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Support the work of the Soil Carbon Coalition

There are several ways to support our work and partner with the Soil Carbon Coalition and the Soil Carbon Challenge.

Donations

We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization and donations are tax deductible. In donating to us, you have the option of supporting the Challenge generally, and/or supporting localized Challenges. Choose the link below to get to an online contribution page, where you also have the option of paying later by check.

Soil Carbon Challenge (general)

Vermont Soil Carbon Challenge

Texas Soil Carbon Challenge

If you would like to help initiate another local Soil Carbon Challenge, please contact us. Email and phone are on the bottom of every page.

Partnerships

A localized Soil Carbon Challenge is a great way to recognize and foster leadership based on performance and knowhow rather than on predictions and politics. We are ready to enter into working partnerships with local organizations who want to help do this. Our data is open, and our methods open-source. Contact us.

Participation

If you would like to participate in the Soil Carbon Challenge, contact us. Or if you are interested in learning our monitoring methods, hosting a workshop on the discovery of the carbon cycle in your community, or something else related, contact us. Our information is at the bottom of every page.

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Sept 2011 update

Soil Carbon Coalition
September 6, 2011
 

Update April 2011

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So far, ten land managers have entered the Soil Carbon Challenge, an international and local competition to see how fast land managers can turn atmospheric carbon into water-holding, fertility-enhancing soil organic matter. What this means is that we've done baseline sampling on a few representative plots or microsites, and that this baseline sampling can be repeated with consistency at years 3, 6, and 10 to gauge the amount and rate of soil carbon change, and help to distinguish the effects of management from those of weather.

 
  Peter sections a soil core sample at the 10 cm mark on a ranch in northern California.

This is not a carbon market or carbon offset scheme. It is aimed at finding out what is possible under above-average management in specific locations and situations, while leaving management practices and methods to the creativity and commitment of the land manager, whether it's a large ranch or an urban back yard. In addition, monitoring soil carbon change will indicate whether these sites are gaining or losing soil carbon, and approximately how fast.

Terry Gompert

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Terry Gompert, of Center, Nebraska, USA, on March 25. Terry was a good friend and a dynamic and effective force for holistic management and soil health, and he will be sorely missed.

Abe Collins has begun a celebration page here and everyone who knew Terry is encouraged to contribute. The wiki page does not require registration or login.

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If you find this site and the Soil Carbon Challenge to be worthwhile, please consider making a contribution. We have no employees, only volunteers at this time, and contributions help leverage our work.

You may also be interested in the articles and information on Managing Wholes.

Entering data for soil carbon change map

Choose create content, map instance.

1. Name the project.

2. Select the Template type: is this an instance of carbon gain, loss, or no change?

3. Description: summarize. USE HTML tags to place a photo (copy code from other examples), separate paragraphs, and include links. Links to published papers should have as their text, the short title of the journal, issue, year, pages.

4. Carbon change in T C per ha per yr, or as a percentage per year to a given depth in cm. To calculate the percentage:

(1 - (percent now/percent then ^ years ^ -1))*100

e.g. if carbon percentage went from .55 to 1.4 in 14 years, 1.4/.55 = 2.545. The 14th root of this can be found on most scientific calculators by raising 2.545 to the 1/14 power, which is 1.069. Less 1, times 100 this gives 6.9% increase per year. Annual carbon loss percentages can be calculated similarly.

5. Coordinates: Click on Location tab to bring in map. Or enter, decimal format, LONGITUDE FIRST, e.g. -103.36453,38.495857

logo

Here is a logo for the Soil Carbon Coalition. Click it to play it again. The UNanimated version (for most use) will be the final state of the animation.

Collective inquiry

Periodically we host an electronic collective inquiry process, centered around our beliefs.

Participation is open to any registered user of this website. Register and you will receive email notification of our next session. (If you are already logged in you cannot re-register.)

About the Soil Carbon Coalition

We are a nonprofit organization (501c3) wanting to advance the practice, and spread awareness of the opportunity, of turning atmospheric carbon into soil organic matter.

Our principal project is the Soil Carbon Challenge, an international prize competition to see how fast land managers can turn atmospheric carbon into water-holding, fertility-enhancing soil organic matter. (Peter is currently touring the continent in a converted school bus, doing baselines.)

We think the opportunity for increasing carbon and water in the soil is huge, and will help drive improvement in social and economic conditions as well as enhance biodiversity and ecological resiliency.

Board members:

Abe Collins grazes cattle near St. Albans, Vermont, and is co-founder of Carbon Farmers of America.

Peter Donovan has herded sheep, and worked in the woods, agriculture, and cattle ranching. Since 1996 he has reported on innovative natural resource stewards, and most of his articles can be found on http://ManagingWholes.com. He lives in Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon, but is currently on the road in a school bus.

Christina Allday-Bondy is a Certified Educator with Holistic Management International. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Jeff Goebel is an experienced consensus facilitator and educator in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is a Certified Educator with Holistic Management International. His website is http://www.aboutlistening.com.

Jim Laurie has worked with John Todd building Living Machines (biological systems to purify wastewater). He lives in Woburn, Massachusetts.

Most of us are available to address groups as well as facilitate participatory dialogues on the soil carbon opportunity.

Contact:

Peter Donovan
501 South Street
Enterprise, OR 97828
USA

541-263-1888

Welcome to the Soil Carbon Coalition website

The Soil Carbon Coalition was begun by Abe Collins (Vermont), Terry Gompert (Nebraska), and Peter Donovan (Oregon) to raise awareness of the opportunity we have to increase soil organic matter and reverse global heating.

For a short overview of the soil carbon opportunity, see the slideshow (about 3.5 Mb and 5 minutes), see below, and http://soilcarboncoalition.org/other_side_of_global_warming

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