Friday, March 10, 10:25-11:25am — High Desert Mushroom Cultivation and other Fungal Pursuits
Saturday, March 11, 9:00-11:00am — Mushroom workshop
Learn how challenges to the land in the high desert can be addressed in mushroom cultivation and working with fungi for applications like building soil structure and water retention, increasing plant health, erosion control, and remediation. Issues like progressively temperamental weather patterns and more intense but less frequent rains are regular challenges in the Southwest and increasingly so worldwide with climate change. Designing microclimates that foster fungal growth makes for more ecological and social resilience.
Mercedes Perez-Whitman (she/they) is an earthworker and citizen mycologist. She is the founder of MycoSprings LLC, a mycologically-focused business that offers educational and landscaping services. Mercedes’ work is embedded in improving land health by cultivating native and climate relevant plants and fungi, alongside land, environmental and food justice advocacy.