This article describes a biochar learning module for students. During the fall of 2013, Cornerstone Learning Community middle school life science students produced 45 kg of biochar in a 55-gallon drum pyrolysis unit. Students collected biomass (primarily woody debris) from the campus to add to the top-lift updraft unit made from recycled metal barrels and piping. The design of the pyrolysis unit minimizes the entrance of oxygen to the bottom of the container. The biochar produced was ground and mixed at the rate of 45 kg per 4-foot by 10-foot by 1-foot raised bed garden (aging biochar in the soil before planting to enable nutrient and water absorption and bacterial colonization is recommended).
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