Inuvik (Sep 22/06) - Researchers from the Aurora Institute said harvesting mushrooms might be a good investment in Inuvik.

"They don't need a lot of light and they are easy to grow," said researcher Sharon Katz.

Sharon Katz, of the Aurora Research Institute, points to an oyster mushroom growing on damp birch bark. She said the mushrooms are inexpensive to grow, and nutritious. - Philippe Morin/NNSL photo

Plus, Katz added, the mushrooms contain a lot of fibre, which is something often missing from the Northern diet.

On September 15, Katz and Aurora Research Centre librarian Valerie Tomlinson held a mushroom tasting at the college, to encourage people to start a mushroom farm.

Dishes offered included mushroom quiche, soup, stew, biscuits - yes, mushroom biscuits do exist - and a kind of meatloaf, with all mushrooms having been grown at the college.

Tomlinson said the idea was to show how versatile mushrooms could be.

"What we want is to grow them locally, so we don't have to pay as much," she said.

Katz added it would be possible to grow them year-round, if the right conditions could be found.

She mentioned that the NWT Power Corporation produces a lot of hot water, which could be used in the harvesting process.

One guest at the tasting was Robert Mellett, environmental health officer for the Inuvik region.

He said his son-in-law is already in the mushroom business, and making a living as a farmer in Burns Lake, B.C.

"It seems like an excellent idea and it could be a real money maker," Mellett said.

However, some guests like senior instructor Rick Hodder, who teaches small business development at Aurora College, said no business is ever guaranteed.

"There are some interesting ideas here for sure," he said, between bites of a mushroom quiche.

"But would a mushroom business generate enough cash flow? I am not sure."

While Katz and Tomlinson do not intend on starting the business themselves, they said they hoped their research might interest investors.

"We want to help create local mushroom growing facilities in town," Tomlinson said.

She said that with a dark room, some heat and a bag of wet birch bark, Inuvik might grow a profitable and nutritious harvest.