The combination of a love for geology and kombucha gave University of Idaho instructor Renee Breedlovestrout an opportunity to create a livelihood in two areas she is passionate about.
Attending Washington State University as a first-generation college student, Breedlovestrout said she knows the difficulties of finding the right area of study. However, her love for the outdoors and interest in Earth’s past made geology a perfect fit.
“I love geology, it blows my mind to think about all the things that happened in the past on Earth,” Breedlovestrout said.
She obtained her Ph.D. from UI. She then moved to Texas and utilize her knowledge and skill by working for ExxonMobil as one of their geologists analyzing different seismic data from all over the world.
After working in Texas for four years, she and her husband decided to move back to Moscow to be closer to where they grew up.
“We were high school sweethearts. We grew up in Cheney, Washington, so only about 80 miles from here, and we just wanted to go back home,” Breedlovestrout said.
Once she returned to Moscow, she said she decided to utilize all the knowledge she had gained from her time at ExxonMobil to help UI and the state of Idaho. She worked for the Idaho Geological Survey on campus, a public service and research agency that collects the state’s geologic and mineral data.
After her work with the Geological Survey, she said she decided to start teaching and sharing her love of geology with the next generation of geologists. Along with being an instructor for the geology department, she also serves as an instructor at the Global Student Success program, teaching different classes for international students.
Freshman Geno Lunsford is currently in one of her historical geology classes.
“I think that (Breedlovestrout) is a really great instructor. She actually cares and has a passion for the subject she is teaching and also cares about her students,” Lunsford said. “I thought it would be easy to be bored by geology, but she makes it a lot of fun to learn about. Going to her class, I feel like I am learning a lot without having to strain myself to understand it.”
Breedlovestrout is also a commissioner on the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, a governor-appointed position.
“I do that because I got all this knowledge and information at ExxonMobil, and I need to use that knowledge and make sure that the right practices are happening in Idaho and that the right people are represented in the state,” Breedlovestrout said.
She said geology is just one of her interests that she turned into a career. She and her husband have been brewing kombucha for themselves and their friends and decided to turn their love of sustainability and local foods into a business of their own.
Together, they created Loves Kombucha, a brand of kombucha they distribute in Moscow. They said their business has grown considerably after their first experience selling during the farmers market a year ago.
“In Texas, we started brewing and we were trading kombucha with our friends for farm fresh eggs or really nice chocolates and we ended up coming back (to Moscow) and buying about three acres here, and I really wanted to be connected to the community,” Breedlovestrout said.
Currently, their kombucha is served at local restaurants, like Sangria Grille and Maialina Pizzeria Napoletana. Breedlovestrout said they are working on incorporating more Peruvian inspired kombucha flavors for customers at Sangria, working with Peruvian and South American spices to match the food served there.
Emma Takatori can be reached at [email protected]