Magical Mushroom Mosaic

Event Year: 2025
Event Location: Orange County STEM Saturday
Competition: Energy Inspired Art
Division: 6-8
School: Arbor Ridge K-8 Magnet Middle
Team Name: Soaring Eagles
Project Name: Mushroom Mosaic Magic
Team Size: 1

By Anay M.

Photo & Basic Info

Team or art project name: Plastic Mosaic Art work “Magical Mushroom Mosaic” supported by a poem “Just a Tiny ‘Little’ Mushroom” written and recited by Anay M.
Name of the School: Arbor Ridge K-8 Magnet Middle School
First name(s) and last initials of students on the team (no last names on the public page): Anay M.
Grade level of each team member: Grade 8
A photo of the completed art project or team (use this as the Featured Image on your page): Please see Artifact 1 (and featured image) below for full image of my poem.

About Me

My Energy Inspired Project:

My inspiration comes from a mushroom I found online that I believed could become a huge factor in solving the pollution issue.

For this Energy Inspired Art Project, I am working on a mixed media artwork that consists of three parts: a mosaic  art piece of the protagonist mushroom that eats harmful plastic and micro-plastics  that previously caused pollution, a poem from this mushroom’s perspective that could help reverse or combat climate change titled “Just a Tiny ‘Little’ Mushroom,” and background information on the topic. The poem is a personification of the voices that are not considered big and may be considered too small to make a change. I dedicated the art by using plastic tiles from plastic bags /pieces that can not be recycled and end up in the land fill.

Earlier I had written two other poems “Together we CAN.. for Climate Change” and “Together we WILL…for Climate Change” for Energy Whiz and Super STEM OCPS. This year I chose to give a mixed multi-media as a plea to the grown-ups (former generation) to join hands to inspire others and engage youth and children (“small” voices) who can help to make small changes with amplified effects and make our world a better place, a safe space!

Our planet is our home and just like it is the current generations’ responsibility to equip me and my generation for a better future, it is my generations’ responsibility to engage to further the work. Only when we are together, we will achieve the green and clean goals we aspire for generations to come.

I hope you find my work interesting and edumazing (educating + amazing)! 

Thank you,

Anay M.

Artifact 1:

I didn’t just start making my mosaic or typing my poem one fine day. I studied many readings and conducted many of my own observations.

Step 1: I like to read and came across an article in a magazine on mushrooms that can eat plastic. So, hearing this, I started to research more.

Step 2: I then researched information (Artifact 2a-c). Education and learning around important planet issues are important. For example, did you know that in 2021 only 6% of plastic was recycled (Greenpeace report)? If you consider a takeout dinner on a Friday evening, the plastic bag, pizza box, utensils, paper napkins, drink cup/can might feel like consumables for a recycling factory. However, not all those items are recyclable, and it is important for all to know this, and practice accurate and precise recycling to make the ongoing efforts more effective. You might wonder: How is plastic related to climate change? Well, plastics don’t decay easily and stay around for eons! They simple break down into microplastics and pollute the environment and even human bodies leading to some diseases as well. Extraction of materials to make or refine plastics lead to large amounts of green house gases being sent to the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. This is where ideas like sorting, re-purposing and reusing become important. This is where some species of mushrooms become important!

Pestalotiopsis microspora, is one of many mushrooms (other mushrooms include oyster mushrooms and marine fungi) that can excrete enzymes that can break down plastics like polyurethane and polyethylene into smaller, more degraded molecules. What’s even better? These molecules become the fungus’s food, which excites scientists and conservationists around the world! Some of these mushrooms are even edible!

This mushroom has another superpower; it can live in anaerobic environments, like that of landfills. This is great news, because theoretically, if plastic waste ends up in landfills, and these plastic-eating mushrooms thrive in these garbages, then pollution’s toll and humans’ mistakes in recycling-related choices can be erased or at least reduced.  

The mushroom is currently being used in a method of mycoremediation, a form of bioremediation, a process of cleaning the soil and water of pollutants in an ecosystem. This fungus is being researched and has the potential to reduce waste in several places, including landfills, industrial sites, and the oceans. Do you know what the Great Plastic Garbage Patch is? It is a matter of concern in the Pacific between Hawaii and California, an area twice the size of Texas (and 3 times the size of France!) that is full of plastic debris, having the potential to choke native animals swimming around. 

Of course, there are challenges still needed to resolve, like timeliness and induced factors like temperature or nutrient availability. The fungi can also release toxins, so the resulting mass after the mycophagy would need to be tested before being used in food or other materials. However, scientists and conservationists know that there is a lot of hope in the near future for these mushrooms to save our ecosystems and environments from the perils of extinction and eradication due to pollution. 

My artwork locks plastic in the art piece and in that sense decreases what will end up in the landfill. I used plastic including film, polyurethane from packaging products and plastic from food bags (because they metallic on the inner side, they can’t be recycled and end up in the landfill). The artwork symbolizes the work and function of the mushroom and the role it plays in cleaning up the environment. Just one of Nature’s ways to balance itself.

Step 3: Next, I wrote my first poem on the power of mushrooms ”Just a Tiny ‘Little’ Mushroom” to talk about the both the issues and simple things everyone can do in their homes. I wrote it in free verse style to add simplicity to my project (Artifact 1) and made my artwork (Artifact 2).

Step 4: Recitation (Artifact 3). Both introduction to the project as well as the poem are attached here.

The finished art piece: My mosaic art and my poem (Please see Artifact 1 or play Artifact 5-video, where I have recited the poem)

The intended message of the art piece: As described above, the purpose of writing the poem was ‘edutainment’, to educate through entertainment and continue to raise awareness towards climate change which I strongly believe will be the #1 problem for my generation.

Why this medium was selected: I chose to provide mixed media by creating an artwork and writing a poem because this is more entertaining and I feel it might reach more numbers of people. In fact, some people have read my poem and published my poem in their community both in the US as well as in India. So, I do think that there is power in the pen! But, I also know pictures speak a thousand words. When we see a picture and ask questions about it, we learn more about it. Maybe next time someone throws plastic recklessly in the trash, they will stop and think about the aftermath of their actions. If thousands of such people act differently, or talk about it to others, then the eventually we will see the ripple effect. I also like music. I play clarinet. I can make a song out of the poem! I recorded myself reciting it so you all can enjoy and hear the emotion in my thoughts.

Each team member’s contribution to the project: I am the only member of this team. I did the research, brain-storming, artwork and writing.

Additional details: I have described my journey on this project above. I want to take a moment to share in this space, a big shout out to all my teachers at Timber Lakes Elementary Green Club and Arbor Ridge K-8 S.E.R.V.E. Club who have provided opportunities to students to think about these issues. I also want to thank Energy Whiz and OCPS Super STEM for providing this platform to students to share our thoughts in multiple ways. Finally, I want to thank my family for their continuous support to me.