The Western Institute For Lifelong Learning will kick off a new Lunch and Learn series on Sept 17, when Carol Ann and Mike Fugali offer the community a chance to hear about the New Earth Project (NEP).
NEP, an innovative system of producing compost which, when spread on agricultural land as a liquid, significantly improves soil quality while also emphasizing food security, soil improvement, food waste reduction and carbon capture.
A program of the Upper Gila Watershed Alliance, NEP was born in 2022 when the alliance was one of only five organizations to receive a grant from the Commission for Environmental Cooperation as a proof of concept pilot project.
The heart of the project is the Johnson-Su compost system, a unique composting system which doesn't require turning. Using school cafeteria food waste, wood from thinning projects, and adding a charcoal like substance called biochar, produced by heating organic matter in the absence of oxygen. The result is a microbe rich compost which at just 5-10 pounds per acre can significantly enhance germination rates and draw down atmospheric carbon.
NEP also offers education and employment opportunities to area students and youth, currently offering twenty two part time positions.
Carol Ann describes the motivation and outcomes of NEP by saying: "We started this project as a climate mitigation project because once microbes are reintroduced into the soil, they can draw down atmospheric carbon, making a substantial beneficial impact on our climate. We are realizing that the project has resulted in so much more, encompassing not just the health of our planet but also our community, the soil and the health of individuals."
The Fugalis are both ornithologists and conservation biologists. Carol Ann is the executive director of UGWA, where Mike holds a position as conservation biologist. He is also the Youth Conservation Corps Eco-monitoring Supervisor at Aldo Leopold School and works for Stream Dynamics. Together, they co-direct NEP. Both have participated in climate reality training with former vice president Al Gore.
The presentation, which is free to the public, will be held in the ABC Classroom of the Besse-Forward Global Resource Center on the Western New Mexico University campus from noon to 1 p.m.
