Climate Solutions Team

Our Mission Statement:

The Environmental Leadership Program’s Climate Solutions Team works to monitor carbon sequestration in soil. The team works in part with EWEB’s Carbon Forestry Lab as well as the Soil Plant Atmosphere Lab (SPA). The monitoring takes place at the High Banks site which was purchased by EWEB to conduct the project. The soil has been treated by various different management techniques as well as 18 different Oregon native plant varieties. The results of the project will help future organizations assess their ability to mitigate carbon as well as provide sustainable solutions which can be instituted in various locations.

by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

"Atmospheric CO2 is now 50% higher than pre-industrial levels."

by The Environmental Protection Agency

"Land can also remove CO2 from the atmosphere through reforestation, improvement of soils, and other activities."

by The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

"Increasing magnitudes of warming increase the likelihood of severe, pervasive, and irreversible impacts."

Forests Combat Carbon

Forests can help counter climate change through sequencing carbon dioxide into their soils. Carbon is sequestered in soil through the process of photosynthesis. There is an estimated 2,500 gigaton's of carbon stored in our soil, resulting in upwards of three times the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. More trees and plants means more carbon being absorbed from the atmosphere and stored into soil. The Climate Solutions Team monitors quantities of carbon being stored depending on different tree and shrub species and their management practices.