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USBI Conference 2012
Initiative News
October 30, 2021
Interest in Biochar is Growing!
The interest in biochar seems to be on a huge upswing lately. We have been retained as consultants on a number of projects over the last few months and more opportunities seem to be popping up weekly. We were retained by Earth Foundries, an environmentally-focused startup in Santa Clara County, to provide advice on biochar […]
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April 27, 2013
Citizen Science Project Reaches Goal!
The Citizen Science Project reached its goal today of distributing 200 free bags of biochar and compost to gardeners around the Bay Area. Attendees at the Sonoma Garden Park Plant Sale put us over the top and we now have now given out 204 bags—-with more going out to Thomas Page Elementary School and a […]
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March 22, 2013
55 Uses for Biochar
Here is another fantastic article from Hans-Peter Schmidt’s Ithaka Journal: 55 Uses for Biochar Hans-Peter makes a great case for first using biochar in at least one other way before putting it in the ground for agricultural use: “Biochar is much too valuable for it to be just worked into the soil without having it […]
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February 6, 2013
New Biochar Article from Hans-Peter Schmidt
Here is an excellent article from European vineyard grower Hans-Peter Schmidt, a highly respected writer, farmer, and biochar enthusiast who has been doing great work on biochar’s effects in vineyards for a number of years.
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December 8, 2012
SBI in 2013
With our successful national conference now behind us, SBI’s Advisory Board has been hard at work developing strategies to build on the local excitement and knowledge gained at the event, and getting as much biochar into the ground as possible. We are poised to have a major growth spurt in our outreach and education activities […]
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May 19, 2012
19th Century Use of Charcoal/Biochar
Steven Edholm has published a fascinating collection stories of farmers using charcoal/biochar in Europe and America in the 19th Century. Check out his Blog here: TurkeySong Blog
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May 17, 2012
The Science of Biochar
More than a decade ago now, renowned soil scientist Wim Sombroek (1934-2003) brought to light the impressive performance of dark soils in the Amazon Basin. He along with fellow early scientists Johannes Lehmann, Dirse C. Kern, Bruno Glaser, William I. Woods among others help to establish the potential of what we now know as biochar. […]
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May 7, 2012
SBI Applies for Conservation Innovation Grant
The Sonoma Biochar Initiative (SBI), in partnership with Southern Sonoma County Resource Conservation District as lead applicant, recently submitted an application for federal funding under USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Conservation Innovation Grant program. The proposed project features a launch of biochar production from local biomass, field trials with local farmers, and education and […]
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April 12, 2012
SBI Advocates Cap and Trade Investments in Biochar for Agriculture
In a recent letter to Assemblymembers Perez, Blumenfield, Gordon and Feuntes and Senators Steinberg, Leno, Simitian and Kehoe, initiated by CalCAN, the California Climate and Agriculture Network, the Sonoma Biochar Initiative (SBI) urged that biochar, a climate response tool and a material to benefit agriculture, be considered for investment under the cap-and-trade fee revenue that […]
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