Biochar In The Woods
National Technial Meeting

Join us for an enlightening workshop presented by the USBI Biochar in the Woods Network, featuring trailblazing biochar service providers and educators. This session delves into the innovative world of place-based biochar, a concept that diverges from traditional commercial biochar production. Discover how companies are leveraging agricultural and forestry residues not just as a product but as a tool for ecosystem services and carbon removal.

Learn from the experiences of contractors and conservation crews who, supported by landowners and managers, are transforming what would typically be waste into valuable biochar for on-site application. This approach, known as “place-based biochar,” is gaining traction as a sustainable and economically viable practice.We'll be spotlighting some of the most active organizations in this sector, providing you with insights into their practical methods, unique economic models, and carbon accounting practices.


Place-based Biochar in Space and Time
By making biochar in place, feedstock comminution and transportation costs are avoided, along with biochar application costs. As the biochar industry continues to develop, it will eventually become more economical to transport more of this widely distributed woody debris to facilities for energy and biochar production, but for now, we can address the problem of hazardous fuels, forest health, and carbon sequestration by making and using biochar in place

Taught by Kelpie Wilson

Decade of Discovery: Butte Biochar Evolution & Field Applications
Join us to explore Butte College's decade of biochar innovation, where small-scale production has evolved into significant field applications. This workshop will cover the progression from initial research led by Stephen Feher of the MESA program to impactful agricultural and environmental applications in Butte County, highlighting the use of biochar in post-Camp Fire recovery.

Taught by Stephen Feher

Increasing Biochar Production: Boots on the Ground
Seize the moment to join the Biochar Coalition's mission to create jobs and sequester carbon for future generations. We're scaling up low-tech, high-impact biochar production and are committed to training a skilled workforce. Through community workshops and professional training, we demonstrate efficient production techniques and provide ecological management services nationwide. Get involved in this transformative movement and help increase biochar awareness, production, and use.

Taught by Ken Scherer

Novel carbon accounting methodology for place-based biochar
As wildfires become more frequent, managing the excess biomass from vegetation and fuel load management is imperative. Traditional incineration is being reevaluated in favor of biochar production, which not only helps mitigate wildfire risks but also brings environmental advantages. A novel initiative now monetizes these benefits, offering subsidies for biochar conversion through a specialized carbon accounting method. This approach is bolstered by insights from the Biochar in the Woods network and utilizes the 'CHARR' app for practical in-field measurements.
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Taught by Wihan Bekker

Making Biochar in the Vineyard
Napachar is a young company based in Napa, California with the mission to replace burn piles with biochar kilns throughout Napa and Sonoma County. We use flame-cap kilns (Ring of Fire and Utah Big Box) to turn the woody waste of vineyard management (vines pulled for replacement, vine prunings, adjacent forestry slash) into biochar right on site, where it can be immediately reincorporated into the vineyard soil.

Taught by Eric Mayer

Wildfire Recovery with Benefits: How the Clean Burn Company Converts Dead Trees to Living Soil
The wildfire crisis in Northern California is leaving landowners with a double burden. Coping with the loss of valuable forests they must also manage the dead vegetation left behind after a wildfire that can easily become dry tinder fuel for the next fire. The Clean Burn Company is helping landowners use the Burn Boss, a portable air curtain burner that can make biochar. The alternatives for disposing of dangerous fuels are more polluting and less efficient. Open burn piles produce smoke and chipping is only able to process smaller branches, not whole trees. Whole trees including large logs and stumps can be incinerated cleanly in the air curtain burner.

Taught by Eric Carlson

Small Woodland Owners and the Value of Place-Based Biochar
Small woodland owners are responsible for the management of over half the nation’s forested lands. The Washington Farm Forestry Association provides information and resources for achieving better management outcomes to small woodland owners in Washington who are committed to multi-generation stewardship of their lands for environmental, economic and social benefits.

Taught by Elaine Oneil

Big Box Biochar: Scaled-Up, Low-Tech, In-Woods Biochar Production
Big Box biochar kilns are an alternative to open pile burning that allow for in-woods biochar production in a simple metal box with no moving parts. This approach is based on technology used by charcoal makers for centuries, but with a modern, mechanized approach. A mini-excavator or other piece of machinery is used to operate the kilns.

Taught by Darren McAvoy

Using the CharBoss to reduce hazardous fuels and create biochar
The CharBoss® (Air Curtain Burners, Inc.) is one method for disposing of roadside woody biomass that is normally open burned. The CharBoss® creates biochar continuously by using shaker panels and a conveyor belt to move coals into a quench pan. The air curtain over the firebox reduces smoke, particulates, and some greenhouse gas emissions. This unit is mobile and could be used for cleaning up residues from natural disasters, agricultural wood, harvest operations, forest thinning, or salvage logging.The U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station and many partners have been gathering data on production rate, biochar properties, and the logistics of using the CharBoss®.
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Taught by Debbie Dumroese