Created and coordinated by Diogo Ribeiro, biologist from CIÊNCIAS and Ecological Restoration Masters student (ISA-CIÊNCIAS). Dilema Fungi has a close relationship to HortaFCUL and therefore the project works mainly at PermaLab (Permaculture Living Lab) in the Faculty campus. The initiative came from the idea of adding mushrooms to the food produced in this ‘Living Lab’.
Dilema Fungi
Living Laboratory logo, project title and photograph of mushrooms
SDGs 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production, 4 - Quality Education, 15 - Life on Land, and 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
Who, where and why?
The project
Dilema Fungi is present on campus in the form of mushroom-growing stations.
Mushrooms
These small incubators were developed to retain and monitor temperature and humidity and automatically regulate these factors. The design and construction of these is made with the help of the engineer-arquitect Rafael Cruz and the biologist Miguel Sousa. These stations are developed with and for the students of CIÊNCIAS in multiple free entry activities: construction of the structure, electronic system instalment, painting, mushroom inoculation. The mushroom production lectures are given by Diogo Ribeiro and the painting of the structures is performed in collaboration with the scientific illustration group of CIÊNCIAS, with essential help from Mafalda Mendes.
The project produces the following mushrooms, Grey Oyster, Yellow Oyster, King Oyster, Shiitake, Shimeji, Lionsmane, and others. For their own learning and research but also to highlight fungi and encourage the Faculty community to use the stations as living examples in this field of biology.
Sustainable production: closing cycles and reducing consumption
The project wants to make its production as sustainable as possible, by using various substrates and recipients: from the use of bags and coffee grounds from cafeterias of CIÊNCIAS, to the use of reused paint buckets, straw (agricultural waste) and sawdust (carpentry waste). Using as well compost of HortaFCUL as a nutrient supplement.
From the lab to the field (and the field to the table)
Lab work, Yellow Oyster Mushrooms, Grilled King Oyster Mushrooms
To produce mushrooms it’s needed mycelium, the stage of fungi life cycle that is used to inoculate them, a white network that is usually underground. The project produces its own mycelium from fresh mushrooms. Initially to better understand this process they counted with the help of Professor Margarida Souto Barata. The process is performed outside of CIÊNCIAS but also inside at the Plant Soil Department Lab from CE3C, with authorisation from Professor Cristina Cruz and supervision from researchers Inês Ferreira and Diana S. Pereira.
From the stations it’s collected data regarding biomass production, colonization speed and productivity. A bucket for example can produce 1-2kg of fresh mushrooms in the case of Pleurotus ostreatus (Grey Oyster Mushrooms).
Sharing the knowledge
Events, workshops and classes held by the project
The first mushroom production workshop organized in CIÊNCIAS, in 2023, had great feedback and after this experience the project was invited to share its knowledge nationally and internationally. In 2024 it organised lectures and workshops in London at Emmetts Garden Fungi Festival, at Beja’s Mushroom Festival, at Lisbon's Open Gardens Festival and at CIÊNCIAS. Just in that year they counted with more than 100 people in the activities. The project works as well in the lecturing of practical lectures for the course of Ecological Sustainability from the Masters in Ecology and Environmental Management.
During Diogo's ERASMUS+ semester, he set up the "Pop-Up" mushroom production station on the campus of the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. This initiative included several activities, which can be found in an article in the scientific journal les/wood (vol.II 2025). The University of Ljubljana formally thanked Diogo for this initiative.
The mission
With the help of the new team Diogo wishes to continue learning through practical experience and increase the project's impact in the teaching of biology and sustainability at CIÊNCIAS. To do so he wants to involve more communities, produce more species with varied functional and nutritional benefits and perfect lab and production techniques. Furthermore, Diogo believes the project can create synergies between his academic and professional life, due to fungi’s crucial role in ecology, conservation and nutrition.
Tests of vases and models made from fungi, biomaterials are more sustainable solutions used in various fields, from medicine to construction
Lions Mane Mushrooms
How to learn more?
The project is present on the following social media platforms, and you're likely to find Diogo and other project members at open days of HortaFCUL, always eager to show the Dilema Fungi stations and explain more about the project.
Coordinator: Diogo Ribeiro
Members: Donia Salgado, Jaca sousa, Mafalda Mendes, Miguel Sousa, Rafael Cruz
Instagram: @dilemafungi https://www.instagram.com/dilemafungi/
Email: dilemafungi@gmail.com
References about the project:
For more information, please contact sustentabilidade@ciencias.ulisboa.pt.