#219 – MYCELLIUM
“I joined mycologist Bill O’Dea recently on an expedition in Wicklow. Getting my brain around mycellium networks and how fungi acquires its nourishment by secreting digestive enzymes into their environment, and absorbing whatever is nearby: a rotten apple, an animal carcass, an old tree trunk.
Bill pointed out the unseen damage being done to our soil by intensive farming reliant on chemicals. A simple example is when soil has been freshly tilled and, “there are no birds following the machine because there are no worms in the soil. If it is dead and has realised all the carbon, it is no longer sequestering it.”
Just like the secret life of trees, fungi has its own subterranean comms channels – they are the largest organisms on the planet after all which support and sustain nearly all living systems, the original world wide web. You don’t need to take mushrooms to have your mind blown about them. You can double down also, of course.” – Michael McDermott
Also in the edition…
- Setting the Scene, in association with the Abbey Theatre, meets the Young Critics of theatre.
- Conor Stevens delivers his verdict on Hawksmoor
- We celebrate 50 years of the Liberty Market
- Zara Hedderman chat to ØXN ahead of their debut album and live shows.
- We profile the photographic work of Lorraine Tuck from her current shows in Photo Museum Ireland.
- Diarmuid McGreal reevaluates Breakfast on Pluto, 25 years after its initial publication.
- Magnified chats to Left Cultures, “a lexicon of stories past and present.”
