On a mission to build resilient communities through healthy soils.
We do this through two modes of action: Projects and Products
1) We work with municipalities to Develop Biochar Projects.
Municipalities are uniquely positioned to develop and benefit from biochar programs. These are multi-stakeholder projects that use local materials to create local solutions to solve local problems. All in a way that is financially self-sustaining. Municipal biochar for community benefit is where we specialize.
Our current projects are in Cincinnati, Ohio and Douglas County, Colorado.
2) We develop Products and Services that restore soil health and support green living.
Soil, in many ways, is the foundation of a healthy society. We are driven by a motivation to return health to the soil and to help people participate in that sacred work. Biochar is a tool we use in that process. It functions alongside biology, minerals, organic matter and plants as part of an ecosystem. We focus on restoring that system as a whole through our products and services.
Learn More About:
Carbon Harvest Creative-Products for Green Living
Great Soil- Biochar and Soil Health Products (pdf; web page coming soon)
Our Services (page coming soon)
The Carbon Problem
Carbon has a reputation problem. News about climate change is everywhere. Carbon is always the villain. There’s too much CO2 in the atmosphere and it’s causing temperatures to rise. Carbon can and must be the hero of this story. But it has to be in the right place--the soil. When it’s in the ground, carbon brings a cascade of benefits to the soil ecosystem, creating resilient landscapes. When it’s missing, systems degrade and become fragile. So how do we get carbon back in the ground?
A Solution
Biochar is charcoal made for the purpose of adding to the soil. Or biological charcoal. It was used by indigenous people in the Amazon to keep soils fertile for hundreds of years. It removes carbon from the atmosphere when produced using modern techniques. When applied to the soil, it brings a host of benefits to that soil and the plants growing in it. Plants that are healthy and thriving perform photosynthesis more efficiently, meaning that they’re then more effective at capturing carbon. This creates a virtuous cycle of system health in which carbon is being built underground to rebuild the foundation of ecosystem health. As system health improves, productivity and performance improve.
Cincinnati Biochar Project
In 2018 the City of Stockholm, Sweden implemented a biochar project to mitigate a portion of their carbon emissions and increase their climate resilience. Bloomberg Philanthropies was a supporter of the project and wants to see it replicated. Cincinnati was selected by Bloomberg as one of ten cities in the world to receive support for developing a city-wide biochar project.
We will use biochar to help meet the carbon reduction and sustainability goals of the Green Cincinnati Plan. We will take wood chips from the Cincinnati Park Board and turn them into biochar. That biochar will be used to turn our soils into carbon sponges that support the urban tree canopy, retain stormwater, and make our land more resilient in the face of climate change. Project sponsors include Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Cincinnati Park Board, the Cincinnati Office of Environment and Sustainability and Great Parks of Hamilton County. Subscribe to our newsletter below for project updates.