How Mushrooms Can Save the World

By then, Stamets was obsessed with the possibilities of what he called “mycorestoration,” a nascent field encompassing his own and other researchers’ work in mycofiltration, mycoremediation, mycoforestry and mycopesticides (most of which are terms he coined). He began amassing a genetic library of hundreds of mushroom strains — gathered on hikes through the old-growth forests of the Northwest and on trips to Europe, Asia, South America and Australia — that could be used for environmental as well as medicinal healing.

The EPA asked Stamets to help the Coast Guard find ways to clean up waterborne oil spills. In response, he invented the mycoboom, a burlap tube filled with oyster mushrooms designed to break down petroleum while floating on a slick or barricading a beach. Battelle researchers tested his fungal strains against neurotoxins and found one potent variety of psilocybin mushroom highly effective at breaking down VX nerve gas. 

Stamets collaborated with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources on another successful field experiment, planting mushrooms on old logging roads to prevent silt and pollutants from clogging streams. He improved crop yields on farms and sped up reforestation in woodlands by adding mycorrhizal fungi to soil. In one case he planted broccoli together with elm oyster mushrooms; in another, he dipped Douglas fir seedlings into a slurry of puffball mushroom spores. 

He invented the Life Box, a cardboard carton impregnated with tree seeds and symbiotic fungi. After use (for shipping shoes bought online, for example), the box could be torn apart and planted to replace the trees used in its manufacture.

But the invention with the greatest immediate impact on Stamets’ own environment grew out of his relationship with herbal medicine practitioner Carolyn “Dusty” Yao, which began in 1997 after his first marriage fell apart. (Stamets and Yao were married, with Andrew Weil officiating, four years later.) When Yao moved in, she was dismayed to find that Stamets’ old farmhouse was infested with carpenter ants — attracted, ironically, by a white-rot fungus that was crumbling the floor joists. Stamets, who had ignored the problem for years, promised to take care of it. 

He wanted to use a natural pesticide that was nontoxic to humans; unsurprisingly, he began looking for one derived from fungi. He knew that a few mold species could infect insects with their spores, killing them in the process. (In some cases, a tiny mushroom pops through the corpse’s skull.) Yet existing mycopesticides worked poorly against social insects, which could smell the spores and stop workers carrying them from entering the nest. 

Stamets smelled a challenge. 

He sent away for a sample of Metarhizium anisopliae mold, known to kill termites and carpenter ants when its spores are sprayed on them directly. His idea was to train the fungus, which normally produces spores nonstop, to hold off until the ants had carried it into the nest. In its pre-sporulating form, he thought, the insects might be attracted to Metarhizium as a source of nutrition. Once they ate it, the mycelium would consume them in return.

When Stamets cultured the mold in his lab, a white circle of mycelium spread over the petri dish from the point of inoculation; it was soon covered with green spores. He transferred bits of the mold to other dishes, where they reproduced for several generations. Eventually, white stripes emerged amid the green in one dish, where the mycelium (perhaps due to a damaged gene) was lagging in its spore production. He then took some of the white material and cultured it over many more generations, breeding a mutant strain of Metarhizium whose sporulation cycle was delayed for days or longer.

Stamets grew his developmentally delayed mycelium on rice. When it was ready, he put a teaspoon of the spawn on a dollhouse dish belonging to his then-teenage daughter, LaDena, and placed it on the kitchen floor. That night, she ran to his bedroom yelling, “Wake up! You’ve got to see this!” The dish was swarming with ants, which were carrying grains of myceliated rice back inside the walls. Two weeks later, the house was ant-free, and remained that way from then on. After the insects died, Stamets hypothesized, the smell of their moldy bodies warned others away.

The city of Mesquite will go under Stage 3 water restrictions on June 1. The water restrictions are being implemented to comply with the North Texas Municipal Water District’s water management plan.

As part of the new restrictions, lawn watering will only be permitted once a week on a specific day assigned by your address. The city of Mesquite, in conjunction with Keep Mesquite Beautiful, will be hosting a drought-tolerant landscaping class from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 1, at Rutherford Recreation Center, 900 Rutherford Drive.

“This is going to be a good class where people can learn what they can do to maintain their yards in drought conditions,” said Paige Swiney, executive director of Keep Mesquite Beautiful.

The class is part of the sustainable series that has been ongoing since the start of the year. This class will focus on sustainable landscape solutions that are beautiful, colorful, innovative, earth-friendly, cost-effective and drought tolerant. The workshop will include basic design, plant selection, proper watering techniques and other water-wise landscaping ideas. Attendees will receive free moisture meters and a plant selection guide.

The class will be taught by Lauren Miller, a landscape architect for the city of Mesquite. As part of the class, Miller will show before and after photos of a couple of yards that received makeovers to make them more appealing and drought tolerant.

“The use of native and water-wise plants in landscaping doesn’t mean your yard has to look like a desert hardscape. Learning to use irrigation wisely means you can have a beautiful landscape that will last through a hot summer,” Miller said.

Residents are invited to bring electronic photos of problem spots in their own yards to share as well. To preregister for the class contact Kathy Fonville at 972-329-8300 or by email at kfonvill@cityofmesquite.com.

<![CDATA[

]]>

<![CDATA[

]]>

SHE GETS THINGS STARTED – Evelyn Bassett has helped begin a variety of village traditions.

Candy will figure significantly in the reign of Evelyn Bassett as the Grand Marshal of the Barnstable-West Barnstable Fourth of July parade. Because she doesn’t want to ride alone, and because her grandchildren like to scramble for the treats that paraders toss onto the road, she’s found a way to entice her six young family members to keep her company in the lead car.

“I bribed my grandchildren to ride with me,” she said. “I’ll buy you candy, and you’ll get to throw candy” to other children, she reported of her deal with her progeny.

When Bassett, a native of Avon, married her husband Wayne, who was born and raised in Barnstable, “I had no choice in the matter” of where they would live. Their daughter Tara and son Dana (of Millway Marina) attended Barnstable-West Barnstable Elementary School, Barnstable High School, and Cape Cod Academy. Dana lives in the village, Tara in Sandwich, and each has three children.

Bassett, a hairdresser, is known for her many community activities. Town Councilor Ann Canedy calls her “the longest active member” of the village civic association

Bassett credits the late Greg Smith, with whom she got the Fourth of July parade started, as a role model. “It’s nothing political. You just get wrapped up in it,” she said of village activities such as the Christmas stroll, the village improvement association, the water district, polling place services, Friends of the Schoolhouse, and Tales of Cape Cod.

She has also volunteered at the CapeAbilities thrift shop and as a leader of a weight-training program for seniors. “I like people,” she said of her involvement in the community.

“Evelyn and I go way back,” village resident Marilyn Fuller said of work they did together on the civic association. “I said that you need to meet people.” Soon, Bassett became “absolutely indispensable” in local events.

Bassett loves to garden and has tended flowerbeds at the harbor, at the corner of 6A and Millway, at Cape Cod Lane with Carol DiVico, and at Braggs Lane. “But now,” she said playfully, “I’ve embarrassed three young men in landscaping to take over.”

Barnstable Village’s young people are “doing a great job” in assuming responsibility for leadership, she said.

“I am humbled’ to serve as parade marshal, Bassett said, because “so many people do so much” in the village. “There’s a very different experience living on Cape Cod. It doesn’t matter what walk of life you’re from – we all look out for each other,” she said of her 45 years here.

Barnstable Village’s Fourth of July parade still can use a lot of volunteers. They need people to sell T-shirts with a logo by local artist Kate Gruner to benefit Arts in the Village, as well as floats, bands, fife and drum corps, and volunteers for a dog parade.

“Just show up at 8 or 8:30 behind Probate Court” on the Fourth, said Canedy.

The event also needs volunteers for celebrations in the hollow behind the Unitarian Church, according to Canedy, who said that the person to contact for those jobs is Kara Beal, at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Canedy also would like to recruit people to sell tee shirts.

There will be a meeting for Fourth of July volunteers on June 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Cape Cod Art Association on Route 6A. Everyone is invited to come with ideas; the contact person at the association is Roberta Miller.

“This is a lovely, lovely village,” Bassett said. “We’re so lucky here.”

Part of that good fortune is having a neighbor like Evelyn Bassett.

A true sign of a town’s maturity is to have enough diversity to develop specific neighborhoods — not an easy task for one less than 10 years old. However, in the coastal town of Seabrook, Wash. (est. 2004), a very distinct and sustainable district is being planned with the help of Sunset magazine, which will help promote its development.

Called the “Idea Town,” the group of buildings is the latest iteration of Sunset’s annual “Idea House” project, which showcases various green technologies and designs in gorgeous homes around the country. In this instance, the magazine will focus on not just one but several homes that are nearing completion in Seabrook and should be completed by August.

An artist’s rendering of one Seabrook’s completed Idea Town homes on the Washington Coast. Image via Seabrook.

The Idea Town section of Seabrook, located just a few yards away from the beach access stairs, the 2013 Sunset Idea Town will include two new houses, a courtyard and some guest cottages that will be sited near Seabrook’s small but growing retail district, with a restaurant, a market and other shops. The homes will comply with Seabrook’s already existing sustainability protocols that apply to the rest of the town.

The Idea Town currently under construction, as seen from Seabrook’s retail district. Image via Seabrook.

The demonstration homes will include tight thermal envelopes to prevent heat loss, energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, Energy Star appliances and lighting, and the use of low-VOC-emitting materials to protect indoor air quality. In the courtyard, landscaping will be planted with native and drought-tolerant vegetation to reduce the need for irrigation.

Computer drawing of completed Idea Town house. Image via Seabrook.

The homes were designed by a group of architects, including Brian Paquette of Seattle’s BP Interiors, Peter Brachvogel of BCJ Architects and other contractors who are building the rest of Seabrook, such as  garden designer Stephen Poulakos.

Idea Town should be available for tours starting in August and will continue through October. Sunset magazine will also feature the homes and designs in its October 2013 issue. Sunset editor-in-chief Kitty Morgan described Seabrook as “a charming seaside town built on big ideas that promote a true sense of community.”

Located about three hours west of Seattle on Washington state’s wild and scenic Pacific Coast, Seabrook itself can be seen as an ongoing green building experiment that’s being played out in real time. Town, the brainchild of local developer Casey Roloff, is part of the New Urbanist trend that focuses on efficient building methods, energy conservation, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods and close proximity between commercial and residential properties.

Carved out of an undeveloped and rarely visited forested property in 2004, Seabrook today has 200 houses built, with about 100 available for summer rentals, and continues expanding inland with a final goal of more than 300 single-family houses ad 450 total units.

The Southern Living Idea House spotlights Page|Duke Landscape Architects, Castle Homes, Historical Concepts and Phoebe Howard Interior Design.

— Michelle Morrow | Nashville Ledger

When local landscape architects partners Ben Page and Gavin Duke were tapped to design the gardens and courtyard at the soon-to-open Southern Living Idea House at Fontanel, they knew right away what they wanted to do.

Their mission was to show off some of the classic techniques, plantings and elements unique to the Nashville area, particularly drawing from the past for a “greatest hits’ in local landscaping.

“This is the new South,” says Page of Page|Duke Landscape Architects. “This new version encompasses this whole thing of farm-to-table, home-grown food and local, native plant communities. It is all going back to early 20th Century, late 19th Century ideas.’’

Southern Living Idea House

Fontanel Mansion

June 29–Dec. 29, Wed.–Sun., 9 a.m.–3 p.m.

Tickets: Adults $12, seniors 60 and up $10, children 6-15 $5, students and retired military $10, active military and children under 6 are free.

A portion of the profits will go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Information: southernliving.com/ideahouse

“Regionalism has gotten to be a very exciting thing for everybody,’’ he adds. “It’s appropriate, and much more environmentally sensitive, and more cost-effective. It showcases our deep roots. There’s nothing wrong with having a plant that has done well for 200 years in this area and use it creatively and in a new way.”

Their traditional work was then overlaid with the latest Southern Living Plant Collection flowers to showcase the color trends of the season, with many of the plant varieties used just a few years old. The result is a perfectly curated space for consumers to glean dozens of ideas.

Landing the Southern Living Idea House puts a spotlight on Nashville, Fontanel Mansion and all of those involved, including Castle Homes, Historical Concepts and Phoebe Howard Interior Design.

It will be open to the public June 29-Dec. 29, Wednesdays through Sundays. Southern Living will publish a complete tour of the project in its August issue.

The magazine’s Idea House in 2012 was in Senoia, Ga., a historic farmhouse renovation. The idea house program has been ongoing for more than 20 years, building and renovating homes from “brownstones to beach houses,’’ according to the magazine’s website.

Page and Duke were given strict budget parameters, resulting in ideas that any number of homeowners could find room for in their budgets.

Not that Page doesn’t still think about elements that didn’t make the cut.

“We had a very wonderful rustic picket fence that was going to go across the front of the courtyard that got value engineered out, but I would say that about 80 percent of what our vision was got put in place,” Page says. “You’re going to see a lot of things that are appropriate for even modest scale budgets.”

They were, of course, awarded some luxuries most homeowners don’t have, unless they are building from the ground up, like being able to orient the house and gardens to best take advantage of sun exposure and wind patterns.

The house, which was built by Castle Homes and will be converted to a bed and breakfast when its stint as an inspirational structure is over, features five farmhouse-style buildings forming a compound with nearly 3,000 square feet of porches and patios – perfect for outdoor entertainment.

“Everything you see out there is predicated on double use with the big porches going to be used as gathering places for artists,” Page says.

And while the gardens look great now, Page says they will really hit their stride in a couple of years, just like any garden space they create for a client would.

“This is only 20 minutes old,” he says. “It takes about three years to get it all to settle down. The first year is a trial run of things, the second year things really start to settle down, and the third year you get a real garden out of something.”

Also on site are “Porter’s Pond” and “Beverly’s Waterfall,” which were dedicated on May 30. The waterfall, donated by Gary Yamamoto in honor of his wife Beverly, was mandated for water runoff.

The decision was then made by Gary Shiebler, key promoter of the annual Porter Wagoner Memorial Artists and Anglers Fishing Tournament, to turn the pond into a catch-and-release fishing pool.

“It is a really cool facility that we feel very fortunate to have worked on because the architecture is very keenly in the Southern vernacular,” Page says. “And our landscape imaging evolved into something that felt very regional in imprint.”

May 29 2013
By Kaiya Marjoribanks

Plans to create a partial one-way traffic system around much of Stirling’s city centre are being put out to consultation.

Stirling Council roads officials are seeking views on their proposals for Murray Place, Maxwell Place, Station Road, Goosecroft Road and Barnton Street.

The plans are aimed at making the city centre more attractive to walkers and cyclists and include taking over the front of the railway station from Network Rail to transform it into more of a `gateway’ for visitors to Stirling.

And Maxwell Place would also be opened up to one-way traffic which would then merge with one-way traffic coming along Barnton Street and Murray Place and heading towards the city centre.

Roads improvement manager Brian Roberts said: “We would be looking to take out one of the flows of traffic in Murray Place. There, all the bus stops would be along the front of businesses on the side where the Red Cross shop is, while on the other side where Oxfam is there would be a taxi rank.

“Footways would be widened and there would be the opportunity of further parking spaces in the evening.”

He added: “It is about improving the management of the bus and taxi provision and loading bays and the pay and display.

“At the moment there is a lot of conflict between the different type of users and we hope these proposals will help deal with some of the confusion.

The main changes under consideration are:

■ Barnton Street: One-way traffic with parking maintained on both sides; footway improvements to create more pedestrian space with less clutter; reduced traffic congestion and a more pedestrian friendly layout.

■ Goosecroft Road: continuous footway link alongside Goosecroft Road; new bus stances with shelters for passengers waiting to board outbound journeys (site boundaries have been established with developer to accommodate wide footways); two-way traffic maintained but lane widths reduced on approach to the Station Road roundabout.

■ Maxwell Place: Open access from Goosecroft Road to allow one-way travel towards Murray Place; revised parking layout to consider deliveries and customer needs.

■ Murray Place: One-way traffic towards Station Road with simplified road layout; improved bus stops mainly catering for passengers drop off; new larger taxi rank in central location; wider footways for improved pedestrian access; removal of as much clutter and signage as possible; revised traffic orders giving improved arrangements for buses, taxis and loading; high quality materials and street furniture incorporating trees and soft landscaping where possible.

■ Station Road: `Boulevard-style’ wide pavements and trees; new development is likely to have loading requirements – loading bay accommodated on-street; dedicated contra-flow cycle lane.

■ Railway station forecourt: Enhanced pedestrian route linking the station entrance with repositioned pedestrian crossing on Goosecroft Road; relocation of the taxi rank to the station building side of the forecourt.

Mr Roberts added: “Yes, we are trying to address some of the traffic and conflict issues but this is really also an opportunity to enhance the area and make it more attractive to pedestrians.

“I think we can mitigate against the increased speeds that sometimes occur in a one-way system.

“There would be some sort of traffic calming and enhancement to the junction of Maxwell Place with Barnton Street. Goosecroft remains two-way.

“This is a masterplan that allows people to start the debate and look at the potential.

“It is important we get in there and get the ideas down and that people see this as a platform for discussion and traders and residents see it as an opportunity for change.

“It would be done in several phases, probably over a number of years.

“But we are not doing things in isolation. This will complement the plans already announced for King Street and further along Murray Place and vice versa.

“It is part of the City Transport Plan which is really about how we deal with transport in the wider sense so people can walk and cycle and not just drive. It is ‘joined up thinking’.”

For more details of the plans go to www.stirling.gov.uk and search for “Proposed roads improvement schemes consultations”.

■ What’s your view of the proposed traffic changes: email john.rowbotham@trinitymirror.com

By STEPHANIE A. JAMES

Staff Writer

Preliminary design work of what the Old Courthouse Road corridor could become was presented to the Appomattox Town Council recently.

Officials want to make the one-mile of corridor from Farmer’s Bank at the intersection of Confederate Boulevard to property just before the Surrender Grounds bicycle and pedestrian friendly.

Also, they want to provide alternative ways for people to come into town.

Transportation engineer Bill Wuensch and architect Richard Price, who conducted a one-mile stretch of the road, explained that they compiled ideas for the corridor after soliciting suggests from the public.

Wuensch said that stakeholder meetings attracted 45 people and has received positive feedback.

“This is a rare occasion that everyone was behind it,” he said.

County planner Johnny Roark mentioned a comment of someone who described the setting of how Old Courthouse Road is now.

“Coming into town into 24 feels like you are coming into the back door of the community,” said Roark.

Roark added that he wanted that back door of the community to become the front.

In February and March, there were stakeholder meetings in which the public were invited to attend.

During the meetings, some of the ideas included creating bike lanes and landscaping along the corridor.

Previous suggestions for the area include installing light posts, benches and landscaping along the corridor.

The two presenters described the designs as a starting point.

Price explained that they have been working on the project for months. The initial work began in January when traffic counts were made to determine the travel patterns of those entering in and out of the corridor.

Three themes were developed referred to as gateways, neighborhood greens, and historic villages.

In terms of beautifying the area, Price said that they want to come up with a unified theme of landscaping.

Price recommended that placing nodes in the area so that it would not be a long corridor.

After Price and Wuensch’s presentation, Council members voiced their opinion about the design work.

“It is impressive. I think we need a new look,” said councilwoman Claudia Puckette, adding that a changed appearance is the way to go if the town is focusing on tourism.

Councilwoman Mary Lou Spiggle agreed.

“I think that it is a wonderful beginning to future expansion,” she said.

Mayor Paul Harvey said that he liked that a lot of ideas from the public were incorporated in the designs.

Final designs will be released in June.

At the end of the process, local officials will receive information on what grants are available to implement the ideas presented.

Previously, during meetings the two presenters used such locations as Historic Williamsburg to show how it is an attractive place for walking and bicycling.

During the examination of the corridor, Wuensch and Price incorporated previous studies. Those studies included the Appomattox Heritage and Recreational Trail Plan, Region 2000 Greenways, and the Virginia Outdoor Plan.

The study was funded by VDOT and managed through the Local Government Council.

About a year ago, the study was initiated after developers expressed interest in developing the area after the museum opened in March 2012.