barge Canal guided a series of restoration workshops which involve removing nonnative plants from the restored parcels in ways that minimize soil disturbance, maximize carbon sequestration and grow eco literacy and skills in the community. We scratched in native wetland seed following the areas we restore since pre-industrial era days, this site was a wetland. Currently we have held two free public workshops fall 2022, (first led by Mike Bald of Got Weeds?), as well as two for Vermont Youth Build.
If you are interested in a trainings on this site, please contact us.
Mycolab along with a few folx in the Friends of the Barge Canal guided a series of restoration workshops which involve removing nonnative plants from the restored parcels in ways that minimize soil disturbance, maximize carbon sequestration and grow eco literacy and skills in the community. We scratched in native wetland seed following the areas we restore since pre-industrial era days, this site was a wetland. Currently we have held two free public workshops fall 2022, (first led by Mike Bald of Got Weeds?), as well as two for Vermont Youth Build.
If you are interested in a trainings on this site, please contact us.
Remediation
Mycolab recently inoculated cold pasteurized spawn with 2 native, local saprophytic oyster species (Pleurotus ostreatus, Pluerotus populinus) from a local mycologist. These fungi could support mycoremediation pilot trials to degrade the petrochemicals in the soil and water. Based on the site's previous scientific reports, research gaps and current data as well as the current peer-reviewed studies of effective remediation, we designed a series of remediation pilots to address the 56 toxins of concern on site. Their implementation are on pause until we strengthen local municipal partnerships, understand better how to work with as well as help educate the EPA& DEC in their understanding of true remediation, establish long-term funding, figure out reciprocal ways to collaborate with FBC, grow our scientist team, and firm up our collaboration with CoRenewal.
Rematriation
This term means to us facilitating everyone's birth right to earth connection. In particular and due to its herstoric roots this refers to supporting the Abenaki Original Peoples of this site in reclaiming land access so that they can practice their traditional ways. Additionally this refers to other marginalized groups reclaiming their right to ecoliteracy and land access.
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First image on left is of Summer 2022 Missisquoi Chief Joanne Crawford and her son Chad came to the site where he smudged. We gifted them tobacco grown from seeds we saved from Alnobawai .
Second image on left is from VT Youth Build, an organization empowering youth (16-24) to build their future through education, job skills training, and service. They have been learning science and skills relevant to the ecological restoration field at the Pine Street site. |
Mycolab's Herstory
Mycolab started out as seeds inspired from the Radical Mycology Community. We originally had a little Vermont Myconode through which we experimented cultivating fungi. With support from NE Grassroots Environmental Funds (thank you!!!) we built a lab in the basement of a temporary permaculture community growing lavender in Charlotte. During this fertile, inspiring time we learned a ton about cultivation, held monthly collective meetings, educational workshops, and grew spawn for local mycoremediation pilot projects MycoEvolve was conducting.
After inevitable community shifts the lab transitioned into germination mode relocating into a barn and repurposed wine cooler (culture library). Jess reentered academia for furthur training and the group dispersed. Now rearisen we are oriented towards serving marginalized members of our community in ways which increase ecological literacy, accessibility to scientific learning, and opportunities to engage and train all interested in the ecological restoration field. While fungi are a huge part of this work, so are microbes and plants!
2020 summer, the lab hosted (with help from NEGEF), Abenaki members of Alnobaiwi to offer rematriation ceremony at Shelburne Farms where we with Abenaki guide Myco-Phytoremediation research; this site like many needs remediation from years of colonial land practices that contribute to watershed degradation. These research plots also serve as Abenaki harvest ways since 88% of our plant palette has ceremonial, medicinal, edible, utilitarian use to Abenaki. Phosphorus is benign when uptaken in plants. We orient all community restoration & remediation projects to engage Original Peoples as primary stakeholders, decision makers while we work to repair colonial extraction practices' legacy.
In addition to tending ongoing research at our Myco-Phytoremediation plots at Shelburne Farms, we contributed curriculum, time, resources and expertise to help develop a long-term remediation, restoration plan to support work of Friends of the Barge Canal for the Pine Street Barge Canal, albeit complex politics, impending development and dearth of knowledge in models for brownfield remediation at this contamination level. We are no longer part of FBC and listen for regenerative ways to continue tending this site. Any hydrological engineers, mycologists, botanists, GIS experts, grant writers, or other relevant experts who want to join our Mycolab team are welcome.
Mycolab is our community offering. We continue to write grants to fund these endeavors as we slowly shift the paradigm through decolonial, racially just, accessible, non capitalist forms of community care, earth tending, true remediation, ecological literacy, earth repair training and rematriation. This involves educating developers, city officials, mainstream scientists, and policy administrators in how to 'catch up' current mainstream institutional practices of dig, dump, build with current science of true remediation. This involves updating outdated definitions of remediation and accompanying policy/economic systems with innovative, rehabilitive solutions. This involves learning together with everyone in the technical science and the softer skills of conscious communication and reciprocal collaboration. Stay tuned!!!
After inevitable community shifts the lab transitioned into germination mode relocating into a barn and repurposed wine cooler (culture library). Jess reentered academia for furthur training and the group dispersed. Now rearisen we are oriented towards serving marginalized members of our community in ways which increase ecological literacy, accessibility to scientific learning, and opportunities to engage and train all interested in the ecological restoration field. While fungi are a huge part of this work, so are microbes and plants!
2020 summer, the lab hosted (with help from NEGEF), Abenaki members of Alnobaiwi to offer rematriation ceremony at Shelburne Farms where we with Abenaki guide Myco-Phytoremediation research; this site like many needs remediation from years of colonial land practices that contribute to watershed degradation. These research plots also serve as Abenaki harvest ways since 88% of our plant palette has ceremonial, medicinal, edible, utilitarian use to Abenaki. Phosphorus is benign when uptaken in plants. We orient all community restoration & remediation projects to engage Original Peoples as primary stakeholders, decision makers while we work to repair colonial extraction practices' legacy.
In addition to tending ongoing research at our Myco-Phytoremediation plots at Shelburne Farms, we contributed curriculum, time, resources and expertise to help develop a long-term remediation, restoration plan to support work of Friends of the Barge Canal for the Pine Street Barge Canal, albeit complex politics, impending development and dearth of knowledge in models for brownfield remediation at this contamination level. We are no longer part of FBC and listen for regenerative ways to continue tending this site. Any hydrological engineers, mycologists, botanists, GIS experts, grant writers, or other relevant experts who want to join our Mycolab team are welcome.
Mycolab is our community offering. We continue to write grants to fund these endeavors as we slowly shift the paradigm through decolonial, racially just, accessible, non capitalist forms of community care, earth tending, true remediation, ecological literacy, earth repair training and rematriation. This involves educating developers, city officials, mainstream scientists, and policy administrators in how to 'catch up' current mainstream institutional practices of dig, dump, build with current science of true remediation. This involves updating outdated definitions of remediation and accompanying policy/economic systems with innovative, rehabilitive solutions. This involves learning together with everyone in the technical science and the softer skills of conscious communication and reciprocal collaboration. Stay tuned!!!
©2023 MycoEvolve; DBA of Roots and Trails L3C
