June 29 – July 4th 2020

Postponed to new date:

October 18th – 23rd, 2021

Westfir | Oregon

6-Day Hands-On Course

Food and Camping Included

Details below…

 

Join us to learn the practices and theories of working with Mushrooms and other Fungi to heal toxic soils, filter water, restore ecosystems, and empower communities.

Themes of the Week:

• Laboratory Introduction, Set-Up, and Advanced Skills
• Experimental Design Planning and Testing
• Introduction to Chemical and Heavy Metal Toxicity of Soil, Water, and the Human Body
  
• Sampling and Interpreting data for Soil and Water Quality testing
• Land Reading and Site History Development
  
• Grassroots Approaches and Industrial Remediation Methods
• Screening Fungi for Chemical Degradation Capabilities
• Building and Testing Mycelium Water Filtration Units
• Anti-Desertification and Heavy Metal Sequestration Techniques with Mycorrhizae
• Liquid Culture Reactors for BioDegredation
• Organic Pesticide Development with Fungi
  
• Ecological Restoration of Damaged Landscapes Partnering with Plants
• Case Histories of Land and Water Remediation projects
• Project Planning, Collaborative Approaches, and working with Municipalities
• Growing Restorative Fungi for Resilient Ecosystems
• Social and Community outreach and Impact
• Medicinal Mushrooms and Self Care

This workshop is organized as a facilitated working group, with every participant taking on a variety of roles as we work through projects throughout the week.

 

Course Instructor:

Ja Schindler is mushroom cultivator, gardener, writer, independent researcher,

teacher, community organizer, environmental and food justice activist.  Originally from Detroit, Michigan, his concerns in post-industrial urban renewal, food security, and environmental awareness developed into a fierce affinity for bioremediation and fungi, now 15 years in development.

Ja is the founder and director of Fungi For The People, a non-profit organization with the mission to help build resilient and ecologically enhanced communities. Since 2010, more than 4,000 people from all over the world have joined their hands-on courses.

From his research lab, farm and mushroom homestead in Oregon, Ja is cultivating a diversity of projects to support citizen science and ecological restoration.

As part of the Mushroom Cultivation Design Center, he is producing cultivation supplies and mushroom extracts while maintaining a culture library of over 400 mushroom species. Other ongoing projects include developing an open-source mushroom spore bank; mycelium stormwater filtration research with Oregon municipalities; mycelium natural building projects; mushroom Food Forest designs; and progressing natural technologies.

Other Projects and Trainings:

• Princeton Groundwater Pollution and Hydrology Training
• University of Florida – Arbuscular Mycorrhizae Training
  

  Arbuscule of phosphorus root deposit of Glomus sp. of fungi from a restoration site

• 300+ hours of EPA Remediation Seminar study
• MycoRemediation Course co-instructor for 2013 Telluride Mushroom Festival
• BioRemediation co-instructor with Leila Darwish, August 2013

Learning Experience:

The daily classes are held in a mix of indoor and outdoor spaces. Many of the sessions are hands-on, with power-point assisted lectures throughout the week. MycoRemediation is a mix of very clean and very messy activities, and we will be teaching in a variety of spaces including a professional laboratory, mushroom farm homestead, community garden, urban water municipality sites, and indoor classroom. 

Every process and activity is presented for you to engage with as much as you wish, with emphasis on helping you develop skills and understanding.

Course size is kept fairly small (18 people) to ensure that everyone can participate in every stage and be able to have any questions addressed.  Typically we have guests who travel from all over the US and Canada, and frequently from as far away as Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America, so expect to learn a lot from the diversity of unique people who will also be joining.  We will have a French interpreter on staff for this course as well.

This Course Also Includes:

 100+ Page Workbook: Details on a variety of techniques and vital course notes, glossary of terms, and technical references.

Open-Source research article collection:  wide variety of relevant publication in print and digital forms.

Earth Repair, book by Leila Darwish: 

We will be drawing some insights and information on grassroots remediation from this empowering book, and you will be provided with your own copy in the course.

Mushroom Spawn:  You will get to choose 6 species of

edible, medicinal, and mycoremediation research fungi to leave with!

Wholesome Meals:  Lunch and Dinner will be provided daily, and is included in the price. Vegetarian and Gluten Free diets are accommodated for, and most of the food is grown right here in Oregon, with Gourmet Mushrooms and Medicinal Mushroom Teas.

Free Tent Camping On-Site:  Tent camping is encouraged on our 17acre property here in along the headwaters of the Middle Fork Willamette River here in Westfir, Oregon. A shared outdoor camp kitchen is available for your convenience, with bathroom and shower available for use. July is a usually a hot and dry month here in Wester Oregon, but you should always be ready for rain as well.

Off-site Lodging:  The course is located within short distance to a variety of accommodations in the Westfir/ Oakridge area at your cost and arrangement. Prices range from $35 -$100+ per night and suggested links are included in the info packet that is emailed upon registration.

 

Class Time:

9am to noon and 3 – 8pm Monday – Saturday. We take a 3 hour break in the heat of the day to cool down at the river / read / study / relax

Additional evening presentations and open laboratory hours are optional (but strongly encouraged!)

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Registration Information:

 

Course registration includes:

• All course Fees and Materials
• Mushroom Starter Cultures
• 100+ Page Course Manual plus Earth Repair the book, by Leila Darwish
• Lunch and Dinner
• Tent camping option on-site

Registration:

Cost: 

Full Registration: $750 USD

or

Deposit: $350 

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This course is designed to be an empowering introduction to Bioremediation with Fungi.

  No prior training or experience is required, just an interest in remediation potentials of fungi and a willingness to learn.

If you are new to working with mushroom cultivation and fungi we highly recommend also taking our Mushroom Cultivation Design Course scheduled for two weeks before this course on the same site. More information HERE

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For questions about this course please contact us here: