Following is an note from Andrew Fynn, Project Officer with the Marin Carbon Project. Andrew attended a Keyline Design
Course I led in Two Rock, CA last November 2007, that was successfully convened by the Regenerative Design Institute
(over 100 people for a 3 day event). That was followed by me introducing the idea that Carbon markets should be
developed locally 1st and then globally, so as to encourage local generation of sequestration funds, which are then to
be used on farm for regenerative system development..this would then be followed by moves to attract global voluntary
offset funds. The incentive with our approach that the more regenerative you are the more carbon you sequester, the more
funding you get for doing so. And so the Marin Carbon Project was born. One of the project's main sponsors said, "You
can come and visit your Carbon!".
This had to start with some reality though. My close colleague and friend Abe Collins (www.carbonfarmersofamerica.com)
and I led facilitated workshops with targeted stakeholders of various educational, governmental, and organic
agricultural sector institutions to determine the best way forward. We used a facilitation method normally reserved for
conflict resolution where 'best and worst possible outcomes' were at times uncomfortably 'extracted' with questions of
the 'effects on Marin County of not building soil carbon versus building' it were asked among a many others. The main
determinations that came out of this process were around how much and for what price could atmospheric carbon be stored
in the agricultural soils of Marin County? This led to a 16 farm study by the University of California, the results of
which are going to be released on October the 7th.
A parallel though much larger and broader study is also being conducted across the US through Cornell University and was
designed by Abe Collins. This will determine on these farms the agronomic potential of using a whole range of soil
carbon procedures that are currently known to us. The metric of this is enormous, though will have as a base parameter
the use of Holistic Management® Planned Grazing (AKA Management Intensive Grazing) and Yeomans Keyline Plowing.
Those of us currently involved in the 'Soil Carbon movement' are naturally looking forward to the outcomes of this UC
Marin & Sanoma study, so we have some planning baselines in moderately brittle environments. Interestingly Dr. Christine
Jones (www.amazingcarbon.com) will be releasing the results of a similar Australian study in November 2008 at the
Australian Carbon Farming Conference in Orange NSW....
Our informed hope is that there will be big lift in activity to get a lot of this excess atmospheric carbon back where
it should be: in the ground helping to improve the mineral and water cycles of our planet.....
Below is the open invitation to the Marin Carbon Project event:
Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2008 2:47 PM
To: Andrew Fynn
Subject: MCP at CFDA Sacramento, Oct 7 Noon
Dear All
I am pleased to announce that the Marin Carbon Project's Whendee Silver will present information about soil carbon
sequestration and preliminary results from MCP's soil survey (carried out on Marin and Sonoma rangelands), in Room 133
of California Department of Food and Agriculture, 1220 N Street, Sacramento at Noon on Tuesday 7 October.
Please attend if you can, or pass on this email to others.
What is the true potential for carbon sequestration in California rangelands? Which land management practices can help
achieve that? Future MCP research could help answer these questions and quantify
the role of soil carbon sequestration as a response to the mandated targets
of AB 32.
If you have questions about the location of the seminar, please contact CDFA's Merry Wells at 657-4956. If you have any
other questions, please contact me.
Best regards
Andrew Fynn
Andrew Fynn
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Hooroo,
Darren J. Doherty
Australia Felix Permaculture
Broadacre Permaculture Design & Development
International Certified Permaculture Education