Char Chit Chat2 Nov 2025

CCC S1E17 with Trevor Richards

Trevor is one of the founding members of Biochar Network New Zealand (BNNZ) and the secretary since its inception in 2019. He joined me for a chat and talked about his journey with biochar and many insights into its prevalence in SouthEast Asia and New Zealand.

Another flame cap method using Warm Heart kilns, that I hadn't heard of before, was described in detail and the Warm Heart organisation is doing superb work in promoting biochar in Thailand and in some countries in Africa. Their resource bank is superb. They have provided a way for small holders to earn carbon credits as well through their http://biochar.life/ program which offers a way for individuals or businesses anywhere in the world to offset their carbon emissions by supporting these people on the land to make biochar from ag wastes instead of open burning it.

Trevor also talked about the history of research into biochar in New Zealand and how the The New Zealand Biochar Research Centre came about - it lasted around 10 years. He reflected on 'kicking the tyres' of the pyrolysis machine built at Massey Uni:

Here is the thesis about the machine above: https://mro.massey.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10179/5864/02_whole.pdf and more biochar related dissertations from Massey: https://mro.massey.ac.nz/browse/subject?value=Biochar&bbm.return=1 - there is not much left online about the The New Zealand Biochar Research Centre. Auckland and Lincoln universities also do biochar research, but it is difficult to find info on their websites.

Trevor outlines many areas of society where biochar could complement - a long list - and where BNNZ could engage if it had more resources (both people and funds).

I enjoyed Trevor's obvious passion, dedication, and simple tips such as matching the char method to the biomass resource at hand...

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Episoder(32)

CCC S2E12 with Greg Hart (Mangarara Farm)

Episode 12 features well known regenerative farmer Greg Hart from Mangarara Farm in the Hawkes Bay region. Dylan has known about Greg and his tree planting for many years and met Greg at the Undergrou...

27 Jul 36min

CCC S2E11 with Shakēd From

Shakēd is involved in a large variety of endeavours and we talk about these for awhile before biochar comes up, but hopefully you will still find it all interesting!We chat about a 3 year black soldie...

18 Jul 45min

CCC S2E10 with Phil Stevens (Slow Farm)

Dylan's first face to face podcast with an update from Phil in Ashhurst about what he is up to (S1E2 here). We had just returned from Hamilton with John after Fieldays 2026 and I was spending two days...

20 Jun 14min

CCC S2E9 with Lydia Thomsen (Pickled Compost)

Episode 9 with Lydia from the Wairarapa covers the relationship between soil health, plant nutrition, and human health. Lydia is a qualified nutritionist on a mission to pickle household food scraps u...

26 Mai 42min

CCC S2E8 with John Valentine

Episode 8 with John explores his recent discovery of biochar for his compost and his method of making it in a stainless steel bucket. This takes some work to do, but in a social context such as hangin...

14 Mai 30min

CCC S2E7 with Stephen Newman

Episode 7 features Stephen who lives just north of Auckland on 23 acres. He is one of the farmers who receives food waste from the City To Farm project featured in Season 1 Episode 6. We talk about ho...

27 Apr 38min

CCC S2E6 with James McNally

Episode 6 featured James from the Hawkes Bay. We talk about his current role as a tutor at Land Based Training where he hopes to incorporate biochar into the horticulture courses.James' passion for bi...

20 Apr 34min

CCC S2E5 with Anni Kurze (Soil Stewards)

Anni talks to Dylan about her life journey from Germany to Portugal to settling in New Zealand in 2012. She and husband Ron homestead on 50 acres in Maheno in North Otago and besides homeschooling 3 c...

27 Mar 52min