Imagine Music Festival 2017

This workshop will bring light to the Kingdom Fungi, the least studied and most disregarded group of organisms, warried throughout history, but have in fact brought us the greatest leaps in our psyche and are the foundation for all ecosystem prosperity. Exposing the world of mycology to the general public will be instrumental for future success and societal welfare because of Fungi’s potential and power in medicine and therapies, bioremediation, as a food source and cultivation tool, and a return to the holistic. The rich and intriguing history of fungi and its influence on culture and the evolution of life can be discussed here, highlighting on the symbolic decomposer role of fungi and how it is the restorer of balance and life energy. In the very nature of cultivation methods for fungi, a door to science is opened for the entire population, not just those in academia or research. Citizen scientists will be those who question everything and ultimately find solutions for our environmental and societal problems. I will provide procedures to incorporate fungi knowledge and sustainable practices in to everyday life, in widespread events, in education and creativity. Fungi can be used as a resource in all sorts of capacities, such as uses in making papers and dyes (a tutorial on this skill can be included here). I will instruct upon the role of fungi in the garden and how to encourage and cultivate rich communities of plants, fungi, and healthy soil and thus help to establish personal and worldwide food security. A do it yourself fungi and plant symbiotic system construction can be included in this portion of the workshop if it fits in to scheduling/resources. The biochemical abilities and characteristics of fungi will be detailed, bringing to light just how similar animals and fungi are in these processes and thus how effective fungi can be as medicine. A do it yourself remedy and health tonic concoction lesson using medicinal fungi can be included at this point depending on scheduling/resources. An optional topic relating to medicinal fungi is the discussion on how to use psilocybes most productively and safely and the research and findings for psilocybe used in psychological therapies.  The incredible enzymatic abilities of fungi will also be demonstrated, thus revealing their abundant capacity for bioremediation and aid in rectifying the superfluous waste and pollution we have inflicted upon the earth. Here I will detail composting systems to help minimize personal waste impact, how to encourage decomposition with fungi and microbes, and build your own soil. A final section will discuss local fungi in the area, how to identify and make use of them, and their specific niche in the ecosystem and thus the importance of conservation efforts. Depending upon the length of time allotted for my workshop, it can be given all in one session or broken up in to a series with more detail provided for each topic. An additional variation that I particularly enjoy adding to the workshop is splitting it up into adult and youth versions. I believe it is so crucial to appeal to the young generations and find they adore the subjects of science and the Kingdom Fungi. I will also provide information on various Fungi and conservation related organizations and potential opportunities for involvement.