David Hutchins is a very interesting man. He describes himself as curious by nature. He is a biomimetic materials scientist, an environmental engineer, an educator and an assembler of rusty bits.

He says he spends his free time tinkering in the sacrifice zones, dreaming on two wheels and documenting the process.

Hutchins has long pushed for transparency and public participation to enhance Butte’s Superfund cleanup, and he has come up with some unique ways to try to accomplish that. One was an art show at the Northside Tailings back in September. He was part artist and part Bill Nye the Science Guy.

The Northside Tailings will eventually be part of the cleanup under the Consent Decree. Hutchins has studied the beauty and danger of the site for years. He can help shed some light on the problem and the problem of leaving waste in place as part of that cleanup.

A Missoula native who has lived in Butte the past 12 years, Hutchins manages the Biomimicry Institute’s Launchpad Program, and he is a faculty member at Montana Tech.

Oh, and Hutchins is one of a handful of local scientists who come under attack for pointing out inconvenient truths regarding the health and safety of citizens in Butte-Silver Bow during the Superfund process. Those attacks and attempts to discredit his work, however, only strengthened his resolve.

Listen in to this episode of the ButteCast as Hutchins talks about that resolve and why he will always fight for what is right. Listen in to hear his opinion of the cleanup in Butte and his years of findings while investigating the Northside Tailings and other areas in the sacrifice zone.

Listen in to why he is still optimistic about the Mining City and why he has no plans to leave. Listen in as he explains biomimicry.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by Leskovar Honda, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warrantee.