Join the search for wild yeasts in Brussels with Y.E.A.S.T.

Join Y.E.A.S.T. for a sampling event at Serres van Stuivenberg on Friday 28 August, 14:00–17:00. Together with vzw Bûûmplanters, we'll sample wild yeasts from Brussels fruit trees using simple swabs, contributing to research on urban yeast biodiversity and a living art installation in WIELS. No experience needed, just curiosity. The afternoon combines hands-on sampling with a creative workshop. Y.E.A.S.T.: Discover Brussels' Invisible Biodiversity What lives on our trees, in our streets, on the fruit we touch? Y.E.A.S.T. (Yielding Ecology, Art, Science & Togetherness) invites citizens, tourists and curious residents of Brussels to explore a hidden layer of the city's history and biodiversity: its wild yeasts. Brussels has a centuries-old tradition of spontaneous fermentation. Beers like lambic and kriek exist because of wild yeasts that circulate through the city, in the air, on fruit, on trees. Fruit trees play a key role in this: their fruit and bark form a natural habitat where yeasts settle, spread and build the foundation of a fermentation culture. As Brussels replants fruit trees across the city today, it's also creating new living space for these micro-organisms to return. With Y.E.A.S.T., we want to find out together: which yeasts are coming back, where are they, and what does that tell us about our city? Y.E.A.S.T. is a citizen science and art project run by Erasmushogeschool Brussel, together with vzw Bûûmplanters and with the support of Innoviris. It is led by biologist Tom Peeters, who oversees the scientific research and lab analysis, and artist Matthijs De Block, who is developing a living art installation where fermentation data from these yeasts shapes the climate of a real Brussels fruit tree, to be presented at WIELS. The samples collected by citizens and schools are analysed in the lab, feed into a digital atlas of Brussels yeasts, and become part of that installation. You don't need any prior knowledge, just curiosity. Y.E.A.S.T. is open to everyone: young people, teachers, neighbours, artists and makers. The swab sampling event On Friday 28 August, from 14:00 to 17:00, we're organising a swab sampling session together with vzw Bûûmplanters and artist matthijs de block at the Serres van Stuivenberg in Brussels, a site with several fruit trees. Anyone can join, as long as you register in advance via the registration page. What to expect, and what we'll ask of you: When you arrive, you'll gather with the group at the Serres van Stuivenberg. Together with the EhB team, artist Matthijs De Block and Youri Bellemans from Bûûmplanters, you'll pick a fruit tree and a good spot to sample from, such as a piece of fruit, the bark, a leaf, or the fork where two branches meet. You'll then place the swab straight back into its tube and close it. That's your sample taken. You won't need to store or return anything yourself. The EhB team collects all the samples on site and takes care of the lab analysis. Alongside the sampling, there's a creative side to the afternoon. You're invited to photograph places around the tree and its surroundings that say something about life and change: a damaged spot on a piece of fruit, a shift from shade to sunlight, traces of insects or fungus, or the place where the tree touches the rest of nature around it. These images, together with those from other participants, feed into a subjective, artistic atlas of Brussels' fruit trees and yeasts, a companion piece to the scientific data being gathered. Why take part? By joining, you help map a part of Brussels that's usually invisible: the wild yeasts that have shaped the city's food and drink culture for centuries. You contribute directly to ongoing scientific research at Erasmushogeschool Brussel, and your sample and photograph become part of a living public art installation at WIELS. And, just as importantly, you spend an afternoon outdoors in a green corner of the city, alongside scientists, artists and fellow residents who are all curious about the same question. Practical information Date and time: Friday 28 August, 14:00–17:00 Location: Serres van Stuivenberg, Brussels Registration: required in advance, via the registration page Cost and experience level: free, and no prior knowledge or experience needed