Regional School Unit 73 board of directors Thursday night approved a contract for teachers and students to grow chaga mushrooms with Nikki Leroux and Justin Triquet, owners of JustNiks Mycosilva. In this 2022 photo, Triquet is seen drilling holes to inoculate birch trees while Leroux looks on. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal file photo

JAY — Regional School Unit 73 directors on Thursday conditionally approved a contract for JustNiks Micosilva to work with teachers and students to raise chaga mushrooms on district land.

“The Spruce Mountain mycoforestry outdoor research project gives Spruce Mountain High School students the opportunity to learn about fungi in an outdoor environment,” teacher Rob Taylor said. “Chaga mushrooms are a valued commodity, prized for their high levels of antioxidants.”

Justin Triquet and Nikki Leroux, owners of JustNiks Mycosilva, have offered to provide dowels infused with chaga spores to inoculate birch trees in the forest abutting its Jay schools, Taylor said.

“There is a strip as you are coming up the hill and around the corner near the high school that is about 12 acres forested land,” he said. “There is a pretty good mix of trees, it has some yellow and white birch. We are proposing to inoculate the birch trees to provide opportunities for students to do research and experimentation. I think it is going to be a very beneficial program.”

In three years the chaga mushroom cones will develop, in five to seven years they will be harvested, Taylor noted. JustNiks will purchase those mushrooms and proceeds will be donated to support science, technology, engineering and mathematics projects in the schools, he said.

Director Tina Riley of Jay asked if there were any concerns about infecting other trees or the spread of invasive species.

The chaga used is native to Maine and is already here, Taylor said.

“This is a win-win situation for us,” science teacher Ken Baker said. It gets kids outside, has the potential for elective classes and statistical analysis work. Plus, the business side could be taught and provide hands-on learnings, he added.

Director Elaine Fitzgerald called the project exciting and said students would be able to take skills into the real world.

Chaga mushrooms are grown in more than 100 countries, Triquet said. “We are the first and only company in the United States,” he said. “Finland has chaga cultivation as an elective at vocational schools.

“We came into this community about a year ago, it’s treated us really well,” he said. “Rob Taylor and Steve Gettle ended up showing up at a presentation at the Jay Select Board, we had never met them. They showed tremendous support.”

“At that meeting I walked in the door with a million questions,” Taylor said. “I felt like he answered my questions really well.”

Director Andrew Sylvester asked what are some end products of chaga.

“There are over 200 bioactive compounds in chaga,” Triquet said. It cures different kinds of cancer, chaga helps with things like allergies, eczema, etc., he said.

“The value is in the health benefits, that is why it’s worth so much,” Taylor said.

Director Joel Pike asked if there were any risks for the district.

Triquet said he would provide the district with the 16-page agreement he uses in his business.

Chairman Rob Staples said the board could work with the district’s lawyer regarding the contract.

The contract would be long-term, probably throughout the life of the tree, Triquet said when asked if it would be for one year or longer. “Once the chaga is harvested, it grows back in another four to five years, then again four or five years later,” he noted.

The contract was approved pending its review.