Making Air
Richmond, Virginia, home to over 225k residents, experiences similar detriments to the environment and public health as other urban centers including elevated levels of fine particulate matter in the air, the urban heat island effect, and stormwater runoff entering local waterways. To combat these issues, The Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities (PRCF) is turning to a familiar solution: planting trees and other native flora.
It is difficult for new flora to take root in Richmond’s soils, which are made up of a high percentage of clay and prone to compaction. To mitigate this barrier to plantings, PRCF is utilizing a novel soil amendment protocol developed by the Virginia Department of Forestry and Virginia Tech which utilizes two substances known for carbon sequestration: biochar and compost. Use of these substances for soil amendment decreases city reliance on conventional topsoil, which can cost 2-3 times as much as the biochar and compost according to Jamie King, Urban Forest Manager and University Arborist at Virginia Tech.
Biochar is reminiscent of charcoal and retains impressive quantities of water and nutrients due to its high level of absorbency. There is evidence of a substance similar to biochar, terra preta (meaning ‘black earth’ in Portuguese), having been used for soil amendment by indigenous peoples in the Amazon River Basin centuries ago. During pyrolysis, the process used to make biochar, the carbon from the input biomass is largely captured. Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin has touted the ecological and economic benefits of biochar such as green ‘jobs of the future’ provided by two manufacturers operating in the state.
Compost used for plantings in Richmond is largely bought. However, a community compost initiative loosely based on one in Philadelphia utilizes compostables donated by residents for a city-grown supply. Some of this local compost has been utilized alongside biochar for soil amendment in advance of recent plantings.
‘Making Air’ shows a new set of tools one American city is using to mitigate detriments to the environment and public health in a move toward climate resilience.
Volunteers at a tree planting event put on by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Richmond's Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities in Jefferson Hill Park, Richmond, VA, October 2023.
Biochar being gathered for a soil amendment, Richmond, VA, October 2023.
Soil beneath a former tennis court at Fonticello Park in the midst of the soil amendment process, Richmond, VA December 2023.
Michael Gee, Arborist and Labor Crew Supervisor with Richmond’s Workforce Development Program poses for a portrait after a day facilitating soil amendment in Fonticello Park, Richmond, VA, December 2023.
Department of Public Works and Public Utilities employees Samuel Grooms and Jerry Talley organize bins used to collect waste from city residents for The Richmond Compost Initiative at the Wickham Court composting facility, Richmond, VA November 2023.
Waste contributed by city residents to The Richmond Compost Initiative is mixed at the Wickham Court composting Facility, Richmond, VA, November 2023.
Mark Davis, owner of Real Roots Food Systems poses for a portrait at the Wickham Court Composting Facility, Richmond, VA November 2023. Davis is contracted by the City of Richmond to direct the The Richmond Compost Initiative which is loosely based on a similar program in Philadelphia.
Compost generated by The Richmond Compost Initiative is loaded into a truck at the Wickham Court composting facility for transport to a community garden, Richmond, VA, November 2023.
Ethan Jones (13), participates in a planting event put on by the Richmond Department of Parks Recreation and Community Facilities, Richmond, VA, December 2023.
A community planting event at Fonticello Park on a piece of land formerly home to a tennis court which received the soil amendment protocol developed by The Virginia Department of Frestry and Virginia Tech, Richmond, VA, December 2023.
Volunteers plant trees at Canoe Run Park during an event facilitated by Capital Trees, Keep Virginia Beautiful, and the Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities, Richmond, VA, October 2023.
A new tree planted during an event put on by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Richmond's Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities in Jefferson Hill Park, Richmond, VA, October 2023.