Making Air
Richmond, Virginia experiences similar detriments to public health and the environment as other urban centers including vehicle exhaust affecting air quality, the urban heat island effect raising ambient temperatures, and stormwater runoff entering local waterways such as the James River. To combat these issues, The Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities (PRCF) has turned to a familiar solution: planting trees and other native flora.
It is difficult for plantings to take root in Richmond’s soils, which are made up of a high percentage of clay and prone to compaction. To address these barriers, PRCF is utilizing a novel soil amendment technique developed by the Virginia Department of Forestry and Virginia Tech which uses two substances known for carbon sequestration: biochar and compost. In addition to their ecological benefits, using these substances decreases reliance on conventional topsoil for new plantings which can cost 2-3 times as much 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 in the Amazon River Basin centuries ago. During pyrolysis, the process used to make biochar, carbon from the input biomass is largely captured. Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin has touted the benefits of producing biochar in Virginia, such as utilizing state forestry waste to produce it, and the creation of green ‘jobs of the future’ provided by two manufacturers currently operating in the state. These manufacturers have received direct investment from the state including a cash grant and support from the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.
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 combined with biochar for soil amendment in advance of recent plantings.
‘Making Air’ looks at a new use for carbon sequestering substances in the urban environment that are stimulating Virginia’s economy and combatting threats to the environment and public health.

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 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.

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 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.

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 piedmont grassland ecosystem has developed at the former site of a tennis court in Fonticello Park in Richmond, VA, July 2024. The parcel of land received the soil amendment process developed by The Virginia Department of Forestry and Virginia Tech incorporating biochar and compost before the plantings.

Flowers of Plains Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria) seen amongst grasses that have proliferated where there was once a tennis court in Fonticello Park, Richmond, VA, July 2024.