Heidi Montez

Hello, I live in Spokane WA and work for a local environmental/ conservation organization. I am heading up a new Mycology Program, focused on Mycoremediation (using fungi to heal the environment). We recently built a simple mycology lab, and I am currently in the middle of my first experiment. This experiment involves several strains of fungi and storm drain sludge (very contaminated) from the City of Spokane. This experiment is investigating whether these fungi are able to break down pollutants, especially PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), out of this sludge. Stormwater contributes a lot of pollution into the Spokane River, compromising the health of the river and our community. This is the first of many mycoremediation experiments I hope to do around Spokane. The possibilities are endless.

I am writing this post to any mycologically inclined individuals in the Spokane area, that may be interested in getting involved with this project. This project is in its infancy, but already has support from the City of Spokane, and much of the local community. My desire is to form a Mycoremediation Collaborative in Spokane, and to tackle these projects together! I am looking for folks who are able to contribute to project ideas, planning, experimental design, and application (both intellectually and physically). This is an opportunity to get involved with an innovative project with lots of potential in our local community! Like I mentioned before, we have a brand new mycology lab here in Spokane (that should be utilized by more than just me), and we have the support of my organisation and the city (they are funding the storm drain sludge experiment.) We are a small organization, and cannot financially compensate folks for project involvement at this point, but if you are interested in being involved at some capacity, please don't hesitate to contact me. Internship credit, volunteer hour credit, school credit etc can be arranged. I am willing to take on the right person/ people as apprentices of sorts, but am ideally looking for folks to collaborate with at a high level... I'm not looking to micro-manage. This is a great opportunity for the right person/ people to get hands on experience in a highly innovative project, and to contribute to positive change in our community.

Thanks for reading, and hope to hear back!

Heidi

green chemistry, low impact development, sustainability, green infrastructure, urban ecology, mushrooms, mycology, mycoremediation, bioremediation, pcbs, petroleum, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, pollution, contamination, health, community, spokane, inland northwest, eastern washington

Hey, I did not have time to download all of the podcasts, or the album, in the window they were available..... Is there any way I could get access to them again? I dont have internet at my home, so its tricky for me. What are the chances of scheduling a second window of time for those of us who didnt get all our candy? I know this is annoying and overwhelming, so sorry about that.

Thanks for posting about your land, i think its awesome that you are trying to find the right people to pass it along to. A few of us are planning on starting a homestead, so Ive just been dreamily looking around for land. Its still in the planning stages, and we dont really have the money for a down payment yet, but Ive been on the lookout anyway. Im not sure how far out of a town or city we'd want to be. Just out of curiosity, how far away from a town or community is the land? What kinds of things have you done on the land (gardens, fruit trees, kept it as wildlife habitat, etc?) It sounds beautiful. Wow, how awesome it would be to have so many acres! I hope when the time is right, we can find someone like you to buy from; who wants to entrust their land to good people who will take care of it. I wish you the best of luck finding the right people.