Restore Motes Creek!

We are starting a new stream restoration project with Haw River Mushrooms to restore the eroded banks of Motes Creek in Saxapahaw. Thanks to our partners at Joe Van Gogh and Mellow Marsh Farm, we will be filling coffee bags with mushroom substrate to serve as stormwater controls to minimize the volume, velocity, and turbidity of runoff coming into the stream from the eroded fields. The mushrooms will also serve as a mycoremediation tool to remove heavy metals, toxins, and other materials from the stormwater runoff. With these banks temporarily stabilized, we will be able to plant live stakes of black willow, silky willow, silky dogwood, elderberry, and buttonbush. The tenacious root structures of these native plants will allow the banks to recover and hold back sediment and prevent further erosion. 


Haw River Mushrooms farm, located in Saxapahaw, NC, is owned by Ches and Laura Stewart, and run with our farm manager Annie Seifts, and a talented crew of production and farmers market specialists.  They specialize in growing Hardwood Mushrooms including shiitake, lions mane, oyster, cinnamon cap, and reishi.  In October 2020, they moved to a new farm location on 18 acres at 1122 Ossabaw Way.  Motes Creek, a 5.39 tributary to the Haw RIver, runs through their property, and an early goal on this new land is to use mycoremediation and soil restoration techniques to support his important waterway.  CEO Laura Stewart commented on the project saying,  "We're really excited to work on this project.  Working with mushrooms has shown us how they can be a solution to so many big problems, from feeding a growing population to cleaning up our soil and water.  We are so grateful to have the Haw River Assembly so close by to help us figure out how to make this all happen and measure its effectiveness."  


Want to help? Please consider donating here (link) to help us cover the cost of the live stakes! Buy a tree and help us restore the buffer! 

More information about Haw River Assembly: The Haw River Assembly is a non-profit citizens' group founded in 1982 to restore and protect the Haw River and Jordan Lake. The Haw River is a valuable natural resource; the headwaters of the Cape Fear River Basin. The Haw River provides drinking water to many communities, important habitat for wildlife, including endangered species, and recreational and scenic areas.