Sample site. Cinder & Root is invented; readings and sites are sample data.Built by connectNPO
Cinder & Root
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The site record

Every site, before and after.

Each site we test or clean is here, with the first reading, the second one when the lab returns it, how it was measured and what happens next. Staff update a site in one screen and this page follows.

14sites in the record
4finished, with a second test
10under way
Wildflowers blooming on a dry hillside under a blue sky
Stock photograph, not a Cinder & Root site
Lead, in milligrams per kilogram of soil

The sites.

Every reading on this page is sample data for a demonstration. A red bar is the first test; a green bar is the second, at the same depth and by the same lab.

14 sites

A field of sunflowers in full bloom
Done

Old depot yard

fuel spill and fire, 1.1 acres

A county bus depot that burned in the 2025 fire, on top of an old diesel spill. Our first site, and the one we learned the most from.

First test410 mg/kg
Second test96 mg/kg
Used: oyster mushroom straw, sunflowers, char · outside lab · 0 to 4 in · 9 cores
Handed back to the city for a park in May 2026
Raised garden beds in a community garden on a sunny day
Re-testing

Mesa Verde school garden

school garden, 12 raised beds

An elementary school garden downwind of the fire. The beds were rebuilt with clean soil on top of char, with the school's own garden club.

First test180 mg/kg
Second testnot yet
Used: raised beds, compost, char · outside lab · 0 to 6 in · 12 cores
Second test taken 14 August; results go up when the lab returns them
Small white mushrooms growing out of a straw pile
Treating

Fern Street lot

burned lot, 0.4 acre

A burned house lot the owners gave us to use as a demonstration. Most free test days are held here.

First test260 mg/kg
Second testnot yet
Used: oyster mushroom straw, native grasses · field XRF, then outside lab
Second test in December
A shallow creek running between grassy banks
Holding

Arroyo creek bank

ash runoff on 300 ft of creek bank

Where ash from the hills above washes into the creek. Wattles and sedges hold it through the winter.

First test140 mg/kg
Second testnot yet
Used: willow wattles, sedges · outside lab · sediment · 6 cores
Second test in March, after the rains
Two people shovelling dark compost into a wheelbarrow
Treating

Canyon Road yards

eight home yards on one street, with the owners' permission

Eight neighbours who asked for a test on the same day. We treat the yards together and share one result sheet per yard with its owner only.

First test220 mg/kg
Second testnot yet
Used: compost, char, oyster mushroom straw · field XRF on every yard, outside lab on two per yard
Second test in January
A hillside covered in yellow wildflowers
Done

Branch library lawn

public library lawn, 0.3 acre

A small lawn where the library holds story time outdoors. Resown with native grasses.

First test120 mg/kg
Second test58 mg/kg
Used: char, native grass sod · outside lab · 0 to 4 in · 6 cores
Finished April 2026
Wildflowers blooming on a dry hillside under a blue sky
Holding

Ridge trail fire line

fire-line cut on a public trail, 900 ft

A bulldozer line cut to stop the fire. Bare soil erodes fast, so the first job is to hold it.

First test90 mg/kg
Second testnot yet
Used: straw wattles, native seed · outside lab · 0 to 4 in · 5 cores
Watched through the rains; second test in April
A charred log lying in grey ash
Planning

Old orchard

burned orchard, 2 acres

A family orchard that burned. The first test is in; we are planning the treatment with the family.

First test300 mg/kg
Second testnot yet
Used: to be decided after the first test · outside lab · 0 to 6 in · 14 cores
Treatment plan by November
A young plant growing in a wooden raised bed
Re-testing

East community garden

community garden, 30 plots

Thirty plots, most of them growing food. Gardeners help take the cores.

First test150 mg/kg
Second testnot yet
Used: compost, char · outside lab · 0 to 6 in · 10 cores
Results expected in November
A shovel resting in a pile of dark soil
Done

Fire station 7 yard

fire station yard, 0.2 acre

The yard behind the station where the engines were washed down during the fire.

First test330 mg/kg
Second test88 mg/kg
Used: oyster mushroom straw, mustards · outside lab · 0 to 4 in · 6 cores
Finished February 2026
A slow river under willows and tall grass
Treating

North creek culvert

ash sediment at a road culvert

Sediment builds up where the creek passes under the road.

First test170 mg/kg
Second testnot yet
Used: willow stakes, wattles · outside lab · sediment · 4 cores
Next test after the first rains
A green seedling in dark soil
Done

Sable Hills trailhead

trailhead parking verge, 0.1 acre

The verge where hikers park. Small, and a good first site for course graduates.

First test110 mg/kg
Second test64 mg/kg
Used: native grass plugs, char · outside lab · 0 to 4 in · 4 cores
Finished January 2026
A person in a pink coat digging a small hole in a grass field
Treating

Park maintenance yard

maintenance yard, fuel and ash, 0.6 acre

Where the parks department kept fuel and equipment. Treated under a service contract with the county.

First test380 mg/kg
Second testnot yet
Used: oyster mushroom straw, char · outside lab · 0 to 4 in · 8 cores
Second test in February
Hands picking oyster mushrooms from a grow bag
Treating

Greenhouse trials

research plots in our greenhouse, 24 trays

Soil from four sites in trays, to find out which mix works fastest on which ground.

First test400 mg/kg
Second testnot yet
Used: three mixes of fungi, plants and char, compared · our own lab, checked by an outside lab
Results in spring 2027
What the numbers mean

We report. We do not advise.

Whether a number matters for a family depends on how the ground is used and on the levels the state sets. Your county health department can tell you. The US Environmental Protection Agency explains lead in soil in plain words.

EPA: sources of lead, including soil →

Have a site in mind?

Public land, a school, a garden

Agencies, schools and landowners ask us to take a site on through the About page. Residents start with a free test.

Work with usAsk for a test