My name is Fielding Schaefer, and I’m an Environmental Humanities major from the class of 2023. I began the
internship by acquainting my new fellow intern Raquel with the glyphosate breeding project that I and others have been conducting for the past year. I organized photos, notes, and findings into a single drive. Raquel is an Environmental Studies — Biology major, so we mapped out the project for the next year so that she may utilize it for her senior thesis. We additionally aim to perform, test, and write an article on our original mycological research that will be published on and promote the Sporechain Foundation— a blockchain database for citizen science and heirloom seed and spore distribution.
While I’ve been assisting Raquel in the lab, I’ve spent most of my time constructing a bonfire bench-circle with natural materials catered to the Walla Walla Valley. Particularly, other interns, employees, my advisor, and I harvested the clay-rich soil found throughout Walla Walla’s airport district, for the sediment is ideal for creating rammed earth structures. We then upcycled 55 lb grain bags left over at local breweries to fill with dirt and create “earthbags.” By stacking earthbags in a circle with barbed wire between them and ramming them with a tamper into place, they once again become as solid as the ground itself. The most trying stage of the project has undoubtedly been creating cobb— fine sediment mixed with straw and water — as the outer coating of earthen plaster. We hand-sifted every
shovelful of soil, mixed in the other ingredients slowly and meticulously, stomped the mixture together with our feet and shovels, wheelbarrowed the heavy goop to the bench itself, and packed it on the exterior. The cobb provides a smooth and natural-looking finish, and after a spray of the lime solution, the structure is solid and waterproof.
The fire circle will allow Fungaia to run more educational and festive events, like the upcoming 8-day mycology course co-hosted with fungi academy in Walla Walla. It will also create a communal hangout space for the Fungaia farmstand that will open soon.
For the farmstand’s opening, I first product-developed a bulk hummus recipe this spring. This summer, I have been cultivating various SCOBY’s and have identified the most vigorous culture to use for bulk kombucha production. Fungaia will sell numerous flavors from the mushroom lab shortly.
Experiences like Fielding Schaefer’s are made possible by the Whitman Internship Grant, which provides funding for students to participate in unpaid internships at nonprofit, some for-profit, and government organizations. We are happy to be sharing blog posts from students who were supported by either a summer, fall, spring, or year-long grants at organizations, businesses, and research labs all around the world. To learn how you could secure a Whitman Internship Grant or host a Whitman intern at your organization, contact us at ccec_info@whitman.edu.