Farming trees for environmental, social & economic benefit in Cornwall.
Carbon Farming
With a much appreciated grant from the Community Led Local Development (CLLD) programme we were able to purchase machinery to help move forward more efficiently with our Carbon Farming demonstration areas on our nursery site.
A project we're very passionate about.
Our project involves the development of an innovative, sustainable, alternative land-management solution & growing system, that has the potential to rapidly drawdown & store a significantly higher quantity of carbon than conventional, mass tree planting schemes.
The growing system we're currently developing involves the planting, establishment & management of willow & poplar in Short Rotation Coppice (SRC).
SRC is not a new process, but the scale & outputs of this growing system that we're currently developing, changes the carbon dynamics/equation significantly. Traditionally SRC has been planted at mass-scale to provide woodchips as ‘carbon neutral’ combustible biomass for energy production. The woodchips produced by the growing system we're developing will not be burnt, but will be utilised as a mulch & soil conditioner/ameliorant.
We aim to develop this system as a deliverable, mitigatory solution to address both the unfolding climate & ecological emergencies, whilst also potentially creating employment opportunities & empowering local communities. ​
The ability to scale this system from an area of 10m² to >10,000m², means that this growing system is applicable to either urban, peri-urban or rural contexts.
Our project demonstrates a framework and methodology to effectively sequester carbon, improve soil health and fertility, support biodiversity & provide landscape resilience, whilst simultaneously developing localised, circular supply chains. Watch this space for updates & lab results!
