Julia Wright
Julia Wright (they/them) is a passionate sustainability advocate and practitioner based in Montreal, Quebec. In addition to founding MycoNurseries, they volunteer at Santropol Roulant, a meals-on-wheels organization, and work at the McGill Office of Sustainability as a Sustainable Labs Intern, aiming to make research labs more sustainable. Julia studies Chemistry and Math at McGill University, where they have also worked in the chemistry department to contribute to rechargeable battery advances. Their leadership and service to their communities have been recognized with a 2022 Loran Award and Nova Scotia Provincial Volunteering Award. In their free time, they enjoy reading, going on long walks, and squirrel-watching in their neighbourhood.
MycoNurseries: Grow Column Expansion
MycoNurseries is a non-profit dedicated to promoting sustainability through fungiculture. The organization diverts used coffee grounds from being disposed of and uses them as materials to grow oyster mushrooms from. Over the past nine months, MycoNurseries has acquired a centralized space at McGill University and refined their growing techniques to harvest their own mushrooms. MycoNurseries has been recognized with over $23,000 in grant funding and is excited to expand operations through the Sprout Ideas Fellowship.
About this Project
Communities Served
My project will involve and/or impact the following communities:
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
When it comes to community impact projects, the UN has created 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These are the Sustainable Development Goals associated with my project.
How the project works
With support from the Sprout Ideas Fellowship, MycoNurseries will start to use grow columns to grow oyster mushrooms. These columns are more efficient and cost effective than MycoNurseries previous method of grow mushrooms and will give the organization more financial sustainability.
Project Impact
MycoNurseries has so far diverted over 60 pounds of used coffee grounds for growing oyster mushrooms, promoting environmental sustainability. The organization has also created a vibrant community of over 10 volunteers who have learned sustainable agriculture practices and bonded over fungiculture.
Project Mission
MycoNurseries aims to promote sustainability through fungiculture. The organization does this through utilizing used coffee grounds to grow oyster mushrooms. In the future, the project is hoping to create a stable and plentiful yield of mushrooms so that they can be donated to people facing food insecurity.
Project Team
MycoNurseries has many dedicated volunteers who contribute to the project’s success
- Minh Le
- Nico Vilkoff
- Daniel Cha
Optional Photo Gallery
Donate to Sprout to support fellows
Support young social innovators by donating to the Sprout Ideas Fund, providing capacity-building and resources needed to launch projects that create positive social change.
Donate Now