Projects

Sonoma Ecology Center, in collaboration with the Pittsburg Unified School District and the other partners listed below, will be starting construction on a CAL FIRE, IRA-funded green schoolyard grant project on September 8 ^th. We will be adding 37 shade trees, an outdoor classroom and gathering area, and other greening features that will enhance the outdoor areas used by students daily.  We will also be teaching a nature-based curriculum to 2 ^ndthrough 5 ^th graders, integrating these natural elements into the lessons. We expect to be done with construction in December 2025.

Stoneman Elementary Green Schoolyard Construction Week 9

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In early April 2025 we had a ribbon cutting celebrating the startup of our ARTi Pyrolysis unit at the Napa Recycling and Compost Facility in American Canyon.  We are looking forward to being able too offer high quality biochar and compost products locally after a four-year permitting journey.  We want to thank the funder, CAL FIRE, for sticking with us on this complicated regulatory path that did end with our receipt of an Authority to Construct permit.  

Pyrolysis System Explainer Videos

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Sonoma Ecology Center, and a team that includes the San Luis Obispo Air Pollution Control District, The U.S. Forest Service Fire Science Lab, The Usal Redwood Forest Company, and scientist James Amonette, PhD, from Washington State University, are in the final stages of a 2-year emissions testing project comparing pollutants from flame-cap kilns, conservation burns, and standard burn piles. We will be releasing the results by the end of 2025, and we will be scheduling a webinar to discuss both the process and the results from this important study.

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