Inspire Growth

Facilitated for the Surface Festival, this artwork aims to inspire growth to research, recycle, reuse and choose to support sustainable choices each and everyday within Canberra and beyond. According to Sustainability Victoria, Australian's throw out 2.7 million single-use or disposable coffee cups every single day, which become a major contributor to litter in streets and waterways.

Cafes in this build donate used coffee grounds to grow new edible plants, including mushrooms. The use of mushrooms growing from the coffee cup, and their uses such as cleaning up oil spills and degrading plastics assist in creating a sustainable future.

This natural resource is being actively researched by Canberra based CSIRO scientist, Dr Oliver Mead, who says that fungi has such an important role in the ecosystem, as a critical role for decomposing and recycling. The food chain would not exist without these organisms.