Pomona, CA | lynn@lacompost.org

Lynn Fang, MS is a recognized educator, leader, and scientist in composting systems as integrated aspects of ecological land management. She has extensive experience developing projects, teaching, and presenting on compost, soil health, and site design, from community workshops to college courses to the CalRecycle Soil Stewardship Training for new community compost site operators. From community gardens and urban farms to municipal habitat restoration, she has actively designed, managed, and analyzed soil health monitoring projects for regenerative land management systems. She works for LA Compost in educational and technical support, developing and managing compost quality and soil health assessments that are accessible and understandable for the community. She received her MS from the University of Vermont in 2015 investigating the impacts and mechanisms of compost-mediated disease suppression on the root rot pathogen Rhizoctonia solani. She will be on faculty at Cal Poly Pomona in Fall 2022 teaching their compost course.

Session Code: E3

Track: Markets, Marketing and Uses

Session Name: Current Research: Value vs Cost, Urban Carbon Farm, Microplastics

Session Time: Wednesday, Jan 25, 4:15 – 5:45 PM

Presentation Title: Healthy Soils for Healthy Parks: Los Angeles Urban Carbon Farm at Griffith Park

Presentation Description: The inaugural Urban Carbon Farm at Griffith Park reimagines urban soils as opportune spaces for integrated community composting and regenerative land management practices, envisioning a new park model centered around carbon sequestration. This project was established as one of the Phase Two demonstration projects of the Healthy Soils for Healthy Communities Initiative, led by TreePeople and funded by ARLA, in partnership with LA Parks and Recreation, LA Compost, and Kiss the Ground. The project arose in response to community input from a Phase One community needs assessment for healthy soils across Los Angeles (LA).

LA Compost just broke ground on its new community compost hub in Griffith Park last August, which is now being managed by an electric tractor. The study site is a flat grassy space typically amended with synthetic fertilizer. Treatment plots utilized compost made by LA Compost, and mulch from Griffith Park, as well as a control of no amendment. We arranged the treatment plots in triplicate in a randomized block design.

We found that compost from LA Compost was especially high in fungi with Active Fungi : Active Bacteria ratio of 2.58, compared to Griffith Park mulch at 1.1 Whereas baseline soils were close to 0. Baseline soils had 4 kg C/m2, or 3% soil organic carbon (SOC). Baseline compost was 16 C:N with 34 kg C/m2, mulch was 110 C:N with 16 kg C/m2. Both compost and mulch amendments were spread in a ½” thick layer in late November 2021. Post-test sampling is planned for early September, where we expect to see both amendments improve SOC over control, with compost creating greater SOC accumulation than mulch.

We envision healthy soils for healthy parks as holistic resource management to optimize climate resiliency, community well-being, and soil carbon sequestration. Where parks can be powerful spaces of transformation.

Session Code: D4

Track: California

Session Name: Community Composters – An Emerging Sector

Session Time: Thursday, Jan 26, 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM

Presentation Title: Coming soon

Presentation Description: Coming soon