In this introductory workshop Todd Mansfield, of Fungi Culture, will teach you about the life cycle of the mushroom and some common terminology needed to understand mushroom cultivation, as well as some relatively unknown facts on the unsustainable cultivation of button mushrooms.

From there we will move onto the steps taken to grow a much more sustainable and nutritious mushroom – the oyster mushroom – indoors with the Fungi Culture kit as well as outdoors in and around the garden. You'll learn some great skills to take back to your students and begin growing your own school mushroom patch – the kids will love it.

Todd has been cultivating mushrooms for over four years. Over that time he has managed commercial organic mushroom farms, as well as started one of the few mushroom spawn making enterprises that supplies the public. He is passionate about low-tech simple methods for growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms and is always researching and trialling new sustainable methods of cultivation. Educating children on where their food comes from and the simple delights of growing food is very important to him.