Sonoma Ecology and Biochar Experts Appear in Dirt Rich at Green Film Festival

David Morell of the Sonoma Ecology Center, Josiah Hunt of Pacific Biochar,
unnamed participant (sorry), and director Marcelina Cravat

Sonoma was well represented at the Green Film Festival in San Francisco on Sunday.

Eldridge resident David Morell from the Sonoma Ecology Center and Santa Rosa resident Josiah Hunt from Pacific Biochar spoke after the screening of Dirt Rich, which was executive produced by Petaluma resident Doug Gayeton and the Lexicon of Sustainability. Marcelina Cravat directed the film.

Paul Hawken praised the film as:

"Touching, instructive, endearing, astute, grounded, heartwarming and remarkable. Adjectives cannot describe how skillfully Dirt Rich portrays the emergent wisdom of the new breed of earth stewards, scientists, smallholders, agronomists and activists who brilliantly husband land (and animals) in order to midwife a regenerative civilization."

Sonoma has really taken a leadership role in advancing the use of biochar. Eco Terreno, an organic and biodynamic vineyard in Alexander Valley, was among the first wave of Sonoma wineries to explore using it and to make their own.

 

The California fires are featured in another film of interest to the wine community that screened yesterday. The spectacularly visual documentary The Human Element is a journey with legendary climate change photographer (his work is regularly in Nat Geo and NYT) James Balog.

Here's Balog on the film:

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More info on the film is here.

The Green Film Festival continues this week with screenings at various locations.

Tonight the festival screens the two hour documentary Decoding the Weather Machine with PBS/Nova at the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason, next to the Coal and Ice multimedia exhibit at Fort Mason. You can watch the film online but the screening will feature the film's producers and climate scientists.