Hi, my name is Benny Dornan, I live in Peachland B.C. I’m starting this fundraiser to help my friend Brian Callow and his family rebuild their mushroom farm, What The Fungus, located in Garnet Valley in Summerland, B.C.

What The Fungus has been operating since 2014, providing local wineries, restaurants, and people throughout the Okanagan with beautiful locally grown gourmet mushrooms.

But WTF has always been more than just a mushroom farm. Brian has built an amazing mentorship program where students from across Canada and the U.S. come to stay and work on the farm while learning the business and art of mushroom growing. Over the years, the farm has helped many people gain the knowledge and confidence to grow mushrooms themselves and build something of their own.

Sadly, the recent wildfire has devastated the farm. At this point, everything appears to have been destroyed, with the possible exception of the Kubota tractor. Brian has not yet been allowed back onto the property and has only been able to see photographs provided by officials, so the full extent of the loss is still to be determined.

Now Brian and his family are faced with the enormous task of rebuilding what they spent more than a decade creating.

I’m hoping our community—and everyone who has eaten their mushrooms, worked with them, learned from Brian, or simply believes in supporting small local farms—can come together and help them get back on their feet.

Funds raised will go toward rebuilding the farm and replacing the equipment, infrastructure, growing supplies, and other necessities lost in the fire. As Brian is able to return to the property and assess the damage, I will update this fundraiser with more information about what was lost and what is needed.

Any contribution, no matter the size, will help. If you aren't able to donate, sharing this fundraiser would mean just as much.

Let’s help Brian and his family rebuild What The Fungus and get mushrooms growing in Garnet Valley again.

Benny Dornan

This is a post from Faith Callow....

Brian started this journey in a small rental space with nothing but an idea. We moved into a place where he could grow that idea, learn, and build something real.

In 2015, Thor partnered with Brian and saw potential in my husband and moved us into Summerland, where What The Fungus blossomed with the support of so many incredible people. Thor helped build what it was and fought to keep it going.

Now that it has fallen, the number of people who have reached out has been overwhelming. Brian has lost his life’s work. But I have watched this man grow, learn, endure, and persevere through challenge after challenge. His positivity and his hope for the future—and for the people around him—continue to inspire me.I am heartbroken to see his life’s work reduced to ashes. He built this for us, for our family, he dedicated his book to me, and he fought every single day to keep it alive no matter the odds. My heart breaks for my husband and for our life, but I know he will wake up tomorrow stronger than before, ready to move forward the way he always does.

To my husband, Brian Callow: you are my rock and my life. Your daughters and I look up to you, and because of your steady care for our homestead, we still have a home.

This tragedy is not ours alone. It is also Thor’s, who has seen everything on his land destroyed. The loss is shared, and the heartbreak runs deep for all of us.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1GAcH13tY5/

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.7302552

https://www.castanet.net/news/Summerland/627597/Locally-known-Summerland-mushroom-farm-burns-in-Bald-Range-wildfire