ENCB Holds Mushroom Workshops in Hidalgo

Reporter: Mónica Valladolid / Photos: Courtesy

Researchers will give talks on mushrooms and their properties to help preserve Nahua heritage in Acaxochitlán

To expand scientific knowledge about mushrooms, protect biocultural heritage, and promote the circular economy of the Nahua community in Hidalgo, the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) will hold a series of workshops in the Acaxochitlán region.

The workshops will take place on August 15 and 16, starting at 9:00 a.m. They are free and open to the general public and will provide information about mushrooms, including how to identify edible and non-edible species and how to prepare preserves.

Tania Raymundo, head of the Mycology Laboratory at the National School of Biological Sciences (ENCB) of the IPN, explained that participants will have the opportunity to join mushroom-gathering walks and learn how to identify and classify microfungi and macrofungi found in temperate forests.

As part of the Acaxochitlán Apple and Mushroom Fair, the activities will also include opportunities to create scientific and illustrative drawings of the species found in the region.

Researcher Tania Raymundo, a Level II member of Mexico's National System of Researchers (SNII), explained that the IPN's participation in the Acaxochitlán fair is part of a multi-stage study that brings together the expertise of IPN researchers and the traditional knowledge of the Nahua community to help preserve the region's biocultural heritage.

“It is an integrated study in which community members have years of knowledge about where mushrooms grow, how they develop, which trees they are associated with, and how often they appear throughout the year.

When we scientifically document the species, we can draw on that knowledge to build a more robust study, with greater precision, particularly from an ecological perspective,” she explained.

Raymundo noted that researchers are increasingly expected to give back to society, an approach her team has been pursuing in the region for the past year.

“Providing this data and working alongside the people who safeguard these ecosystems is part of what is now understood as the circular economy,” she said.

IPN undergraduate and graduate students will participate in the Acaxochitlán fair under the coordination of Dr. Tania Raymundo and Dr. Ricardo Valenzuela.