When algae first emerged from the oceans some 480 million years ago to become plants, they had no roots, so they established a symbiotic relationship with fungi, which were essentially nothing but roots. The fungi had the capability of extracting critical moisture and minerals from the ground, while the algae could photosynthesize sugars from sunlight, so the two organisms established a mutually beneficial partnership. This is a subject that has been explored by Dr. Suzanne Simard in her seminal book, Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest. Rupert Sheldrake has explored the mysterious world of fungi even further in his remarkable book, Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds. And George Monbiot has added further dimensions to this fascinating subject in Regenesis, in which he examines the complexity of life systems in soils. Chapter 1, “What Lies Beneath”, is particularly illuminating.
Continue reading Soil – The Quadra ProjectTag Archives: Fungi
The Quadra Project: Changes Causing Changes
We live in a time of rapid change. Such periods have been recorded in our earlier history, but nothing quite compares to the present. If this change could be represented in a graph, it would indicate a nearly vertical rise in almost everything from technology and population to species extinction and climate change. We are remaking the world, from the micro to the macro, with consequences that are unprecedented.
Two book reviews in the Atlantic magazine of December 2021 by Rebecca Giggs identify some of these changes.
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Campbell River Rail Yard Market: 3 months on
There has been a colourful addition to the Tyee Plaza. The four brightly coloured boxcar-like units are a remembrance of Campbell River’s old logging railroads. They are also part of an innovative project designed to help cottage industries make the transition to brick and mortar stores. The Rail Yard Market, at1235 Shoppers Row, has been open for about 3 months.
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MYCOBlitz 2023 on Cortes Island
“The goal of a MYCOblitz is to document MYCOdiversity; i.e. the diversity of fungal species present on Cortes Island.Fungal fruiting bodies vary month to month, location to location, season to season. Therefore ongoing MYCOblitz’s are required to cover these bases!!” – email from Sabina Leader Mense
Close to 70 people of all ages took part in Cortes Island’s community fungal forest walk on November 1, 2023. The students of the Cortes Island Academy were among them. We were greeted outside the Linnaea Education Centre by one of the islands better known scientists, who declared:
“Good afternoon. Good afternoon. ‘Truncocolumella citrina‘ you can call me, the Latin name for Lemon truffle. On any day other than MYCOblitz, my name is Sabina Leader Mense. I’m a founding director and an educational research associate with the Forest Trust for the Children of Cortez Island Society and it’s my pleasure on their behalf to be hosting MYCOblitz 2023.” (Cheers)
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Wet Dreaming w/Erin Robinsong & Merlin Sheldrake: FolkU 89.5
Erin Robinsong and Merlin Sheldrake discussed water, mycelium, creating, poetry, science and their recent books on the Friday Aug 26 edition of Folk U Radio on Cortes Community Radio CKTZ 89.5 FM.
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