Home | Olympic Carbon Fund

Helping farmers and other land stewards engage with the soil in ways that sequester atmospheric carbon while restoring healthy soils and ecosystems

Soil scientist David Montgomery displays soil samples from his yard -- lifeless dirt on the left and soil restored using regenerative practices on the right. (photo by Anne Biklé)

Grazing in Zimbabwe

The transformation of this landscape is credited primarily to managed grazing -- moving ruminant livestock in well-planned herds to mimic their behavior in nature. -- from “Ten Years of Land Restoration in Zimbabwe” by Seth Itzkan

Hope Mine

The Hope Mine restoration project in the White River National Forest used compost and biochar to transform barren waste rock piles.

Carbon in the Soil

Soil scientist David Montgomery displays soil samples from his yard -- lifeless dirt on the left and soil restored using regenerative practices on the right. (photo by Anne Biklé)

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Olympic Carbon Fund Initial Launch 2020:

The Biochar Program

Eventually, as the Olympic Carbon Fund grows and matures, it will be wanting to support all aspects of regenerative agriculture and other natural, carbon-sequestering activities. But one activity in particular is a very low-hanging fruit here in Port Townsend, so that is where we start.... biochar.

More...

Meanwhile, we will work to make this website a good introduction to the full range of nature-supporting practices that this fund is meant to promote. Thank you for your patience while the site is under construction...

About the Fund

The Olympic Carbon Fund is a specialized fund within the Jefferson Community Foundation of Jefferson County, WA. It is, first and foremost, a climate fund. Farmers and other land stewards are able to access financial help to engage with the soil in ways that sequester carbon. Others of us with more money than time or muscle are now able to contribute toward that process.

Sequestration

in the Soil

Carbon is found throughout our planet, but it is the soil and associated biosphere that are responsible for most of the exchange of carbon with the atmosphere.

Carbon in the soil takes many forms. Some are very short-lived. Others can stay in the soil for thousands of years.. Land use practices can greatly affect the time that carbon is retained in the soil.

Agriculture

Regenerative Agriculture is a system of farming principles and practices aimed at increasing the health of soils, including its ability to sequester carbon.

While these practices help to reverse the course of climate change by sequestering carbon, they also increase the health of the soil, minimize the need for chemical supplements and enhance the soil's ability to withstand both flood and drought.

Land Uses

Sequestration potential does not lie solely in the agricultural sector. Sustainable forestry practices can result in increased soil carbon. Wetlands, with their largely anaerobic soil, are able to hold on to much of the carbon that ends up in the soil. Even our backyard gardening can be approached in a regenerative way.