A core value here at LadyFaire Magazine is the appreciation of our beautiful planet. After all, almost every Renaissance festival happens outside. As we anticipate the future of this industry, it becomes clear that caring for the planet is going to be crucial for our survival as faire goers, faire participants, and human beings living in accord with the Earth. Sustainability and conservation are vital.

Just last week, we found a little mushroom circle out on a walk on the site of the Sherwood Forest Faire, just in front of the Whimsy’s Muse photo studio (pictured below). It’s warming up here in south Texas, and these little fungi were bravely popping up out of the dry, rocky soil, a visible testament to the sheer determination of our planet’s flora to survive and sustain through a winter that was surely milder than what many of our northern comrades faced.

A few days later, listening to a favorite podcast, Supersoul, featured an interview with cinematographer Louie Schwartzberg, a renowned pioneer of time lapse photography who specializes in nature time lapse and is very passionate about it (isn’t it fun to encounter people who are passionate about what they love?). He described a film project about a phenomenon of which I had never known: mushrooms are but the visible part of a vast underground mycelium network that connects plants over miles and acres. The plants share nutrients and information. When we trod the paths at festival, our sneakers and Bald Mountains and rope sandals are walking atop a huge plant communication network. Staggeringly awesome.

Paul Stamets, an environmentalist at the center of the film, says, “I believe nature is a force of good. ‘Good’ is not only a concept, it is a spirit. And so hopefully, the spirit of goodness will survive.”

Even after twenty years wandering the paths of Renfests, I find myself newly amazed by nature. By woods and water and our planet, and with a refreshed love of both. Ocean, tree, water, mushroom…mycelium. All miraculous. All connected in earth’s magic. As are we.

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141111-plants-have-a-hidden-internet

Kim Bryant is a veteran performer, educator, and writer. With 25 years teaching experience, an adjunct professorship in Theatre, and twenty years in the festival world, she brings a wealth of experience to LadyFaire Magazine. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education from Lubbock Christian University, a Master’s degree in Theatre from the University of Houston, and a Master’s degree in Communications from Southern New Hampshire University. Kim has studied at Actor’s Studio of Chicago, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, and at New York’s Lincoln Center, and currently works in leadership for Disney Live Entertainment. Kim has three grown children, Hilary, Travy, and Libby; two bonus grandchildren, Ally and JJ; and two grandchildren, Hazel and Ezekiel.