Climate Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

This initiative restores contaminated and post-fire soils so they can once again function as climate-active ecosystems. Using low-carbon fungal–plant bioremediation, we detoxify polluted soils across parks, large public sites, and residential neighborhoods—lands currently excluded from climate action due to contamination. The work avoids emissions from excavation and disposal while enabling revegetation, long-term soil carbon storage, and fire-resilient landscapes.
The initiative integrates field implementation, climate-relevant monitoring (soil carbon, avoided emissions, land restored), and circular use of biological byproducts to minimize waste, demonstrating a replicable model for climate-positive land recovery, designed for adoption by cities, land managers, and communities.

How Project Affects Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions:

['Replaces/avoids GHGs (e.g., projects that replace sources of GHGs, such as the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat, transport, or other energy uses)', 'Reduces GHGs (e.g., projects that reduce sources of GHGs, such as through efficiency or other changes in consumption)', 'Removes/stores GHGs (e.g., projects that capture, sequester, or otherwise enhance the "sinks" that accumulate and store GHGs)']

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

This project is grounded in the belief that climate solutions must be developed with and for the communities most impacted by pollution and climate change. Our organization was founded by a woman scientist with disabilities, and our leadership, staff, technical roles, and interns include women, queer and LGBTQ+ individuals, youth, and people from Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color and disabled individuals. Representation is not symbolic; it is embedded across scientific, operational, and decision-making roles.
We work primarily in climate-vulnerable communities, including neighborhoods impacted by industrial pollution, wildfire, flooding, and legacy environmental harm. In these contexts, we provide free and subsidized remediation support, prioritize community access to restored land, and design projects in collaboration with local partners rather than imposing external solutions.
The project also emphasizes hands-on training and workforce exposure in ecological remediation, offering paid and unpaid opportunities that lower barriers to participation in environmental science and climate work. By combining technical rigor with place-based stewardship, the initiative empowers underrepresented groups to participate directly in restoring land, shaping climate solutions, and building long-term resilience in their own communities.