From Carbon Paths to Carbon Highways

Scientific knowledge to use

”From Carbon Paths to Carbon Highways” project further educated the 100 pilot carbon farmer members of the Carbon Action platform. The goal was to put the scientific knowledge into practice and to create a fruitful dialogue between farmers and scientists.

Carbon farmers are a proof that farmers have a great interest in solving environmental problems. Farmers are involved in mitigating climate change with their own choices, and need new research data to support their decisions. Environmental problems are best solved with practical examples. This project provided them. Farmers interested in the matter were offered the best tools for practical work and experiments. The researchers’ support motivates the farmers, and the farmers’ practical experiences bring valuable information to the researchers.

Implementation of the project

The atmosphere at the two-day intensive training was enthusiastic. The farmers, who had already studied many aspects of carbon sequestration, were looking for more knowledge and did not hesitate to challenge the experts with tricky questions. The exchange of knowledge between the various actors at the training has further expanded. One of the purposes of the event was to form small groups around different carbon storage methods, and on the second day to seriously focus on the implementation of those methods.

According to the feedback, most participants agreed that the greatest thing about the Carbon Action project was the possibility to meet and exchange experiences with other carbon farmers. To this end, the two-day training meeting was just what was needed. The participation of experts in the debate also brought fruitful content to the training, and the dialogue between researchers and farmers not only fed farmers’ hunger for knowledge, but also provided researchers with perspectives on practical farming.

Small group activities raise the know-how of carbon farmers to new levels, as sharing expertise improves the skills of each group member. There is no sense in making the same mistakes as others have already made. Sharing experiences of failure is particularly useful when practical methods are being piloted and researched, but results need to be achieved quickly. In addition, sharing your own mistakes and hearing about the ones others have made can be extremely funny and encouraging.

The project was successful and all the goals were achieved.