01 Apr Mycelial Networks of Beauty and Unity – Earth Day 2025

Time: This is a 45-minute arts-based activity. It can be done individually,
and you are encouraged to complete it as part of a group. You will have the
option to choose a version for children or a version for adults.

Purpose: To help celebrate Earth Day, to promote the theme of unity, and
to foster a sense of community across the globe, especially for, and with,
the people of Ukraine. To accomplish this goal, we will use mushrooms as
a metaphor.

Promoting unity involves creating connections between people,
groups, and ideas. There is no better example of connectedness in nature
than the mycelial network. Mycelia are underground fibers that connect the
roots of plants, share information and resources, and nourish the entire
network – including other plants in the network. Mushrooms come from
mycelial networks. Whether we see the mushrooms or not, the underlying
network persists. For humans, the actions we take are representations of
our values. Our actions are like the mushrooms that represent the ever-
present network of values and beliefs that are our “network” of meaning
and hope.

The focus of this celebration is on creative expression and making
connections, not on creating the best art. All submissions are
representations of our shared hope, resilience, and imagination. Like
mushrooms that represent the underground mycelial networks in nature,
each individual contribution to this project will combine to form a great
network of unity and sustainable strength.

Materials: paper and coloring materials (markers, crayons, pencils, etc.)
Instructions:
Like in nature, improving one part of the ecosystem impacts the
whole system. Do the following activity with a group, including people who
are typically marginalized or excluded, if possible.

1. Using the examples provided as a guide, on a piece of paper draw at
   least five mushrooms, anywhere on the page. Or you can find a drawing of
   a mushroom online and print out copies.

2. In each mushroom, write something that matters to you and your
   community. This could be a person’s name, a value that you hold (ex:
   “fairness”), a phrase that represents something important, or a goal/wish.
3. Once you have completed five mushrooms, see if any other new ideas
   or names come to your mind. If so, add more mushrooms to the page and
   write in these additional words/phrases.
4. When you are done drawing, look at all of the separate mushrooms. Try
   to find something that connects one mushroom to another. When you think
   of a connection, draw a line between those mushrooms and write an
   explanation of the connection along the line.
5. Make as many lines as possible! Try to make more than one connection
   between two mushrooms, and try to connect every mushroom with as
   many lines as possible. 
6. When you have made all of the connections that you can think of, take a
   look at your network of support. See if you can give the network a name, or
   identify a theme.
7. When you have completed the project, here are some additional
   actions you can take to support the connections you identified.
   • A) Examining your network, consider the following questions:
     -What are the “mushrooms” in your community (the short term
     actions that provide evidence of your supportive networks)? 
     -What are the mycelia (the values consistently held by your
     network)?
     -What nourishes this network? What protects it? 
     -What links are missing?
     -What information do you want to communicate throughout the
     network? 
     -How can you share this with your community?
     -What visual representations of your network’s shared values can your community create (posters, signs, etc.)? 
     -Are there any verbal representations that you can create (poems, essays, “peace pledges”, songs, etc.)?