by Doug Bierend
Chelsea Green Publishing, 2021
Citizen Science, Fungi Fanatics, and the Untapped Potential of Mushrooms
Fungi have long been part of the counterculture movement, and interest is burgeoning as people learn more about the many benefits fungi may offer. In the introduction of In Search of Mycotopia: Citizen Science, Fungi Fanatics, and the Untapped Potential of Mushrooms, journalist Doug Bierend explains that he himself is not a mycologist or even a scientist, and that his book is partly about “challenging our idea of what counts as expertise, and who gets to participate and make contributions.” The author focuses on the resurgence in interest and the unique ways in which fungi bring people from marginalized communities together.
Bierend’s book offers a dizzying, information-packed introduction to the world of fungi and how they “bind the world together.” Everything from basic fungal biology to the impact of fungi on human culture through history is explored in fine detail. His descriptions flow from spore to hyphae and on to fungal feeding habits and mating strategies. Bierend focuses special attention on the importance of fungal decomposition and mycorrhizal relationships with plants.
The author interviews a wide range of people who study and promote the benefits of fungi. For example, he brings us to Smugtown Mushrooms, a mushroom cultivation company in Rochester, New York. The owner, Olga Tzogas, began her company because she saw a need for educating people about fungi and their value as food and medicine, as well as their ecological importance. Tzogas champions community-based science and exemplifies how intimate knowledge of the fungal world doesn’t necessarily require a mycology degree.
Fungi lack regulatory protections that are afforded to plant and animal species. The author travels to Chile to meet with Giuliana Furci, a mycologist who is advocating for fungi to be legally recognized for their importance in the environment. Furci is also working to enact governmental protections for rare and endangered fungal species.
Fungi were not recognized as their own separate kingdom until 1969; and as Bierend points out, they have lacked the amount of study afforded other categories of life on Earth. He interviews researchers who are working to identify and classify a portion of the approximately 3.8 million species of fungi. While the mycologists utilize DNA analysis in this task, building this fungal record also depends greatly on contributions of specimens from citizen scientists around the world.
The author credits well-known mycologist Paul Stamets with sparking his own interest in fungi. Stamets endorses the use of psilocybin mushrooms (that is, hallucinogenic mushrooms) for therapeutic and other purposes, as well as the potential of fungi for use in mycoremediation of contaminated soils, and the benefits of fungi in helping to prevent colony collapse in bees. Bierend includes a lengthy discussion of the history of psilocybin cultivation and the modern Online Mushroom Community (OMC) that has developed in response to Stamets’ work.
Perhaps of particular interest for many Northern Woodlands readers, Bierend talks with Jeff Ravage, North Fork Watershed coordinator for Coalition for the Upper South Platte, who is working to decipher the best practices to retain and encourage healthy fungal communities, which are vital in the recovery of the soil and its nutrients following a timber harvest. The resulting balanced communities, Ravage proposes, will be more resistant to catastrophic forest fires.
Another interesting topic in this book is the so-called “mycelium underground,” the grassroots counterculture responsible for organizing fungi festivals and community-based projects. Many of these groups promote the idea that knowing fungi can give us a more open-minded and inclusive society. Bierend introduces us to female mycologists who are working to challenge the male-dominated field of mycology, including the changing of male-oriented terminology and encouraging females and LGBTQ individuals to join ranks. This theme is evident throughout much of the book.
Bierend’s writing style makes for a fun and educational journey for readers, giving us plenty of background and a greater appreciation of fungi. He also makes us ponder how fungi can stand as a guide for how we should treat others, a rather unexpected aspect, but fitting for one who is “In Search of Mycotopia.”