Fungi to the rescue!
The Myco Alliance teaches the benefits of fungus.
Words by Jessi Devenyns Photos by Eric Morales
Unobtrusively situated at the end of a dirt path in the Montopolis neighborhood is a lean-to shed surrounded by thousands of gallons of water cisterns, a bric-a-brac greenhouse, and haphazardly placed pockets of what appears to be sawdust.
Myco Alliance is a community project directed by Daniel Reyes, a passionate evangelizer of all things fungi. At Myco Alliance, Daniel welcomes community members to come and educate themselves about mycology – or the study of fungi – which Daniel says plays a critical role in all of earth’s processes and is an opportunity to “completely change up the way we do environmental remediation [and] ecological restoration.” To test potential remediation capabilities of these organisms, not only does Daniel experiment with fungi, but he also partners with various local businesses to collect their organic refuse.
“Things that would ordinarily be a waste for them are converted into a useful resource for us,” Daniel explains. Many of the organic debris that are piled around the research station are actually ideal food to grow the fungi mycelium that will produce the “fruit” or mushrooms. Those materials include landscaping logs, sawdust, woody debris, cardboard, and coffee grounds which in turn produce oysters, shitakes, reishi, and Lion’s Mane that Daniel then offers to the community.
From donating samples to local restaurants like Bento Picnic and Curcuma for recipe testing to offering courses in mushroom cultivation and operating a mobile fungi lab around town, the end goal of this outdoor project is to not only feed people but also to research different substrates in order to eventually take advantage of all the urban waste streams that the city provides.
While currently small in scale, Myco Alliance has recently joined forces with several other local mycology initiatives to form the Central Texas Mycological Society. By expanding, Daniel says the idea is to “create community programs that don’t necessarily need ticket sales to stay afloat.” Now that he has a little more financial wiggle room, he explains that his classes will be expanded to provide courses on mushroom identification, cooking, and extracts in addition to the current offerings on cultivation research and application.
The goal is that the partnership will help develop a volunteer network for on-site mushroom cultivation which will, in turn, produce enough mushrooms so that volunteers are guaranteed “payment” for their time.
“Fungi are problem-solving organisms that will, when fully understood, benefit the communities who integrate them into their systems.”
The idea behind this model Daniel shares is to allow the community access to the powerful health benefits of fungi, which can often be pricey and limited in selection compared to supermarkets. Still, the primary function of the project is education. “Fungi are problem-solving organisms that will, when fully understood, benefit the communities who integrate them into their systems.” While he is looking to save the planet through organic means, it only makes sense to share the powerful by-product with the community to help nourish itself.
Upcoming Events
April 20, 2-5pm: Land Restoration Workshop with Leif Olson (Pisgah Gourmet Mushrooms)
May 4, 2-5pm: Mushroom Cultivation Workshop with Daniel Reyes
June 14, 2-5pm: Mushroom Cultivation Workshop with Daniel Reyes
Contact:
420 Kemp Street
txfungi.com
@centraltxmycologicalsociety
