10/13/2021
Recently in California, an organization placed bales of hay containing oyster mushroom innoculum in a stream preventing toxins from the wildfires such as arsenic, asbestos, lead and plastics from being carried downstream in the waterways and harming the environment as well our health.
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This is a great example of ππ¦ππππππππππ‘πππ.
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As the mycelium network grows through the substrate (in this case hay) it secretes enzymes that convert contaminates into other forms.
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These contaminates are localized to and accumulated by the mycelium which prevents them from doing further damage to the environment and makes them easier to remove.
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Different mushrooms can be used for mycoremediation. In this case oyster mushrooms were used belonging to the genus ππππ’πππ‘π’π which has been shown to break down many compounds including heavy metals, PAH's and TNT.
We're really excited to explore how we can utilize mycoremediation to give back to our communities π
