Enchanted Farm Tours: A True Mycelium Connecting Point

Part of Enchanted Farms' purpose of working with the mycelium is to draw greater connections within our diverse community and nothing could be cooler than touching the lives of kids from the most urban parts of Albuquerque to the most rural outskirts of our state. We finally had an opportunity to put this into practice after receiving interest in our urban farm tours from several different school and education groups. We’ve had a group of students from Cuba, New Mexico tour the farm and participate in a mushroom inoculation demo. We’ve hosted the Culinary Arts students from Carlsbad High School, and hosted the Sandoval County Master Gardeners Group who scheduled an outing between our farm and the Mouse Hole Cheese Shop nearby. In every scenario, we love the juxtaposition of mushrooms in the community. 

During a Downtown Art Walk, I crossed paths with an Administrator from Amy Biehl High School who, after chatting, became intrigued by what we were doing and arranged our first school tour at the farm. I couldn’t think of a more perfect group of students to kick off our first ever educational farm tour. The downtown high school students walked to the farm and saw first hand just how cool urban agriculture and sustainability can be. “Thank you so much for the wonderful tour of your mushroom farm! It was great to see, and I think some of the students were really surprised by what they saw.” - Ms. Sandra Mack, Earth and Space Science Teacher, Amy Biehl High School. 
Our second school tour involved the students from Cuba High School who made the trek into Albuquerque to draw some inspiration on ways to apply their agricultural science education and expand upon ideas for sustainable farming. "Touring Enchanted Farms Mushrooms with my 9th and 10th grade Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources (AFNR) students was exciting and informative. Amanda and her team were welcoming and gave my students many opportunities to learn how to grow food for themselves and their families. The students were a bit shy when we arrived but Jacob Harris (EFM Mycologist) was so engaging and made growing fungi so approachable. My students left with big smiles and giggles of delight with their boxes of blue and golden oysters. I believe the opportunity for this hands-on experience with Enchanted Farms may have opened the eyes of some students to mycology and other parts of local food development." -Ms. Mary Catey, M.S.CTE - Animal Science Instructor, AFNR Internship Mentor. Cuba Independent School District

When I received a call from Nancy Rutland, who leads the Sandoval County Master Gardeners Group, I knew this was going to be an interesting tour. Nancy likes for the Master Gardeners to get together once a quarter to tour points of interest and she loved the idea of our mushroom farm tour. More than 25 people showed up and they spent 90 minutes learning about how mushrooms are grown and what our mushroom spent blocks can do for soil health.

One of our favorite tours so far was with the Culinary Arts students of Carlsbad High School through our friends at the New Mexico Restaurant Association. The students' field trip to Albuquerque involved a tour of Dion's commissary, our farm, and Talin Market as a way to see the different ways to be involved with the culinary scene. Culinary Arts Instructor, Amanda Hale, said the tour was "Very exciting and excellent facilities. Amanda and her staff were amazing and welcomed students to see how an amazing farm works." In total, they brought 22 High school students, which is not exactly the easiest crowd to light up but in each instance of the high schoolers visiting the farm and learning more about mushrooms, they left with smiles on their faces.
We hope to provide opportunities for students to learn more about fungi, urban agriculture, entrepreneurs, innovation, and sustainability. Our passion with this farm has always lied with deep meaning and purpose on these topics. We don't necessarily believe mushrooms can save the world but we certainly believe they can help to create a better way to live. We hope to spark ideas and inspire all the students that visit our farm, whether they are young or old. We want students to think a little differently in how they see themselves in the world and their role in our community's shared future. By opening our farm, we are opening our hearts.