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About The Amazon Mycorenewal Project

The Amazon Mycorenewal Project (AMP) is a volunteer-run and 501(c)3 sponsored organization under CoRenewal, founded by Mia Maltz (M.Sc. and Ph.D student),  Nicola Peel (Speaker, Environmentalist and Filmmaker), Joanna Zlotnik (M.Sc.), Bob Rawson (M.Sc. president of International Wastewater Solutions) and Freeda Burnstad (B.A.).

Since 2006, AMP has worked in the Sucumbíos region of northern Ecuador to develop low-cost, effective, and natural systems for addressing severe pollution and health issues related to industrial petroleum extraction. AMP's work revolves around the emerging science of applied bioremediation. Bioremediation is a pollution mitigation strategy that mimics the decomposition and nutrient cycling processes found in the natural world by utilizing fungi, bacteria, and plants to break down toxic chemicals in polluted aquatic and terrestrial environments.

AMP works with local community organizers to help individuals and families afflicted by the health and environmental impacts of poorly managed oil extraction processes. Over the years, AMP has taught mushroom cultivation and medicinal mushroom workshops in the Sucumbíos region. We are currently working towards building long-standing alliances between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

About the Oil Pollution in Ecuador

Since the 1960s, various local and international oil companies have established over 1,000 unlined pits filled with petroleum-contaminated wastewater in the Sucumbíos province of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Currently, these pits are fitted with overflow pipes that discharge oil effluent directly into waterways. As a result, it is estimated that over 18.5 billion gallons of petroleum now contaminate this biodiverse and ecologically unique rainforest. On polluted lands, grazing livestock and agricultural crops have also been heavily impacted. People drink, bathe and wash their clothes in these toxic water sources, which afflicts local communities with high cancer rates, birth defects, and severe skin and respiratory ailments. 

The industrial remediation strategies that the oil companies currently employ are far from efficient in cleaning up pollution. Additionally, helping the affected communities recover from the devastation has yet to be properly addressed. Hence, ecological restoration research that employs low-cost and replicable bioremediation technologies is increasingly important.

For more information on this issue, please view the documentaries below:

A Solution To Pollution (17 minute documentary about AMP)

Blood Of The Amazon (80 minute DVD by donation- filmed in the Amazon researching the effects of the oil industry on the environment and indigenous people)

Crude (The inside story of the infamous “Amazon Chernobyl” case, one of the largest and most controversial environmental lawsuits on the planet)

About the 2014 AMP Study:

Since February of 2014, AMP team members have been working in the Sucumbíos province of Ecuador, initiating an 18-month project to develop a modular, replicable, and low-cost water filtration system. This system will effectively utilize native fungi, bacteria, and plants to treat petroleum-contaminated water that overflows from the unlined basins into waterways. Our design will amplify and reintroduce the organisms that have naturally adapted to these sites in a manner that recognizes and integrates the inherent intelligence of nature (biomimicry).

While most bioremediation systems focus on using these organisms in isolation, our project is unique in that we will be combining these species in a multi-trophic approach. The application of such a methodology will provide a significant insight into the power of combining fungi, plants, and bacteria in a simple yet effective bioremediation strategy.

During the 2014 expedition, AMP members will:

1. Establish a long-term site for continued microbial cultivation. We will identify and profile native microbial flora that are capable of surviving in and potentially degrading the petroleum hydrocarbons that exist in polluted pits. We will then cultivate these species for reintroduction to the contaminated sites.
2. Design and implement biofiltration systems in contaminated sites of the Sucumbíos region with the help of local and international technicians, students and volunteers. These will be modular and easy-to-maintain systems that will be monitored throughout the 18-month study. 
3. Report on the laboratory results of our system's efficacy and present our research globally at conferences and community events. As an inexpensive and easy to understand means of testing the biofiltration systems, we will conduct plant performance tests on the treated water vs. contaminated water. 
4. Submit research results to open access journals and license these findings in the creative commons to provide available resources within the public domain.The technologies used in our research will be provided to grassroots NGOs and communities afflicted with oil pollution worldwide at no profit. AMP maintains a commitment to uphold ethics-based business alliances to provide scientific resources and recommendations as deliverable services to communities motivated to clean up contamination in their local watersheds.

Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) growing in a petroleum contaminated pit

What Your Contributions Will Fund

This Indiegogo campaign will cover the costs for the 2014-2015 AMP study. While the need for research on industrial remediation is critical, it is often a challenge to obtain funding to support pilot studies for cleaning up industrial contamination utilizing bioremediation strategies. The majority of funding from this campaign will cover costs for laboratory testing of post-treatment water from our preliminary and modified installations. The design will be built using locally-sourced substrates, species, and materials for ease of cost, replication, and adaptation worldwide.

An approximate budget for this project is:

• Laboratory analysis of soil & water samples - $20,000
  
• Soil & water sample shipping and fees- $2,500
• Biofilter materials (flow cell materials, pond liner, perforated pipes)  - $1,700
• Mushroom cultivation and genetic preservation materials - $1,500 
• Microbial population and PCR analysis - $12,000
• Biochar production facility - $500
• Digital documentation - $300
• Ground transportation - $1,000
• Airfare and living costs for 6 longterm team members - $12,000 
• Cost of producing and shipping Indiegogo perks - $2,000
• Indiegogo's fees: $3,500

STRETCH GOALS

• $70,000 - we will test for more variables (i.e. biochar, microbial species, substrates)
• $90,000 - we will run parallel trials in West Virginia, United States for remediation of coal ash polluted waters 
• $110,000 - we will replicate our system in Alberta, Canada for remediation of Tar sands tailings pond effluent

What You Get:

Our perks start with a personal thank you. Thank you! We then diversify with AMP logo stickers, Ecuadorian fungi postcards, AMP supporter T-shirts, an AMP mushroom calendar, and a mushroom spawn bag cultivated by one of our members. Perks from our collaborators include volumes of Mycelium Music and Immune Support mycomedicinal capsules from PowerShroom. Also offered is a copy of Earth Repair by Leila Darwish - a grassroots guide to healing toxic and damaged landscapes. 

Many of the perks for this campaign offer footage of lectures and workshops from the Art and Science of Mycorenewal course that was sponsored by AMP and was held in Santa Cruz, CA in June 2013. This 10-day course taught the skills needed for developing successful grassroots bioremediation projects. The videos taken of these course's lectures are broken up into the following three categories:

General Fungi (5 lectures)

• Microbial Ecology (Instructor: Mia)
• What are Fungi? (Instructor: Maya)
  
• Fungal Taxonomy (Instructors: Willoughby and Maya)
  
• Endophytes (Instructor: Monica)
  
• Myco-Medicinals (Instructor: Monica)

Mushroom Cultivation (13 lectures)

• Cost Efficiency (Instructor: Peter)
  
• Commonly Cultivated Species (Instructor: Peter)
  
• Culture Transfers (Instructor: Peter)
  
• Sawdust Spawn Production (Instructor: Peter)
  
• Grain Inoculation (Instructor: Peter)
  
• Liquid Culture (Instructor: Peter)
  
• Inducing Fruiting (Instructor: Peter)
  
• Home Scale Cultivation (Instructor: Peter)
  
• Hot Water Pasteurization (Instructor: Peter)
  
• Low-tech Cultivation (Instructor: Peter)
  
• Activating Fungal Metabolism (Instructor: Peter)
  
• Myco-Gardening (Instructors: Mia, Maya, Peter, Willoughby)
  

Bioremediation (13 lectures)

• Intro to Myco-Remediation (Instructor: Peter)
  
• Applied Myco-remediation (Instructor: Mia)
  
• How Myco-Remediation Works (Instructor: Mia)
  
• Phyto-Remediation (Instructor: Leila)
  
• Micro-Remediation (Instructor: Bob)
  
• Bacterial Ecology (Instructor: Bob)
  
• Compost Tea (Instructor: Leila)
  
• Remediation of Body Toxicity (Instructor: Leila)
  
• Remediation of Oil Spills (Instructor: Leila)
  
• Myco-Remediation With Fungaia Farm (Instructor: Willoughby)
  
• Grassroots Bioremediation (Instructor: Leila)
  
• Amazon Mycorenewal Project (Instructor: Mia)
  
• Breaking It Down With AMP (Instructor: Bob & Mia)

Lecture Instructors

• Maya Elson — Environmental Educator, co-founder of Radical Mycology
• Mia Maltz — Lead Scientist for Amazon Mycorenewal Project, Ph.D student at UC Irvine, Permaculture Instructor
• Robert Rawson — General Manager of the Graton Community Services District, Microbiology Professor
• Peter McCoy — Co-founder of Radical Mycology, Mushroom Cultivation Instructor
• Leila Darwish — Author of Earth Repair: A Grassroots Guide to Healing Toxic and Damaged Landscapes, Community Organizer, Permaculture Designer
• Monica Neff — Endophytic fungi researcher at UC Berkeley, member of Bay Area Radical Mycology, Amazon Mycorenewal Project, Co-owner of Powershroom Medicinal Mushrooms
• Willoughby Arevalo - Mycologist, Artist, Performer, and Gardener

'The AMP Experience'
This penultimate perk will include a personalized tour of the area in which we work. Stay with us at our beautiful rainforest lodge that is home base. Join us on a toxic tour, to get a firsthand look at the devastating pollution this region faces. Go on a hike with us to get a sense of the plant, animal and fungi species that are currently at risk.

This perk will cover all expenses except for airfare. Your food (including vegetarian options), lodging, and transportation, once in Ecuador, is on us. You will have a private room with a bathroom and shower. Wake up to the sounds of tropical birds and monkeys chirping in the trees before enjoying a home-cooked breakfast, with local coffee and fresh-squeezed juices.

Why This Project is Important

The Amazon Mycorenewal Project is unique in both its ethic and approach. Through research, education, and implementation of remediation strategies, AMP seeks to improve the quality of life for affected individuals in Ecuador by working directly with communities to address their concerns. We are working to bring effective bioremediation strategies to the Amazon rainforest, "the Lungs of the Earth."

Previous AMP trips have focused on developing relationships with local scientists and organizations, sourcing materials, cataloging and cultivating petroleum tolerant fungi, and prototyping several remediation experiments. This 2014 AMP expedition will focus on synthesizing the previous years of research into a specific remediation protocol. This year's study will be the most important phase of the Amazon Mycorenewal Project to date. 

Once implemented, our design will be an example and aide for other communities facing pollution problems from natural resource extraction methods worldwide.

Other Ways You Can Help

Beyond contributing to this campaign financially, there are several great ways you can help promote this project to your social (mycelial) networks:

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Blogs, Podcasts, & Newsletters:
Write about Amazon Mycorenewal or this Indiegogo campaign on your blog or in your newsletter. AMP members would be happy to do an interview or contribute content to help make this happen. Please contact us through our email to set up an interview.

Email us at: Amazonmyco@gmail.com