Living Probes in Place: Exploring More-Than-Human Care Through Mycoremediation

Environmental crises demand HCI to shift from human-centered design to more-than-human (MTH) care. Current MTH care often focuses on singular species, overlooking the role of the place in which these care relations are situated. To address this, we turn to mycoremediation—bioremediation of soil and water with fungi. We present findings from a two-week living probe study where participants (N=12) placed and cared for a living mycelium composite in a place of their choosing. Our findings show that engaging with mycoremediation fostered stewardship, extended noticing of multispecies ecologies, and made distant places proximate. Participants’ relationships evolved from expecting feedback from the fungi (a dyadic model) towards attending to their relations with the broader place (a place-based ecological model). We contribute to Bio-HCI and MTH HCI with: 1) an empirical account of mycoremediation as a situated MTH care practice, and 2) design implications for living artifacts that foster affective, ecological connections in place.