chris
No longer a newbie, moving up!
Without air, neither moisture nor oxygen will be available for any fungus.
No moisture, yes. But plenty of fungi are anaerobic. Not sure what kind of fungi affect lenses, but I doubt that there is a whole lot of air or misture for that matter between lens elements (where fungi is frequently found), and so I am thinking lens fungi is pretty resilient.
Moisture seems to be the best way to avoid it, and packing with silica gel is probably the best option. Eucalyptus leaves may also help, provided the oil from the leaves don't end up depositing onto the lens. Cedar chips and leaves may also help.
Anaerobic fungi are found in the gut of ruminants and the resultant products such as cow manure. They are very difficult to culture because the presence of oxygen renders them dormant so unless your equipment is stored in a very usual or unsavoury location or in an anaerobic environment then you should not be troubled by them.
I have no experience of using eucalyptus leaves or cedar chips but I would suppose that any water absorbing material such as rice could be used though silica gel would seem to be a good option since it is reasonably cheap, can be regenerated easily in an oven and is not likely to contaminate the equipment.