ABOUT US
Located in our woodland within the Dyfi Biosphere - Wales, UK. A Biosphere Reserve is an area where locals work with biodiversity and its sustainable use. They are designated by UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation).
https://www.dyfibiosphere.wales/
Our woodland is co-owned by 6 people with varied and valued skill-sets. We operate with a non-hierarchal structure and manage our woodland using continuous cover forestry principles. We aim to restore the woodland to its original ancient woodland status, improve biodiversity, and benefit our local communities and the wider ecological systems in the Dyfi Valley.
Us…
Steenie Halliday
Steenie is an engineer-turned-forester. Focused on sustainable woodland management, kiln and machinery design and optimisation (he never really stopped being an engineer!).
Steenie is committed to community focused ways of sharing information and collaborating to make systems economically and environmentally sustainable.
Rachel Hasler
Rachel holds a PhD in soil science (microbiology, microbial ecology, carbon cycling and sequestration) and works in the agricultural research sector when she’s not enjoying the woodland.
Rachel has a keen interest in science communication and facilitates workshops and training for a variety of ages and settings. She also provides professional soil testing and consultancy.
WORKSHOPS TRAINING TESTING
We think true sustainability comes from working together.
We offer a variety of services including:
Technical and interactive demonstrations of our processes, projects, and how to use our products.
Accessible and engaging education sessions on climate change, ecology, and soil science.
Professional training in soil sampling, measuring soil quality parameters, and land management techniques for enhancing beneficial soil functions.
Children’s workshops on soil and climate sciences - delivered using interactive games to engage learners in a positive, age-appropriate, and fun way.
If you’d like to know more get in touch via the “contact” page or on dyfi_carbon@gmail.com
Our aims.
Sustainability - We appreciate the ecosystems we work with and aim to reduce our negative impacts on environmental processes. Aiming to be an example of how landowners can be ethical and economically and environmentally sustainable.
Honesty - We’re not perfect, but we’re trying! All our packaging is compostable or biodegradable (other than the 200L barrels we use for bulk orders which are reclaimed and previous contained pine resin!). We’re a small business with big aims, we work hard to monitor and optimise our kiln use, currently a traditional steel ring kiln. We’re working on our own retort kiln design and aim to be using a retort system within 5 years.
Local - We love the Dyfi Valley, a vibrant town with a skilled community of landworkers, makers and, artists (the list goes on). We pay people fairly for their craft and time and we think this is part of the true meaning of “sustainability”.
About biochar.
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Biochar is a soil amendment for the improvement of soil characteristics and to sequester carbon below ground.
Biochar is made using a process called pyrolysis. Which means a feedstock (in our case waste wood from our sustainably managed woodland in West Wales) is burned at high temperatures (between 300-700ºC). Oxygen is limited which prevents the feedstock from fully combusting and producing emissions. The result of the burning process is a stable form of carbon which we either chip or grind for ease of use in gardens and agricultural soils.
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Biochar can retain nutrients and molecules which may be lost from soils. This is handy as it can make fertiliser applications more efficient and reduce leaching or run-off of nutrients particularly in freely draining soils.
Biochar is a porous substance which provides refuge in soils for all sorts of beneficial organisms which help your garden grow
The porosity of biochar improves soil drainage and aeration (particularly helpful with clay soils)
Biochar can help improve soil pH, as it’s slightly alkaline it can reduce soil acidity, this also helps make nutrients in the soil more available for plant uptake.
Biochar is a great replacement for peat in compost. Peat quickly degrades and releases carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) into the atmosphere. Biochar provides the benefits of peat without the side effects of being easily decomposed.
The biggest benefit of using biochar is to lock away carbon. Small steps made by many create big changes in the fight against climate change. Biochar is stable form of carbon which, once applied to soils, helps to replenish soil carbon stocks and ensure this carbon isn’t lost back into atmospheric carbon pools.
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• Dig it into your pots, beds and veg patch in combination with your usual compost (up to 50% biochar to compost).
(If your bag contains the Biochar worm-cast compost you can just add this straight to the ground and dig it in or use as you would any other compost)
• Add the bag of biochar to your compost heap or bin aim for 20-50% biochar to compost. The biochar will ensure a slow release of the N and P in your compost when you use it in your garden. Together is better!
• Use in terrariums as a porous layer. The biochar will absorb odours and impurities from the soil and keep your terrarium fresh.