Circular economy program turns feral olives into vineyard biochar

A group of wine industry environmentalists are turning feral olive trees removed from Fleurieu Peninsula national parks into a biochar product to boost the health of McLaren Vale vineyards.

The carbon recycling project is driven by local initiative Biodiversity McLaren Vale to clear problematic olive trees from Onkaparinga National Park and Glenthorne National Park — Ityamaiitpinna Yarta.

The olive trees are then burned at 500C in environmentally friendly machinery called a Tigercat.

Leading McLaren Vale viticulturist and Biodiversity McLaren Vale co-founder Jock Harvey has been heavily involved in the project.

“We wanted a methodology that would work with biodiversity easier, be less time consuming and more effective,” said Harvey, a fifth-generation winemaker of Chalk Hill Wines and McLaren Vale Distillery.

“Once we removed the woody weed waste we weren’t just incinerating it into atmospheric gases, but we could use the biochar methodology to end up with a stable form of carbon that stays in the soil.”

Harvey said early biochar trials on local vineyards were showing promising signs of improved vine health.