On this episode of The Children’s Hour we explore mushrooms with mycology educator and author, Peter McCoy. We’ll learn about how the fruits of fungi are the smallest parts of these incredible organisms, which can be found everywhere in nature from the tops of mountains to the bottom of the sea, and how they are a part of all living and dead creatures on Earth.

Fungi is much more than just a food for humans and others, it’s quite possibly the reason life is so abundant here on planet Earth. Using complex chemical signals, mycelium can communicate with one another, and scientists are exploring how they interact with plants and soils.

Peter McCoy will explain what the role of fungus is in our environment, and how it’s the great transformer of chemicals into nutrition for plants around the world.

We will also find out about myco-remediation experiments using fungi to help clean up pollutants in rivers, the ocean, on land, and in our soils. You can learn more about myco-remediation in this video from the Biomimicry Institute.

Understanding Microremediation by the Biomimicry Institute

With poetry by Sylvia Plath, and a playlist celebrating all things fungi, join us as we learn about the fungus among us.

This episode was produced by Katie Stone, Executive Producer of The Children’s Hour. Our Learn-Along guides are written by Jonathan Dunski. Many thanks to Dr. Peter McCoy for being with us on The Children’s Hour.

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