No, this is not a Greener version of Jack and the Beanstalk.  It’s better.

Jackie Heinricher ’86 and her team of scientists at Booshoot Gardens in Mount Vernon, Washington have cracked the code for large scale cultivation of giant bamboo through a secret process that doesn’t use genetic modification. The technology can create forests of 100-foot bamboo trees in an astonishing 45 days.  Scientists call them “dream trees.”

Scientists call giant bamboo “dream trees.” With her company, Booshoot, Jackie Heinricher ’86 turns these dreams into a greener future.

The harvests can be turned into anything from hard lumber to clothing to toilet paper.  With this biotech breakthrough, the Booshoot team is poised to infiltrate the paper products market, help protect threatened natural forests and start rebuilding a healthy planet.

Recently, Booshoot signed a contract with world’s largest tissue manufacturer, Kimberly-Clark , to explore replacing 20% of traditional forest products used in toilet paper with fiber from giant bamboo.  Jackie and her team were featured over the summer on several news outlets including the Seattle Times, Greenbiz and King 5.

Happy dreams.