ABOUT THIS EPISODE
In October, VoLo Foundation hosted the sixth annual Florida Climate Week™, which ran Oct. 5 through 11 across the state. It was the largest edition yet, with more than 130 free events: over 95 in person and about 35 virtual. VoLo Foundation serves as the convener, but Florida Climate Week truly belongs to the communities. Local governments, universities, nonprofits, businesses, scientists, educators, and community leaders shape the programming. From Jacksonville and Tallahassee to Orlando, Tampa Bay, Southwest Florida, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami, and the Florida Keys, residents came together for workshops, hands-on activities, outdoor experiences, volunteer opportunities and panels on the challenges Floridians live with every day: extreme heat, hurricanes, flooding, water quality, coastal ecosystems, agriculture, and public health. Every event was free and open to everyone, with no scientific background required. Together, the events reinforced a shared message: no one has to work alone, and there's a place in the solution for all of us.
One of Shannon's favorite events took place in Hardee County, in partnership with Biotech Applied Research. Hardee County is one of Florida's 31 agricultural counties, defined as having more than 100,000 acres dedicated to farms and farmland, and these rural communities are not immune from extreme weather, and other changes in our global climate. Our guest for this episode is Joseph Neilsen, the biochar and carbon scientist for Biotech Applied Research, a Florida nonprofit focused on applied research in biochar, soil health, and carbon removal. Joseph operates mobile carbonization equipment that converts wood waste into biochar on site, turning debris from land clearing, storm cleanup, and agriculture into a stable form of carbon that can improve soils for decades. His work centers on revitalizing rural Florida communities through green jobs, in places often left out of the clean energy conversation, and working where field operations meet research keeps him focused on what actually works on the ground rather than what looks good on paper.
Joseph shares the story of how Biotech Applied Research got started and explains how citrus trees lost to drought can be turned into biochar instead of going to waste, a process that does in about four hours what takes Mother Nature roughly 400 years. He and Shannon dig into the research behind biochar and how it connects to carbon credits, then turn to a practical question from a blueberry farmer about mixing biochar with pine bark. Joseph also explains how biochar can help fight drought by helping soil hold water, reducing the need for daily water rollers during periods of severe drought.
Tune in to hear how one of Florida's oldest industries could find new life in its own waste and why the solutions for rural Florida may already be growing right in its backyard. Curious to try biochar in your own garden?
You can find a consumer product at The Home Depot.
