Ep. 99: Fungi for the People - Understanding Bioremediation & Engaging Fungal Allies (feat. Ja Schindler)

Today on the Mushroom Hour we are excited to have the chance to learn from Ja Schindler. Ja is a fungi researcher/ teacher/ activist/ farmer based in the Southeast Cascade Mountains of Oregon on traditional lands of the Kalapooya peoples. Motivated by desires to challenge issues of environmental injustice, Ja founded Fungi For the People in 2010, which serves as an outlet for collaboratively developing appropriate methods for cultivating and problem solving with people and fungi. As a hands-on cultivator and community organizer he is a focal point of the inspiring community science movement. I can’t wait to hear his take on the role community mycology can play in empowering people and helping us develop a more balanced relationship with our environment.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Early Inspirations from the “Rebound Ecology” of Detroit   
• Moving West, Working with Applied Mycology   
• Community Evolution of Fungi for the People   
• Ecological Restoration & Mycoremediation   
• Impact of Arbuscular Mycorrhizae    
• Advantages of Site-Based Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi   
• Bioremediation Work in Contaminated Mining Sites   
• Advice on “Skilling Up” for Bioremediation Projects   
• Background on the EPA and How it Works   
• How EPA Regulates & Facilitates Environmental Cleanups   
• Engaging with Institutional & Regulatory Frameworks     
• Working with Ectomycorrhizal and Endomycorrhizal Fungi at Home   
• Decentralized Future of Medicinal Mushroom Cultivation   
• Impact and Upside of a Parkinson’s Diagnosis   

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Fungi for the People Website: https://fungiforthepeople.org/   
• Fungi for the People FB: https://www.facebook.com/FungiForThePeople   
• Fungi for the People IG: https://www.instagram.com/fungiforthepeople/   
• EPA "CLU-IN" Resource: https://clu-in.org/   
• "Mycoremediation: Fungal Bioremediation" (Book): https://www.amazon.com/Mycoremediation-Fungal-Bioremediation-Harbhajan-Singh/dp/047175501X    
• Fomitopsis pinicola (Fungus): https://www.mushroomexpert.com/fomitopsis_pinicola.html