C6 Forest to Farm

05/15/2024

Since our founding in 2019, C6 has worked to advance our mission of reducing the risk of extreme wildfire in the Pacific Northwest by advancing forest health. We are proud of the progress we have helped make alongside our partners and the community. And we are so grateful for your partnership. Thank you!

This spring, our team completed our feasibility study on the viability of biochar production in Chelan County. You can now find the results of our analysis on our website.

Based on our multi-year analysis, we are confident that localized biochar production can overcome the barriers associated with lagging forest health treatments while also delivering valuable co-benefits to the community. There’s still much work ahead to realize this vision, but our analysis and work to date make clear how this vision can become a reality.

With those deliverables complete, C6 will cease operations as of May 2024. We hope these resources we’re sharing support another organization, whether a private company or nonprofit, in building and sustainably operating a biochar production facility in the region.

If you have questions about the results of our feasibility study and the resources on our website, please contact us at [email protected]. Former C6 team members will keep an eye out for your email, and get back to you as soon as they can.

Thank you for sharing our vision for reducing wildfire risk - and for your ongoing partnership.

With gratitude,
The C6 Team

Since our founding in late 2019, C6 has worked to advance our mission of reducing the risk of extreme wildfire in the Pacific Northwest by advancing forest health.

01/12/2024

Dear Friends, Partners, and Supporters -

We wanted to share an update with you all.

Since our founding in late 2019, we are proud of the progress we have helped make alongside our partners and the community to reduce the risk of extreme wildfire. And we are grateful to all the individuals and organizations who have supported our mission and work. Thank you.

Working with our local, state, and federal partners, we have helped to raise awareness about the opportunity to develop biochar from excess forest biomass and advanced the industry.

Our team has conducted an extensive analysis and in Spring 2024, we will publish a feasibility study that provides an assessment of the resources and planning required for a potential biochar production facility model.

At the same time, our analysis to date makes clear that the development of a biochar production facility utilizing excess forest biomass would require substantial capital investments that outstrip the ability of our organization to secure the needed financing.

That’s why - following the completion and publication of our feasibility study in Spring 2024 - C6 plans to conclude its work and wind down operations. Our hope is to identify and support another organization's effort, whether a private company or nonprofit, in building and sustainably operating a biochar production facility.

As we wrap up our efforts over the coming months, we will continue to work with our partners and supporters to advance the excess biomass utilization industry in the Pacific Northwest.

Thank you to all our supporters and partners for sharing our vision for reducing wildfire risk - and for your tireless support.

You can read more here on our website: https://c6f2f.org/update/

With gratitude,
The C6 Team

12/11/2023

C6 Forest to Farm's mission is to reduce the risk of extreme wildfire in the Pacific Northwest by creating healthier forests. And we need your help!

We are working to build a pilot plant that can convert small diameter trees - the fuel for wildfires - into biochar engineered for agricultural uses.

This year, we:
- Signed two MOUs to secure supplies of small diameter trees that will be the feedstock for our plant
- Conducted small-scale production trials with target feedstock for a third-party Lifecycle Analysis
- Developed a Lifecycle Analysis based on the proposed business model showing the carbon sequestration benefits of biochar
- Started working with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Feedstock Conversion Interface Consortium on biomass processing

We’ve been fortunate to secure our first funding commitment from the State of Washington for construction, but these funds generally cannot be used to sustain planning and operations of our organization and plant. That’s why we are asking for your support of the organization as we work to reach our fundraising goal for our planning and operations.

A great way to give is through the Give NCW campaign, which lasts through December 31st. The Community Foundation of NCW generously covers all fees so every dime goes right to our mission. Give on a "Funday Monday," and you'll be entered to win even more money to give to one of the 80 participating nonprofits.

C6's direct donation link: https://cfncw.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/grant?grant_id=69390

11/27/2023

Today is the first "Funday Monday" for Give NCW, an annual giving campaign that we're honored to be a part of this year. We're one of 80 local nonprofits participating in this fundraising effort by the Community Foundation of NCW.

What is Funday Monday? It's a chance to win $1,000 to give as you choose, just by donating a minimum of $10!

givencw.org

We ❤️ Funday Monday! Each time you donate $10 or more today, your name will be entered to win $1,000 to give back to the Give NCW campaign! You can give it all to your favorite participating nonprofit, spread it around a bit, or choose Give to ALL!
💝 💝 givencw.org 💝 💝

11/13/2023

Join us in welcoming Mia Bretz of Leavenworth to our board of directors!

Mia says, "I am inspired to work with C6 to support the effort to make forest thinning more economically viable. As a nation we need far more acreage thinned annually to make an impact on wildfire risk. Not only is biochar a great carbon-negative solution to reducing wildfire fuel, C6 has created an economic model that has great potential to fund this work. With the right economic pathway, I hope to see increased forest thinning in North-Central Washington State, and beyond."

Be sure to click through to see Mia's terrifying wildfire Halloween costume!

https://c6f2f.org/introduction-mia-bretz/

11/06/2023

Gina McCoy, C6 co-founder and board member, will be presenting a talk at TEDx Lacamas Lake entitled, "Putting Carbon Where it Belongs." Vancouver-area folks can get their tickets now! For those in the Methow valley, you can catch a dress rehearsal of Gina's talk at 7pm this Thursday, November 9th, at the Winthrop Library.

10/23/2023

https://www.fastcompany.com/90966491/what-is-biochar-why-an-ancient-farming-technique-could-help-fight-climate-change

Here's a great article that clearly explains biochar's potential for carbon sequestration. According to a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Biochar, if global biochar production scales up as much as possible, it has the potential to capture as much as 3 billion metric tons of CO2 a year. According to the Fast Company article, that's almost 3x the CO2 emissions from the airline industry!

This doesn't include the reduction of emissions from wildfire that is central to our work at C6 Forest to Farm. Our biochar will not only sequester carbon, but by removing "waste" biomass from our forests will also increase resiliency, making forests less likely to suffer from extreme wildfire - a big emitter of carbon.

A new study estimates that biochar could capture as much as 3 billion metric tons of CO2 each year. Here's how the process works.

10/10/2023

We are excited to announce Rachel Brombaugh as a board member with C6!

"C6’s mission resonated with me not only for the climate impacts, but for all the other reasons biochar is a great solution – it promotes forest health, less waste of resources, improved agriculture, and jobs in rural communities."

Learn more about Rachel and why she gives her time to C6:
6f2f.org/introduction-rachel-brombaugh/

10/04/2023

Exciting news! C6 is a sub-recipient of Forest Concepts LLC's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) $1.15 million award from the Department of Energy. The grant is focused on developing community-scale equipment to convert biomass into smaller particles that can be made into biochar.

More info on our website here:

C6 partnered with CORRIM & the University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest Science to quantify how much carbon we’ll be able to sequester, net of operational emission.

09/12/2023

C6 Co-Founder and Executive Director Tom McCoy will be speaking at the 2023 Northwest Bioenergy Summit on October 11-12 at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick, WA.

The summit will bring together diverse public and private interests for a comprehensive overview of the opportunities and challenges facing bioenergy development in the northwest. From new funding sources and cutting-edge research to project and market development, the summit will explore how bioenergy is uniquely positioned to address the complex interplay between energy generation, waste management, transportation, soil health, rural economic development, and much more.

For more information and to register, go to: https://bioenergysummit.com/ .
Northwest Environmental Business Council