We're very excited to be buying a specialist kiln to produce biochar at Tiroran Community Forest, thanks to a grant from the Scottish Government's Rural & Island Communities: Ideas into Action Fund, managed by Inspiring Scotland.
The kiln will operate alongside our new sawmill, making good use of the off-cuts of larch infected with Phytopthora ramorum that would otherwise be unable to leave the forest.
Biochar has several key benefits when it comes to tackling climate change and is seen as a positive technology in reducing Co2 emissions. Created by burning organic matter without oxygen, biochar can sequester Co2 within the soil for hundreds of years. Biochar also acts as a natural fertiliser, improving soil aeration and structure, and making it easier for plants to absorb nutrients from the soil.
The grant funding also supports short term staffing costs to explore and evaluate the best uses of the biochar at a local level.
