The Art and Science of Working with Fungi:
GROWING MUSHROOMS FOR FOOD, MEDICINE AND SOIL

This workshop series covers the skills needed to grow spawn and mushrooms year-round. Core concepts and practical skills are covered in-depth and include the simplest and most reliable low-cost techniques to grow mushrooms and their mycelium at home, in the garden or on the farm without the need of a dedicated lab space. The class will meet weekly for seven sessions. Each session will include a lecture and a lab component. Over the duration of the course, each participant will culture and grow their own oyster mushrooms from start to finish, getting hands-on experience with each step of the process. These skills can be applied to grow many other species of mushrooms. Cost is $325 and includes materials and two mushroom cultures. Students will create and go home with multiple fruiting kits made from straw, coffee grounds, sawdust and logs. 

Lecture Topics Include

Fungal Biology and Ecology 

Principles of Working with Fungi 

Sourcing Materials

Indoor Fruiting Environments 

Mycoremediation Applications 

Principles of Mycopermaculture 

Off-Grid Adaptations

Scaling Up

Species to Know, Species to Grow 

Usage and Storage

Strain Development and Maintenance 

Hands-on Lab Skills Include

Cloning Mushrooms 

Innovative Open-air Lab Techniques 

Growing Mycelium in Liquid Culture 

Grain Spawn Production

Bulk Substrate Preparation and Formulation (Sawdust, Straw, Coffee Grounds etc.)

Container Cropping

Outdoor Installations

Log Culture

Registration is limited to 12 people. Reserve your spot at https://italianculturalcentre.ca/blog/events/art-science-working-fungi-growing-mushrooms-food-medicine-soil-2/

About the organizer: Willoughby Arevalo made friends with fungi at a young age. After studying fungal biology and identification at Humboldt State University, he learned mushroom cultivation experientially by working at a gourmet mushroom farm. Through working with the Radical Mycology Collective, he taught about seeing and working with fungi across North America. He contributed to the books Radical Mycology, by Peter McCoy and Mushroom Essences, by Robert Rogers. He is in the process of writing a book on home scale mushroom cultivation for New Society Publishing. He is currently on the Education Committee of the Vancouver Mycological Society. He grows mushrooms at home and in the garden, subsistence forages and prepares food and medicine from the harvests.