Laboratory Workshop by Craig Trester, founder of MYC.NYC:

Most people usually encounter mushrooms only on the menu of their favorite restaurant or in the produce section of the supermarket, never having to search for and identify these fungal fruiting bodies in their natural habitats. That leaves the question, what techniques allowed humans to go beyond foraging for mushrooms in the woods and cultivate them on demand?

This workshop will provide an answer through instruction of the theory and practice of laboratory techniques utilized in mushroom cultivation. Used to isolate pure cultures of fungal species, these methods are also fundamental to propagate mycelium for use in creation of biological based materials, textiles, and artwork.

Working with mushrooms from the grocery and wild, you’ll learn to:

• Formulate solid (petri dish) agar media that mycelium will grow out on
• Use sterile technique to handle fungal specimens and culture mycelium from their tissue
• Create a personal still air chamber from up-cycled materials that will allow you to perform these skills at home

About the Instructor:

Craig M. Trester is a community scientist and creative biologist who applies biomimicry and permaculture principles through mycology to develop regenerative solutions. By studying Fungi, he believes novel approaches towards alternative agriculture, pharmacology, and bioremediation can be realized. Craig runs MYC.NYC, an applied mycology educational resource that teaches the benefits Fungi provide to our health, environment, and society to academic, research, community, and private audiences.