We’re all aware of the vast scale of the problems we face; from climate change and pollution, to unhealthy lifestyles to unhappy societies. We want to help, but sometimes we feel overwhelmed and powerless. Our individual decisions seem too insignificant to make a big enough difference. Myko empowers communities to make impactful collective change.

“Myko” refers to the kingdom of organisms that includes mushrooms, lichen, and other fungi. These organisms serve both as powerful bio-indicators and as the resource transmission networks that all trees in a forest depend on: the health of the “myko” population reflects of the health of the entire ecosystem. Myko aims to do the same thing for communities. As you improve your own sustainability, your will see your own Myko ecosystem grown and thrive, with trees corresponding to areas of environmental and social impact We are starting on the campus of McGill University and if we can prove our concept, aim to spread far beyond.

The Myko platform is an award-winning smartphone application that tracks choices made by users and provides real-time feedback in the form of an individual and collective social score. In 2015, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association recognized our work and commitment towards building stronger and better communities by honoring us with a 2015 Connected to the Community Award for the use of wireless technologies to improve the lives of Canadians.

A team of students and professors at McGill University conducted an experiment showing that citizens will act in measurably more sustainable ways when they are presented with the impacts of their habits and decisions in close to real time. The Myko app builds on that work to provide all of us with a tool to monitor and respond to our impacts.

Myko’s interactive tree-based progression interface, automatic collection of data at point-of-sale data,and unique scoring algorithm and incentive systems make this app one of kind. According to the Montreal Gazette “The genius of Myko is that it makes a game of improved sustainability habits”. Changing our behaviour, learning about sustainability, and contributing to the betterment of our community have never been easier or more fun!

- Challenge yourself, and other members of the community, in 8 categories of sustainability through the different Myko progression trees!
- Become informed about environmental and social sustainability issues in eight categories
- Help us promote and achieve the goals set in McGill’s Vision 2020 for Sustainability.
- Quantify your improvements through six environmental and social metrics, such as water use, greenhouse gas emissions and health metrics
- Participate to receive social goods which are designed to improve sustainability and your ties to your community
- Connect with others through the community message board, compete for a place on the leaderboard, and link the app with your Facebook and Twitter to share your achievements with all your friends!