A group of George Ranch homeowners worked with the Grove Street Fire Safe Council and Sonoma Ecology Center’s Biochar Initiative program to conduct a biochar burn demonstration last month at George Ranch.

Homeowners cleared undergrowth on their property, which helps protect against wildfires, and that material was placed in a biochar kiln brought in by the Biochar Institute. The material was burned in a controlled process that has been used by indigenous Amazonian people for thousands of years. The result of the burn is a charcoal-like substance that can be used for soil improvement and carbon sequestration.