On May 3rd, 2022 we heard from Rikki Longino for a talk on various aspects of mushrooms and community. Check it out below!
Description:
Fungi are emergent systems of mutual aid that spread for miles underground, connecting, translating, nourishing, and transforming the world beneath our feet. We have entered an era of mass extinction, anthropogenic climate change, and global industrialization. In this presentation we will explore ways to deconstruct and "myceliate" systems of destruction in order to imagine and enact a better future. Fungi constantly adapt to changes in their environments. They cleanse toxins, sequester carbon and supply necessary life (or death) to those around them. Fungi do not operate in heterosexual, cisgender, or heirarchical systems and they seem to do so with a lively sense of humor and flamboyant style moreover. We will focus on four fungi who exemplify community healing: Pleurotus (edible remediator), Reishi (medicinal adaptogen), Amanita (poisonous mycorrhizal), and Psilocybe (psychedelic relational).
Bio: Rikki Longino (They/them) is a gardener, seed-keeper, community organizer, and mycelial advocate based in the Wasatch Valley. Their love of fungi began as a child growing up in the temperate rainforest of Olympia, Washington. As an adult, Rikki has traveled to mycological gatherings, such as The New Moon Mycology Summit, MycoSymbiotics, and The Midwest Women's Herbal Gathering to present or vend. They are currently in the process of co-creating a mycology-inspired tarot deck called Fruiting Bodies. Rikki works at the Salt Lake City Public Library running a seed library and community garden. They also collaborate with The Mobile Moon Co-op, a femme and queer-led collective herb farm and apothecary.