Carbon Gardening

Why Garden to Drawdown Carbon from the Atmosphere and Sequester it in Plants and Soil?

All living organisms contain carbon. Coal, oil and natural gas (called "fossil fuels" because they are the remains of long-dead organisms) release their carbon when they are dug up and burned to generate electricity or power vehicles, or when they are manufactured into plastics. Carbon in the atmosphere - in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2) - is a gas that amplifies the "greenhouse effect", resulting in warming of the earth. Planting gardens that draw down CO2 from the atmosphere and sequester it in long-lived plants and soils, can help reduce the effects of global warming. Check these strategies and case studies that provide models for making a difference in the world.

Plant a Carbon Garden

How Carbon Gardens Work and General Advice

Grow a Garden that acts as a Carbon "Sink" - Royal Horticulture Society
Plant a Garden that Devours Carbon - Popular Science
How to Become a Carbon Gardener - Public Lab
5 Steps to Make Your Garden into a Carbon Sink - JStor
How Plants "Fix" Carbon - Midwest Gardening
Carbon Farming Fact Sheet - US Dept. of Agriculture
Going Underground to Investigate Carbon Locked in Soils - Data Nuggets

Plant Species Selection

Grow Native Plant Species to Store Carbon - Grow Native
Plant Perennials and Long-Rooted Grasses to Combat Climate Change - Christian Science Monitor
Edible Perennials for Carbon Farming - Plant Protein
Native Grasses & Sedges of GA, Native Ferns of GA, Native Wildflowers of GA, Native Flowers of North GA - UGA Extension

Soil Treatments, Composting and Reduced Use of Synthetic Fertilizers

Going Underground to Investigate Carbon in Soils - Data Nuggets
The Hidden Carbon Trap: Garden Soil - Audubon
Cover Crops to Limit Disturbance and Replenish Soils - NRDC
Composting to Reduce Food Waste & Replace Synthetic Fertilizers - USCC

Other Decarbonizing Garden Practices

Supplies for Carbon Gardening

Composter (tumbling / 2 sided) or other type researched and selected by students
Garden space (raised bed, container, or huglkultur) or other typed that minimizes soil disturbance
Water source (hose, sprinkler, drip irrigation system) or other approach researched and selected by students
Trowels, gloves, seeds or plants

Grow a "Carbon-etum" to Provide Shade and Decarbonize the Atmosphere

An arboretum is a planted forest with a variety of specimen trees. A "carboretum" features plants chosen specifically for carbon capture and sequestration capacity.

Tree Planting - Trees Atlanta
Which Trees Absorb the Most Carbon? - 8BillionTrees.com
Calculating the Carbon Stored in a Tree - EcoMatch
Carbon Calculator App - USDA / US Forest Service
Native Plants of Georgia: Trees. Shrubs and Woody Vines: UGA Extension

Investigating the Idea of Decarbonizing the Atmosphere by Planting Trees

How Many Trees Would It Take to Offset Our Carbon Emissions? MIT Climate Portal
Examining the Viability of Planting Trees to Mitigate Climate Change- NASA
Calculating Tree Carbon from Stumps or Borings, using Tree Rings - Forest Data Network
How Decades of Racist Housing Policy Left Some Neighborhoods Sweltering - New York Times interactive article
The Climate Impact of Your Neighborhood, Mapped - New York Times interactive article

Schoolyard Forest Models

California Schoolyard Forests - Green Schoolyards America, Ten Strands and partners
Forest Schoolyard Ecology Project (LITR) - Harvard
Reimagining Schoolyards to Improve Health and Learning / The Miyawaki Method - Governing
Guide to Designing an Urban Schoolyard Forest - U of Wisconsin
EEA's CoOL Toolkit - Environmental Education Alliance

Planting Equipment and Sources of Trees for Georgia Schools

Georgia Forestry Commission's Tree Seedling Program
Measuring wheels, Diameter tape, Tree Spades and Augers

Case Studies: Finding Your Climate SuperPower

Tree Planting

Clara Kitonga, born and raised in Uganda, coordinates the Tree Pittsburgh program and its One Tree Per Child initiative. Inspired by Wangari Maathai, who started the Greenbelt Movement in Kenya, Clara engages people in planting trees to reduce the impacts of climate change, and promotes the value of children planting trees on school grounds.

Collaborative Farming

As a farmer, Demetrius Milling, a native of Atlanta, works toward carbon-neutrality by using techniques that sequester carbon and build soil health without synthetic fertilizers. The cooperative farm where he works is a model of CSA or Community Supported Agriculture, which gives anyone who lives nearby the opportunity to participate by subscribing to the farm financially and receiving part of the harvest in return, throughout the growing season.

Love is Love Farm

Environmental Justice

Dr. Eri Saikawa is a researcher and professor whose work testing soils for lead contamination and monitoring air quality have empowered communities that are disproportionately impacted by pollution and climate change. An interesting aspect of her work is that she also equips locals and students to become community scientists and monitor conditions to protect themselves and others from adverse health effects.

Video about Dr. Saikawa's testing of urban gardens that were intended to help solve the problem of food deserts

Planeteer Alliance

Robin Okunowo is an environmental educator for the Captain Planet Foundation whose childhood experiences seeing "trash rivers" flow onto beaches left an indelible impression. She can testify to the importance of children being able to see people they relate to as leaders in climate change, environmental justice, or any field, in terms of opening up possibilities.

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