Char Chit Chat
Char Chit Chat
Podcast Description
Char Chit Chat is created by Dylan Graves and explores char in New Zealand and beyond. The podcast aims to interview a range of people involved in biochar, activated charcoal, carbon anodes, and so on. The main subject will tend to be biochar as that is most accessible and scales from individuals making char in their woodstove over the winter to large industrial pyrolysis units outputting several tonnes per day. Biochar is also a great soil conditioner and improver and so is relevant to gardeners and famers alike.
An introduction and overview of Biochar: https://www.sces.org.nz/biochar
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast primarily focuses on biochar and its broad uses, ranging from home production methods to large-scale industrial applications. Episodes such as the one featuring Dennis Enright delve into sustainable agricultural practices and the significant role biochar can play in enhancing soil quality. Other episodes, like the one with Phil Stevens, explore innovative use cases for biochar, including its potential in environmental decontamination and discussions on making biochar more widely adopted.
Char Chit Chat is created by Dylan Graves and explores char in New Zealand and beyond. The podcast aims to interview a range of people involved in biochar, activated charcoal, carbon anodes, and so on. The main subject will tend to be biochar as that is most accessible and scales from individuals making char in their woodstove over the winter to large industrial pyrolysis units outputting several tonnes per day. Biochar is also a great soil conditioner and improver and so is relevant to gardeners and farmers alike.
An introduction and overview of Biochar: https://www.sces.org.nz/biochar
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 Underground Festival in 2025 after he attended his biochar workshop. It's great that Greg is now seeing the benefits of biochar to his farming systems and he is an excellent advocate for its widespread adoption.
Greg talks about his farming journey and his move towards exploring better ways of raising animals without the abundant use of fossil fuels once he realised it's completely unsustainable around 20 years ago. Trees on farm are a massive part of this as are other ways of cycling nutrients such as on farm slaughter and charring of bones.
Greg also is interested in intentional communities and is setting up an agrihood to address the ”more people needed on the land” issue in a proactive and practical way.
Lovely photos at: https://passionatepermies.wordpress.com/2026/07/27/char-chit-chat-with-greg-hart/
An introduction and overview of Biochar: https://www.sces.org.nz/biochar
The national biochar association in NZ: https://biochar.net.nz/ (BNNZ)https://freesound.org/people/joshuaempyre/sounds/250749/
Disclaimer
This podcast’s information is provided for general reference and was obtained from publicly accessible sources. The Podcast Collaborative neither produces nor verifies the content, accuracy, or suitability of this podcast. Views and opinions belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.
For a complete disclaimer, please see our Full Disclaimer on the archive page. The Podcast Collaborative bears no responsibility for the podcast’s themes, language, or overall content. Listener discretion is advised. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for more details.