Lichen: Partnerships Cultivating Change

Photos by Troy McMullin

You’ve known us as Pinnguaq. Now, with you by our side, we are Lichen.

Lichen is a living partnership as varied as the global landscape; it strengthens each component and the environment around it. Just like lichen in nature, our organization collaborates with communities across Canada, partnering together for sustainability and equity.

Why have we become Lichen? 

Lichens are hybrid organisms, composed most commonly of algae and fungi that have joined together to create something new. Different species can grow in diverse geographies. From the east to the west to the vast north of Nunavut and beyond, lichens can be found all across Canada. Through our community partnerships, you can find us there too.

Thriving through Relationships

Lichens, biologically speaking, are often overlooked and ignored for their symbiotic beauty. They are geographically varied and highly sensitive, but according to lichenologist Troy McMullin at the Canadian Museum of Nature, these characteristics are part of what makes them so unique and beneficial to the environment.

“[Lichens] are unusual because they’re composite organisms, multiple organisms working together,” explains McMullin, a botanical research scientist specializing in Canadian lichens.

It was through his research on old growth forests that McMullin first became involved with lichens. He was assisting with a study to help identify exactly what constitutes an old growth forest and discovered there are some species of lichens unique to that ecosystem. 

McMullin examines lichens in a variety of ways, including classifying and reclassifying the individual species. He also works to fill the gaps of where each species grows, publishing a paper every year or two about new distributions in Canada. 

“Primarily, it’s a fungus. Fungi typically live in a host, such as soil and wood. To reproduce, fungi typically produce a fruiting-body or mushroom that is external, but the body of the fungus remains inside its host. Lichens, however, have moved out of that environment and they can fully grow on a substrate.”

McMullin explains that the fungus forms somewhat of a greenhouse where a photosynthesising partner (algae or cyanobacteria and occasionally both) can live and produce carbohydrates that are used by both partners. They are essentially forming their own little ecosystems. When these partners work together and form a stable relationship they are known as lichens, and they can thrive in a world previously inaccessible. 

Similarly, Lichen — our organization — can only exist and thrive through the collaborative relationships we have built, and continue to build, with organizations, communities, governments and individuals across the country. The digital expertise would be fruitless without the knowledge, resources, strengths and abilities of our partners. On our own, neither party could cultivate or support digital learning across Canada’s rural, remote and Indigenous communities as successfully as we can when we work collectively and symbiotically..

“Everywhere we look in nature, we can find lichen colourfully enriching our ecosystem,” says Ryan Oliver, Lichen’s Chief Executive Officer. “We believe that celebrating natural ecosystems, and learning from them, to cultivate healthier and equitable partnerships in rural, remote and Indigenous communities, is a sustainable vision for right relations and connectivity.”

Diverse Geographies, Unique Collaborations

McMullin says lichens are “a widespread, spectacular group of organisms but they’re also ecologically very sensitive. There are certain species that have very narrow ecological requirements.”

Through his continued studies, McMullin has found that different species of lichens thrive in different environments. Those in the Arctic have different needs than those in southern Ontario, so while lichens are found all across the globe, the exact environment in which species can survive varies. 

“It’s the habitat and the substrate that they’re growing on that dictates the presence of different lichens,” says McMullin, noting that it is possible for species from other regions to exist in unexpected locations if the proper conditions or infrastructure is there.

“When I was in Iqaluit two years ago, I was doing a survey of Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park and an old piece of wood, which I think was just left from an old building… had a bunch of Boreal species [of lichens] growing on it. They were all new to the arctic islands. Why is that? It was just because this substrate was there. Normally you don’t get a big chunk of wood in the Arctic, so the presence of this novel substrate shows that these lichens can get around if the right conditions exist.”

Similarly, for the Lichen organization, every partnership and collaboration is unique. The adult learning opportunities we offer in Lindsay, Ontario, for example, may not work in Baker Lake, Nunavut. It is important that we adapt to the environment and the needs of the communities if we want our collective work to be meaningful and sustainable. 

“Our Lichen Lifecycle describes how we see our work as an ecosystem as well,” continues Oliver. “We support communities with digital spaces, digital skills learning, bringing new tools to learners of all ages. But we also help those learners start to create their own digital platforms, gain internships to grow their skills, and ultimately access employment.” 

Lichen also strives to provide digital services to businesses, through our Lichen Studios, who believe in this type of symbiotic growth, too.

Benefits

Part of McMullin’s research is figuring out what lichens live where and therefore, what lichens are rare.

“Understanding the lichen distribution helps to identify rare ecosystems and those that should be targeted for conservation,” says McMullin, noting he also uses lichens as environmental monitors because of their sensitivity to climate change and air pollution, and the effects of disturbance on them.

Using the lichens as environmental monitors, scientists such as McMullin are able to learn more about diverse geographies. Specific benefits of lichen also vary by species, McMullin explains. In addition to acting as environmental monitors, lichens provide resources and nutrients to members of the local ecosystem. Their existence literally helps to sustain other crucial components of communities, as the existence of our organizational collaborations can feed into the general well-being of an area and the people who live there. 

For instance, he says, “[lichens in the Arctic] are important for adding much needed nitrogen to the soil, where it is particularly limited. They are one of the few organisms that can fix atmospheric nitrogen and add it to the soil where it can be used by other organisms.” 

Similarly, at our organization, Lichen prioritizes community-led partnerships so that we can best offer our digital solutions to address connection and well-being across diverse geographies and audiences. By connecting and growing together, we create more opportunity for the systems around us.

Participants in our  programming grow digital skills – including desktop publishing, presentation and video design, project management and website development – to open the doors to fields of science, technology, engineering, arts and math.. For example, one participant in a recent Nunavut Game Jam we hosted noted that not only was the event fun, it unveiled his skill with pixel art and reaffirmed his ability to produce music. 

Opportunity and knowledge-sharing thrive through equitable access and understanding of technology.  Our partnerships cultivate and advocate for this access, demonstrating another key similarity between our work and the lifeform that inspires our new organizational name.

Conclusion

While lichens are often overlooked or ignored by the general public, they remain a crucial part of Canada’s, and the planet’s, biodiversity. McMullin continues to work to bring lichens to the general public through efforts such as the National Lichen Vote held early in the pandemic, as well as recommendations to provincial and territorial governments for consideration of lichens as their regional symbols. 

Similarly, Lichen, the organization, continues to strive to bring equitable access to digital skills and technologies to the forefront of conversation across Canada as part of the advocacy component of the Lichen Life Cycle. 

While some may take for granted the connectivity needed to grow their digital skills, many others are still without access to the affordable technology and internet required. Through our partnerships and collaborations, it is crucial we continue to build, grow and play our part in connecting our communities, our country and Indigenous nations and land. 

“We’re part of a web of life and what happens to it happens to us. It’s important that we understand the species that we share the planet with, not just because of their intrinsic value, but so we understand our effects on them and ultimately on ourselves,” says McMullin of lichens and the importance of continuing the work. 

With a smile, the scientist closes, “I do like your new name.”