The Cook County Highway Department, in coordination with Great River Greening (GRG), is hosting a biochar demonstration on April 2nd from 11 am – 2 pm at the Highway Department, 609 4th Ave East, in Grand Marais.
Biochar is a charcoal-like substance made from organic waste (wood chips, corn stalks, manure) through a process called pyrolysis. The biomass is heated to high temperatures in a low-oxygen environment. Instead of burning into ash and releasing carbon dioxide (CO2), the carbon in the wood is “locked” into a solid, stable form that looks like black grains or small chunks. It can then be used as a soil amendment to increase soil organic carbon. If you’ve been looking into creating a healthy garden or the future of carbon removal, you’ll keep seeing the term biochar. Biochar isn’t a fertilizer itself, but it improves the effectiveness of fertilizers and water. Under a microscope, biochar looks like a honeycomb. These millions of tiny holes provide a vast surface area for beneficial microbes to live. It holds onto moisture like a reservoir, helping plants survive dry spells, a big plus for rocky North Shore soils. While a dead tree in the woods rots and releases its carbon back into the air in a few years, biochar is chemically stable. It can stay in the soil for hundreds or even thousands of years.
Founded in 1995, GRG is a St. Paul-based nonprofit focused on land restoration. Unlike groups that lobby or buy land, GRG restores degraded areas with native plants and mobilizes local volunteers. Their staff, including ecologists and designers, also create land management plans for communities.
GRG is a pioneer in using biochar kilns right on-site during restoration. This locks the carbon into the charcoal, which is then buried back into the park’s soil to help the new native plants grow. It’s a closed-loop system that’s much cleaner than a standard brush pile burn. As of 2026, GRG has restored over 62,000 acres across Minnesota. They have a “Bold Vision” to restore another 50,000 acres by 2030.
You can register for the Grand Marais demonstration and view other upcoming events at greatrivergreening.org.
The public is invited to attend the demonstration next week. Specifically, anyone working in natural systems management, conservation, fire management, forestry, conservation services, agriculture, or gardening is especially encouraged to attend.
At 11, you will observe GRG staff ignite the kiln. From 11:15 to 11:45, they will demonstrate the proper feeding of waste wood into the kiln. From 1:30, demonstrate how they quench the kiln, make an assessment of the biochar, and talk about how biochar can be used. Participants can attend all or part of the demonstration.
Just as we use DNA to trace our roots back through time, biochar is a way to physically “record” our current era into the earth. It’s a message in a bottle made of carbon that will still be there for your great-great-grandchildren to dig up.
