Conservation Stories: Jessica Lee and Michael Bellis

Landowners Michael Bellis (left) and Jessica Lee (right) in front of the WCD flame cap kiln. The kiln is turning excess biomass into biochar. 

“We are always looking for ways to be better stewards to our 5 acres. Biochar fits well with our regenerative homestead efforts.” - Jessica Lee

Jessica Lee and her husband Michael Bellis have been residents of Whatcom and Skagit counties for over 25 years. They were originally drawn to this area because of “its beauty and proximity to the water and mountains,” but over the years have noticed “the increased frequency of seasonal fires and the impacts of climate change.” Residents all across Whatcom County are becoming increasingly more aware of the threat of wildfires as we endure drier, smokier summers. Without question, wildfires in Western Washington are becoming more frequent and more threatening.  

The feedstock pile, or tree limbs and vegetation, that was burned to produce biochar.

There are many actions homeowners can take to reduce their risk, including clearing debris from the house, getting rid of excess vegetation and ladder fuels, and installing fire resistant materials around the house. As homesteaders and small forest landowners, Jessica and Michael have put in a lot of work to make their home more wildfire resilient. They have recently upgraded their roof to metal and regularly work to reduce their ladder fuels. “In the past, burn piles and wood chipping were our primary means of dealing with our downed tree limbs.” This year, after meeting with WCD Community Wildfire Resilience staff for a home risk assessment, they decided to try out the WCD biochar kiln as a way to reduce their fuels.

“We absolutely recommend making biochar! Having now seen the process in action, we can’t imagine going back to burn piles. The process is faster, safer, and creates so much less smoke, plus you end up with a great product from your efforts. What’s not to love!” - Jessica Lee

The tree limbs, also known as the feedstock, burning inside the kiln. As the woody material burns in a low oxygen environment, it turns into biochar. 

Biochar production is an alternative method landowners can use for reducing excess woody biomass from ladder fuels, small diameter trees, and limbed tree branches. The “Ring of Fire” flame-cap kiln used by the WCD is more time efficient, safer, and ecologically sound than other fuels reduction methods like slash burn piles. Creating biochar works by heating the plant materials in a low-oxygen environment with a controlled fire that turns the biomass into a charcoal-like material that, once quenched, becomes biochar. Besides helping reduce hazardous fuel for wildfire, biochar can also be used to help reduce the effects of climate change. When incorporated into the soil, biochar can help store carbon and retain water and nutrients in the soil. 

After the fire is quenched, the product that remains is biochar. This can be incorporated back into the soil for many climate resilient purposes. 

When asked what they planned to do with the biochar product, Jessica and Michael said “we’re going to experiment with utilizing the biochar under our animal bedding for our sheep and goats. Mixing our straw and wood shavings with the biochar in a deep winter bedding system creates a fantastic end product to work into our compost piles come spring. Much of this end product gets spread on our pasture to revitalize the soil health and water retention properties.” Adding biochar to large animal bedding can be a great way to reduce odors. Other ways you can incorporate biochar around your property include adding it to a compost pile or incorporating it directly into the soil for increased water retention and plant health benefits.  

Biochar can be incorporated into compost and turned back into healthy soil. Pictured here is biochar mixed with soil.  

“As the old adage goes, ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’ Taking proactive steps now for when an inevitable forest fire comes to our area will hopefully give us a leg up to preserving the beautiful property we steward.” - Jessica Lee

Learn what you can do around your home to mitigate your wildfire risk by signing up for a FREE wildfire home risk assessment at whatcomcd.org/wildfire. Or, if you are interested in using the biochar kiln to reduce fuels in your community, reach out to WCD Community Wildfire Resilience Specialist, Robert Walters, at rwalters@whatcomcd.org. This biochar burn was done in coordination with our partners at Kulshan Carbon Trust. For more information on their work with biochar, visit kulshancarbontrust.org.

The Climate Commitment Act allows us to continue providing these free services to communities across Whatcom and Skagit counties.