Urban Forestry and Biochar
March 31, 2021 – 12:00 – 1:30 pm ET (US)
More and more cities are adopting the use of biochar in urban forestry practices since the Stockholm Biochar Project first pioneered the practice many several years ago. The benefits have long since gone beyond extending the life of urban trees to improving stormwater management. This webinar will present new perspectives on the benefits of biochar use in urban environments.
Henry Kuppen, an arboricultural consultant, and Managing Director of Terra Nostra, has been conducting research related to tree growth with biochar for the past three years. He will discuss various case studies outlining the use of biochar in planting new trees, transplanting of a nearly 100 year old trees and improving the growing environment of mature trees in Dutch metropolitan areas.
Minneapolis, MN has become a leader in urban uses of biochar thanks to the efforts of Jim Doten. Under Jim’s guidance biochar has been used to restore trees stressed from road salt, and to filter E.coli and PFAS contaminants. He has worked in collaboration with researchers at the Natural Resource Research Institute to understand biochar variability for different end uses. Jim will discuss the experiences to date as well as Minneapolis’ future plans for local biochar production.
COST: Free to IBI Members or $40 for non-members.
To view:
Henry Kuppen
Henry Kuppen is managing director of Terra Nostra, consultancy and knowledge centre for trees and soil in The Netherlands and has more than 30 years of experience in the tree-care sector. Henry is an innovator and develops solutions for (practical) management and policy related issues for trees in the urban environment.
Jim Doten
Jim is a licensed Professional Geologist with 35 years of experience in the environmental field. In addition to his undergraduate degree in Geology, Jim has a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Management. He has over 20 years of consulting experience and has been at the City of Minneapolis Health Department for the past 11 years. Jim spent a year in southern Afghanistan with the Army National Guard as a Hydrologist on an Agri-Business Development Team. It was during this time that he first looked at biochar to improve soil health in the region. Jim has continued his biochar was with the City of Minneapolis.
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James MacPhail, Moderator
James is a Fellow and the Biochar Lead with The Climate Map. He is also the Managing Director of Sequest Ltd and serves as a Commercial Advisor to Carbon Gold.
Using his qualifications from the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester – James has developed a wealth of technical knowledge over the last decade about the use of carbon-rich soil amendments based on biochar. Taking waste stream biomass to create products, which offset carbon in an environmentally benign way, directly benefiting adherence to modern environmental, social and governance principles.
