Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada awards project $188,010
An ongoing research partnership between Portage College and the Town of Fox Creek that could reduce the severity of forest fires has been awarded $188,010 in grant funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC).
The research project – called “Fungal Firefighters: Can inoculation with native wood-decay fungi reduce the fire risk of waste wood?” is a multi-year study that began in 2025. The target of the study is waste wood material cleared for fire smarting, forestry, and industrial development, and is based in the Fox Creek area of northwestern Alberta. The hope is to inoculate the wood with the right fungi to retain moisture and speed decomposition to reduce the wood’s flammability. Conifer wood can take over 10 years to show signs of decomposition in nature, and is considered particularly flammable, so white spruce wood is the current target of the study.
Using the fungal decomposition process instead of simply leaving or burning the wood, says research project lead and research chair Michael Schulz, offers a win-win from standpoints of ecology and safety.
“We see this research helping to promote ecosystem function while solving a practical problem” said Schulz, a faculty member in Portage College’s Environmental Technologist Diploma program who holds a Master of Science degree in Ecology and is one of Canada’s leading experts on fungi and lichens. “Using native, local fungi, and performing lab trials first, ensures that the right species are being used.”
Schulz has already completed laboratory trials, where he tested the abilities of 103 fungal cultures belonging to 67 different species to decompose white spruce wood chips. The fungi were all collected from the Fox Creek region in 2025, with the help of local residents, the Town of Fox Creek staff, and the Alberta Mycological Society. Fox Creek residents contributed by posting their sightings of mushrooms and other fungi on the iNaturalist app, which helped Schulz locate important fungi in the region. The Town of Fox Creek staff assisted by providing space to examine and culture the fungi and helped with project coordination and promotion. The Alberta Mycological Society held their annual “Great Alberta Mushroom Foray” event in Fox Creek in the fall of 2025 to help with the project, where members collected fungi with detailed collection notes that were then cultured by Schulz and his assistants.
The laboratory trials show great promise for the technique: the top fungi decreased the mass of the wood by over 20 per cent in four months and increased the wood’s moisture content by over 100 per cent. This rapid mass loss and increased moisture will almost certainly reduce wood flammability.
The next stage in the project will involve field trials, where the top fungi from the laboratory trials will be tested in recently cleared areas around Fox Creek.
Research solutions
“This is a great example of how applied research can make a real difference and bring people together to find practical solutions to local, regional and global issues,” says Portage College President and CEO Dr. Stephen Price. “Fungal Firefighters is a great example of how we share our expertise with collaborating partners to bring results that will have far-reaching effects.”
Researchers have until November of 2029 to complete their project reporting.
Background:
Full story on using fungi to fight wildfires
Fox Creek is an Alberta town of approximately 1,800 people, located in the boreal forest of northwestern Alberta. Fox Creek is located 260 kilometres northwest of Alberta’s capital city, Edmonton.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada is Canada’s federal funding agency for research and research training in natural sciences and engineering at Canadian universities and colleges.
Portage College is a public post-secondary institution with seven campus locations across northeastern Alberta. The Portage College Applied Research department has a portfolio of several industry and community-collaboration endeavours. The department is always looking for new projects and partners. Read the inaugural Applied Research publication, Explore, released in early 2026 for more stories.
For more information:
Corporate Communications
Portage College 780-623-6671