Radical Mycology Convergence 2012

RMC 2012 reportback

Hey all!The Second Annual Radical Mycology Convergence was a huge success!!! Thanks to everyone who participated. For those of you who didn’t make it– we missed you! And soon we’ll have video and audio of the workshops at www.radicalmycology.org. A full reportback is there too.

 

 

REGISTRATION FOR THE 2012 RMC IS CLOSED. WE ARE NOT ACCEPTING ANY MORE VOLUNTEERS OR REGISTRANTS THIS YEAR. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

Location: Port Townsend, WA (exact address to be given after you register)
Date: October 18-22, 2012 (Thursday-Monday)
Suggested Donation: $10-50 (no one will be turned away for lack of funds)

To stay up to date on RMC announcements, click here.

The Vision (What is this all about?)

To read the reportback from the first RMC (2011) and see how the first one went, click here.

What: As with the first RMC, we envision this unique event to be a volunteer-run gathering of mycologists, fungal enthusiasts, and Earth stewards coming together to share skills and information related to the numerous benefits of the fungal kingdom for humans as well as the planet. This weekend-long event will include various remediation inspired projects (putting theory to practice) and will also be a unique chance to build community with like-minded mycophiles (aka mushroom lovers) from around the world. It will also be an opportunity for us to synthesize our ideas for future work. We will have discussions and meetings on how we can build this movement, and how we can collaborate on various projects.

Why: Because these skills need to get shared! We want to make information on fungi and their healing powers accessible and tangible for as many people as possible without making it overly-heady or technical. By creating an encouraging and welcoming space we hope to “be-mushroom” and educate all who attend.

Who: The Mycelial Network Collective, organizers of the RMC, would like to cordially invite anyone interested in participating in this event to come and learn, help out, or teach! For more information, please read on or contact us via email at radmycology@gmail.com.

Why “Radical?”

We see the use of fungal species for environmental betterment as an extension of “radical” or “deep” ecology, which considers all beings as having an inherent value and interdependence. Through the use of fungi to enact change, we are attempting to challenge assumptions about the importance of the fungal kingdom in our western culture in an effort to help shift our society’s relationship to the Earth toward greater harmony. One of the things that distinguishes the RMC from most of the other projects and activities going on in the world of mycology is that the kind of work we support is based on an anti-oppression analysis of the world’s problems and doesn’t rely as heavily on a globalized & industrial capitalist system. We also emphasize learning skills that help us live outside of that system and in better balance with the world via mycopermaculture, growing and foraging for our own food & medicine, and making mushroom paper and dyes.

Wikipedia on Deep Ecology

Mission Statement

The Radical Mycology Convergence (RMC) is a volunteer-run gathering of mushroom enthusiasts working to share knowledge and skills related to the use of fungi for environmental and personal betterment. A non-discriminatory and family-friendly event, the RMC will bring together people of all backgrounds and abilities to destigmatize and simplify this information through the engagement of various learning modes while fostering a network of like-minded people. The RMC will focus around skills related to the use of fungal species for the remediation of damaged environments to create a better world with greater ecological health. Workshops at the RMC will emphasize low-tech and low-budget techniques that support community building and self-sufficiency while encouraging independence from corporate, non-local, or environmentally exploitative materials and/or practices.

Primary Goals

• Provide hands-on mycoremediation training. Emphasize low tech/budget techniques for soil, water, and forest restoration.
• Create a decentralized, inclusive network of mycologists to facilitate the expansion of knowledge, techniques, cultures, and community.
• Be as inclusive as possible to people of various class backgrounds, races, culture, abilities, genders and ages.
• Engage multiple modes of learning (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.).
• Normalize and de-stigmatize mushrooms and their many uses. Promote a better understanding of fungal biology, and the role of fungi in soil science.
• Create a world with better soil, and greater ecological health.

Guiding Principles:

• Building community, building a decentralized network of mycologists.
• Emphasize local, non-corporate, non-industrial, non-exploitative practices wherever possible.
• Encourage building a barter and gift-based economy.
• Maintain an egalitarian, horizontal, and inclusive organizational structure.
• Integration of anti-oppression principles, creating a safer space. Being non-discriminatory and highly accessible.
• Keep everything as free/cheap and in the commons as possible.

In Memory of Jim Stevens

This year’s Radical Mycology Convergence is dedicated to the memory or Jim Stephens, a veteran radical mycologist who passed from this world earlier this year. His friend Mark wished to share these words in Jim’s memory:

Jim never lost his sense of wonder of the world.  Like a precocious child he followed the mushrooms’ call into a world of mystery and wonder.  He learned from the mycelium and let it tell him what it wanted and needed. They also told him the ethical rules of their world, that apply to our interactions with the world of fungi. He remained loyal to the mycelium’s lessons throught his life. He sought to teach others what he’d learned, in spite of his troubled life. The conflict between his ruined body and his love of the world final took him from us, but he lives in the hearts of those who knew him. Our lives are enriched by his passage through them.  Our world is shaped by his insightful experiences with his friends the mushrooms.

Jim