By September 20, students can vote for the project of environmental protection students of the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences in the Quarry Life Award competition. Four students check how to improve the soil quality in the Nowogród Bobrzański sand mine by using biochar.

Students conduct a vase experiment on the soil brought from the mine. They use biochar, mineral fertilization, a mixture of grasses and legumes – one that is sown in difficult and dry areas. The project has been running since April, the students are making measurements by checking the height of the stalks, the amount of flowering plants and the germination rate, checking whether the biochar actually causes that the plants grow larger and healthier.

The Quarry Life Award competition has been encouraged students to look for new ways to increase the biodiversity in the mining areas for several years. In the last three editions more than 1,100 project applications were submitted, and the winners received prizes with a total value of over 750,000. euro.
More: http://www.glos.upwr.edu.pl/aktualnosci/48287/studenci_upwr_w_konkursie_quarry_life_award.html