Program

Mushroom Medicine for Humans, Animals, Forests, and the Planet

Friday, October 1st, 4-6 pm University of Colorado UMC
mycorrhizal fungi, restoration, and gardens beyond your imagination with Paul Stamets

Mushroom growing isn't just a rapidly expanding agribusiness; it's also a significant tool for the restoration, replenishment and remediation of Earth's overburdened ecosphere. Fungal mats are considered the largest biological entities on our planet -some extending more than 2,400 acres and growing as fast as two inches per day, Every ounce of soil contains thousands of species of fungi. We've only identified identified about 14,000 of the 150,000 estimated mushroom species in a fungal genome of 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 species. The genetic diversity of fungi is vast by design, and apparently crucial for life to continue. The vast, interconnected mantle of mycelia reacts quickly to the availability of plant and animal debris, recycling carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, iron and other essential elements. When storms, floods, volcanoes, or other natural disasters wreak havoc on the environment, fungal champions come to the rescue, capturing debris with mycelium and beginning to recycle. This workshop will discuss the current practices, evaluation of strategies, and choice of the appropriate fungal candidates for various purposes: medicine, ecoforestry, permaculture, road-abatement & decommissioning and toxic waste cleanups.

Paul Stamets has been a dedicated mycologist for over twenty years. Over this time, he has discovered and co-authored four new species of mushrooms, and pioneered countless techniques in the field of edible and medicinal mushroom cultivation. He received the 1998 "Bioneers Award" from The Collective Heritage Institute, and the 1999 "Founder of a New Northwest Award" from the Pacific Rim Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils. He has written five books on mushroom cultivation, use and identification. Paul sees the ancient Old Growth forests of the Pacific Northwest as a resource of incalculable value, especially in terms of its fungal genome. A dedicated hiker and explorer, his passion is to preserve, protect, and clone as many ancestral strains of mushrooms as possible from the pristine woodlands. Much of the financial resources generated from sales of goods from Fungi Perfecti are returned to sponsor such research.

More on Paul Stamets and his company, Fungi Perfecti.