Below is a contribution from GMPT Member City of Owatonna. For more information, please visit owatonna.gov.

In partnership with the City of Owatonna, Great River Greening (GRG)—a St. Paul-based organization that’s Minnesota’s leader in nature-based climate solutions—recently conducted a biochar demonstration at Kaplan’s Woods Park. The demonstration involved an overview of how biochar kilns convert waste wood into soil-enriching biochar, a cleaner-burning alternative to open-pile burning.

Biochar is a way to dispose of buckthorn and other woody debris in a specific low-oxygen environment, transforming it into stabilized carbon that enriches the soil. It provides many benefits to the soil: it improves aeration and decreases compaction, stores nutrients, increases the soil’s water-holding capacity, improves the development and growth of tree roots, and reduces runoff into surface and groundwater.

Thank you to everyone who attended! For more information on the benefits and applications of biochar, visit GRG’s Biochar Initiative page on their website.