Janét Moore

Janét (pronounced like Jeanette) Moore grew up in Snohomish County, WA, just north of Seattle. She is passionate about the environment and sustainable agriculture. As a teenager, she volunteered to aid the creation of the Sno-Isle Natural Food Co-op in Everett, WA, in 1996, while simultaneously starting an organic market garden and honor stand with her mom, selling produce to the co-op and local restaurants. Located on an extremely organically rich sponge-like peat bog, in the ancient flood plain of the Snohomish River, here, Janét developed a deep appreciation for the world’s dearth of fertile soil. Her love for nature comes from spending time outside playing with her siblings. Janét has always sought experiences in natural places, and finds that it helps to feel more at peace.

Janét spent some of her youth travelling the country, making and selling jewelry, then settled down as a single parent, working in nursing homes for many years. While taking community college classes, she joined an environmental group and started advocating for environmental reforms around the campus and in her community. In 1999, she participated in, and helped plan for, the World Trade Organization (WTO) protest in Seattle. The experience heightened her understanding of many issues including workers' rights, sustainable economies, and the environmental and human rights failures of globalization. That same year, Janét heard Dr. Elaine Ingham, a leading soil microbiologist, speak at a WA Tilth Conference, sparking an enduring respect for the vital role of soil microbes (the bacteria and fungi) in maintaining life on Earth.

Janét graduated with honors in 2006 with a Bachelor's of Science in Soil & Water Science, from Utah State University. She was disappointed that the role of soil biology was largely ignored during her education, while chemical farming and genetic engineering was promoted by the department. After graduating, she worked for the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and U.S. Forest Service, mapping soils in remote locations of Wyoming and northern Minnesota for several years, where she developed an appreciation for native prairie ecosystems.

In 2013, Janét moved to the Oregon coast with her son, settling in Coos Bay, and became devoted to environmental advocacy and community organizing, especially around forestry reform issues. She worked as the produce manager of a local natural food co-op while serving as co-director of an all-volunteer environmental nonprofit, Coast Range Forest Watch (www.cosatrangeforestwatch.org). Using community science to survey for the endangered marbled murrelet bird, they stopped old growth logging in a state forest while working to increase awareness about the importance of forest ecology and advocating for timber policy reform. During this time, she gave a series of presentations about the dangers of aerial herbicide spraying, a common practice of the timber industry in western Oregon, and advocated for victims of spray drift. Additionally, Janét worked for years to organize community opposition to what would have been the largest source of pollution in Oregon (the failed Jordan Cove LNG export facility and associated pipeline), polluting proposed cargo-shipping terminals, and other local environmental issues around Coos Bay.

Before joining The Tanka Fund, Janét worked 1.5 years in arctic Alaska, helping Inupiat villages with solid waste management under a USDA grant, and most recently, 1.5 years on a small organic teaching farm in Mendocino, CA, where she practiced growing a complete annual diet on 1,000 ft² of land with simple hand tools, using the Grow BioIntensive™ method. In her spare time, she completed a soil microscopy certification through the Soil Food Web School, founded by Dr. Ingham, and now assesses the biological quality of soil and compost for a variety of clients.

Janét is happy to join Tanka Fund and work with a network of partners to support Buffalo and cattle caretakers from minority communities, under the USDA Partnership for Climate Smart Commodities Program.