By Jani Gilbert, Lands Council supporter
After reading an article in The Lands Council’s February newsletter about biochar, I wondered if there was a way to convert slash piles from my private property clearing into biochar. The concept was intriguing.
I wanted to learn more, so I reached out and asked if using biochar was a possibility for me, up in Stevens County. I didn’t expect anyone to say, “yes,” let alone, “I’ll be there next Thursday.” I only knew that it was a way to treat woody debris without “burning" and without releasing so much carbon into the atmosphere. Carbon, as CO2, is a known culprit in the process of climate change. Chipping or composting allows the woody to slowly decompose releasing methane, another greenhouse gas.
I was all in. But I didn’t know what I was all in for. On Thursday, March 11, I heard the truck-trailer slowing trying to back down my muddy driveway until it was finally still. Chris Bachman, from The Lands Council, jumped out.
I had neatly arranged five piles of forest debris, about two-thirds old and dry, to fit the Department of Natural Resource’s required 12-foot diameter requirement. Chris sized up the situation and we began cutting it all in half to fit the “Oregon Kiln,” the smaller of two portable structures. The “panel kiln” is larger and built around a bigger pile.
We piled the branches and limbs alternating in perpendicular layers inside the kiln, forming a rick, until the mound was about six feet above the top of the kiln wall. Then, Victoria Leuba, a curious Lands Council Board Member, ignited the stack with a small blow torch. It burst into flames. We spent the next 50 minutes feeding the kiln with sticks and branches until it was just… gone. At times, the flames from the burning wood gas were more than 20 feet high.
At around the 50 minute mark, with the flame diminished to a minimum, Chris doused the kiln with water. What remained was gorgeous biochar. Some of the larger diameter wood did not fully pyrolyze. The larger pieces can be put in the kiln next time, but I will likely enjoy their warmth while I tell friends biochar stories around the campfire.
Biochar is a great soil amendment and helps soil hold nutrients and water. It’s full of carbon, which makes it a perfect way to sequester carbon, pulling legacy carbon out of the carbon cycle. It is like making coal and putting it back in the ground where it belongs.
It’s a nourishing amendment that is going slowly into my compost pile to feed my nascent garden.
Once complete, Chris was back on the road as quickly as he had arrived. He loaded the trailer with the kiln and his tools. The whole thing took less than an hour and a half. My property was clear, I improved fire safety, and I’m improving my soil. We did it all quickly and with very little visible smoke. Thank you Chris, and thank you Lands Council.
Editor's Note: Chris Bachman is now the Western Region Coordinator for the Mountain Lion Foundation and is no longer an employee of The Lands Council.
If you are interested in learning more about biochar, please contact us at tlc@landscouncil.org.