Success! Thanks to All Who Contributed.

We did it! We raised the money needed to prepare the slash piles for making biochar!

A big thank you to all who contributed. If you would like to purchase some of the biochar in advance, use the donate link below.

Can we turn our forestry burn piles into biochar?
Can we add carbon to soils, where it belongs, as we remove it from the atmosphere?
Can we make this restoration activity pay for itself?

It's a big job, but somebody has got to do it. Please join us!

These are the questions that UBET will answer with the Drew Veg Biochar Project. We hope that you will help us find the answers by contributing time or money to support this innovative pilot project. About half of the work has been done, but we need to raise money to pay a contractor to pile some of the material and we need gas money for farmers who are donating tractors to help do the work. Please pitch in and we'll give you access to some biochar in return!

Click Below to Donate Funds or send checks to UBET/SURCP, 34620 Tiller Trail Hwy, Tiller, OR 97484

We need commitments from at least ten workers who can work several full days making biochar in our kilns  Click Here to Volunteer Your Time

Drew Veg Biochar is the name of a fuel reduction project on the Umpqua National Forest, near the town of Drew, Oregon. The US Forest Service conducts many such projects on National Forests every year for the purpose of reducing fire hazard by removing dense stands of younger trees, mostly in plantations and areas that were previously logged. Some of the wood may be big enough to sell to sawmills, but much of it must be piled and burned onsite. This burning produces large amounts of smoke, and the numerous piles burn holes in the forest duff, sterilizing the soil.

We have a better idea and we want to prove it.
Below are some more details about the Drew Veg Biochar Project:

Southern Oregon Firewise Expo

UBET members demonstrated biochar kilns at the Southern Oregon Firewise Expo at Jackson County Fire District 3 in White City, May 12-13. A large group of federal, state and local fire, forestry and emergency partners sponsored this event. On Friday, May 12th about 800 middle school students attended and learned about firesafe practices. They also visited the UBET biochar booth where they learned how to make biochar from "Captain Charcoal" (Don Morrison), while UBET president Scott McKain explained how to use biochar in soil. 

Kelpie Wilson guided an activity to explore charcoal properties by handing each student a small paper cup of biochar and adding a drop of water to it. The hissing sound that results is the sound of water bonding with biochar surfaces and expelling air. This works best with biochar that is very light and porous, like activated carbon. Oregon Biochar Solutions provided the biochar for the activity. A big thanks to OBS and Grant Scheve!

Firefighters demonstrate why you should not plant flammable shrubs like arbor vitae next to a house. UBET demonstrated how you can turn unwanted shrubs and other material into biochar using simple kilns.

Captain Charcoal entertains the kids.

Scott McKain explains biochar

We presented a science lesson on biochar properties

Kids listen to the sound of biochar