“Mycelium is the neurological network of nature. Interlacing mosaics of mycelium infuse habitats with information-sharing membranes. These membranes are aware, react to change, and collectively have the long-term health of the host environment in mind.”
— Paul Stamets (Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World)
The Mycelium School holds three core beliefs. Education for the 21st Century should:
1) Facilitate a textured understanding of self
2) Provide diverse and learner-centered opportunities for the participant to develop connection and purpose
3) Provide the tools needed to manifest meaningful connection in the world
The Mycelium School is an international program which endows the next generation of leaders with the knowledge and skills needed to identify and address root causes of social and environmental concerns. The school will invite 18-30 year old global citizens to gain an interdisciplinary education based on ecological principles, localization and social innovation.
The school is currently in development and is slated to break ground in 2012/13 outside Asheville, North Carolina.
As we make social innovations in the 21st Century, we must look to reinvent the current systems to provide a better product at a lower cost.
Within the realm of education, our goal is to regenerate social and ecological systems. To do so, we must not teach sustainability, but integrate sustainably into our lives. It is with this principle that The Mycelium School was designed.
Participants will explore and reach new insights into both internal and external landscapes (Module 1). With this cultivated understanding, the School will work with its participants in drawing meaningful connections between these two worlds (Module 2). Ultimately, as the students explore and refine these connections, the school will work with the student to manifest this meaning out in the world (Module 3).
The interconnected modules are offered together or as stand-alone experiences.
In all three modules, roughly half the curriculum will be carried out in a classroom setting where students will cultivate their knowledge base from field professionals. The other half of the time will be invested in a hands-on curriculum where students partner with local community development organizations, design and build their living & working spaces, grow their own food, install renewable energy sources and engage in intercultural dialogue and self-governance.
Since the work is done by students and volunteers, natural building materials are inexpensive or free, the energy is renewable and the food is home or locally grown, the cost for attending is 25% less than comparable programs while 75% of participants will attend on some degree of scholarship.
Due to the high degree of self-sustenance, we are able to invite highly capable youth from around the world on scholarship to share chapters from the global narrative that all-too-often goes unheard.
Please visit our Blog, Facebook & Twitter Pages to follow our development and check out the ‘Get Involved!‘ tab for ways to get involved.
Along with the navigation bar at the top, our site is organized into three principle categories:
1) The School’s philosophy and core components:
2) The year-round curriculum in addition to coursework:
3) Information for potential participants:
To navigate easily through the site, you will find links to each of these sections at the bottom of every page. Happy exploring!
