Our projects
We’re collaborating with good people to deliver important school and community food-growing and conservation projects across New Zealand to do more good. As well as providing free, locally-made biochar to not-for-profit projects, we supply educational resources and ongoing guidance. There’s currently a waiting list for our biochar. Some of our collaborators are featured below.
Oke School Gardens
In April 2024, Oke school gardens in Auckland will receive biochar funded through a Mazda Foundation grant to incorporate into their food growing beds. Oke empowers children and communities by introducing productive gardens into schools.
Image credit: Oke
Restoring Takarunga Hauraki
Restoring Takarunga Hauraki will use our biochar in their indigenous plant raising nurseries to enhance tree growth, and save water. Restoring Takarunga Hauraki is a community-led ecological and outdoor learning programme in the Devonport Peninsula.
Image credit: Restoring Takarunga Hauraki
Mahinga Kai Community Garden
The garden team at Mahinga Kai received the very first batch of biochar donated by The Good Carbon Farm. They aptly described it as “community housing for good soil bugs”. The team is observing how biochar changes the biology of their compost and growing beds.
Birchville Community Garden
Fruit trees planted in Birchville Community garden’s new orchard were each given a helping of seaweed-soaked biochar. The garden team is using biochar as part of their efforts to regenerate the soil, and conserve water during dry months.
Carbon farmers
Working around New Zealand, our carbon farmers save green waste from landfill and give it a makeover. Each batch of biochar baked by our carbon farmers is unique, so the amount of carbon stored depends on the baking method, and the type of food or plant waste used.
Committed to mitigating climate change and storing carbon in the ground, carbon farmers are matched with local community gardens and conservation projects.
Robert Mignault
After arranging for pine trees to be removed from his family’s property, Robert was shocked at the remaining piles of slash. Based in Auckland, Robert is converting slash into solid carbon to be gifted to local community gardens, and conservation projects.
Image credit: Robert Mignault
Gallops Ridge
Matt Weldon and Debbie Parsons were the first carbon farmers to work with The Good Carbon Farm, converting leftover forestry slash on their Akatarawa Valley property, Gallops Ridge, into biochar. The biochar was distributed to community gardens in Upper Hutt.
Miles Pope
Miles generously supports our school garden projects with biochar donated from his Pukekhoe base. Miles has expertise in horticulture and soil health, and was using biochar miles before we had ever heard of it!
Tolaga Bay Inn Charitable Trust
Devastated by the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle on their community, the Tolaga Bay Inn Charitable Trust initiated the Slash for Cash project. Led by the Māori community, the project repurposes forestry debris, regenerates productive farmland, and trains and employs a team of carbon farmers. The Good Carbon Farm and Slash for Cash whanau are making plans to collaborate to do more good.
Image credit: Tolaga Bay Inn Charitable Trust