Regenerative Skills

As I continue to advance the tree and perennial food nursery here at my farm, I'm always on the lookout for new resources on anything about growing and breeding perennial food sources, the history of their cultivation, and the cultures that were and are connected to these woodland and orchard based staple foods.  For that reason I was super excited to see the new title “Feed us with Trees” from my friends at New Society Publishers, by author Elspeth Hay.  Elspeth is a writer, public radio host, and creator of the Local Food Report, a weekly feature that has aired on CAI, the Cape & Islands NPR Station, since 2008. Deeply immersed in her own local food system, she writes and reports for print, radio, and online media with a focus on food and the environment. Elspeth's work has been featured in the Boston Globe, NPR's Kitchen Window, Heated with Mark Bittman, The Provincetown Independent, and numerous other publications. Through her conversations with growers, harvesters, processors, cooks, policy makers, Indigenous knowledge-keepers, scientists, researchers, and visionaries, she aims to rebuild our cultural store of culinary knowledge—and to reconnect us with the people, places, and ideas that feed us.  In this session, Elspeth shares her journey of developing a passion for perennial food systems, particularly focusing on nuts and tree-based staple crops.  Her early exposure to nature evolved into an obsession with acorns and other tree nuts. Her research went on to reveal the extensive use of tree nuts as staple foods across the northern hemisphere and the historical as well as the cultural shifts that led to their decline in favor of annual grain crops. Elspeth delves into the nutritional and ecological benefits of these perennial foods, the complexities of modern industrial agriculture, and the resurgence of interest in tree crops, especially in the American Midwest. She also explores innovative recipes and culinary uses of nuts, especially acorns and chestnuts, while emphasizing the importance of integrating perennial crop systems into modern diets and agricultural practices. This conversation covers a lot of ground from land management, economic models, and the promising future of perennial food systems. As with all the books that I focus on from my friends at new society publishers, we're running a book giveaway for “Feed us with Trees.” By now you know the drill. Send me a message on our Discord community. If you're not already a member you can sign up through the links on our homepage or the bio on Instagram. I'll choose a winner one week after this episode goes live, and If you live anywhere in North America we'll send a physical copy. Everywhere else you'll receive a digital version. 

Welcome to the last portion of our long form discussion with Dan Kittredge.  In this last third we navigate the need for Generational Healing and Cultural Shifts in our collective culture. The unavoidable reality that the healthiest food for you as an individual can never be bought. Steps for building resilience and Self-Sufficiency, before then going back to Dan's own Journey to Farming and interest in Nutrient Density as well as his current Challenges and plans for the future. 

Today we'll be continuing with the second portion of our long form discussion with Dan Kittredge. In this second third we mostly get into Principles of Biological Systems and how to apply Nature's Patterns in Business. Dan talks about his experience Engaging with Farmers and Large Businesses alike. We dig into his personal Journey, the influence that Eastern Paradigms and Consciousness have had on his world view, the connection of Nutrient Density and Spirituality, and the potential of Technological Tools to be transformed for Empowerment.

One of the discussions that have propelled the awareness of regenerative agriculture in recent years has been that of nutrient density in food, a term coined by Dan Kittredge of the Bionutrient Food Association. The idea that our food varies widely in its quality and levels of nutrients has caused many people to look into the factors that lead to these wide discrepancies. Dan in particular has been leading research, one ingredient at a time, into the causes and correlations that accompany differences in levels of vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins and almost every other known component in the food we eat. Though I've been watching the conversation and developments of this concept and research for years now, I have been waiting to build a decent enough grasp of the topic to be able to guide a meaningful conversation about what has been learned, where the research is going, and what are the potential pitfalls or opportunities for corruption of knowledge and technology that tells us the details of the nutrients in every ingredient we consume. Then a few weeks ago, my good friend Andre Antunes in Portugal introduced me directly to Dan Kittredge through email urging us to connect and have a conversation. I know that Dan does interviews all the time and so I asked him what he would want to talk about that he often doesn't get to explore. He got back to me by saying he'd be most interested in doing a long form discussion in which we have the time to discuss all of the concepts and ideas around the core of his work with the Bionutrient Food Association that both inform the purpose and research but that go into the bigger motivations and theory behind it all…so, that's exactly what we did. Earlier this week Dan and I set aside time to really leave the space open and see where the chat could end up. Almost two and a half hours later, time which absolutely flew by for me, I have a deep dive for you that explores all that I mentioned and more. Given that I don't tend to do long form conversations, I've broken things down into three 45ish minute episodes. If however you prefer to listen in all one uninterrupted go, I published the video version in its entirety on the regenerative skills YouTube channel. In this first third you'll hear us discuss Dan's seven-month global tour focused on nutrient density, the importance of understanding its true definition, and its critical role in social movements turning into industries. He elaborates on the BFA's perspective, emphasizing that nutrient density is a continuum of quality rather than a binary concept. The conversation underscores the need for a universal standard of nutrient density, the correlation between soil health and nutrient levels, and the use of spectroscopy technology to measure and improve food quality In the second third we mostly get into Principles of Biological Systems and how to apply Nature's Patterns in Business. Dan talks about his experience Engaging with Farmers and Large Businesses alike. We dig into his personal Journey, the influence that Eastern Paradigms and Consciousness have had on his world view, the connection of Nutrient Density and Spirituality, and the potential of Technological Tools to be transformed for Empowerment.   In the last third we navigate the need for Generational Healing and Cultural Shifts in our collective culture, the unavoidable reality that the healthiest food for you as an individual can never be bought. Steps for building resilience and Self-Sufficiency, before then going back to Dan's own Journey to Farming and interest in Nutrient Density as well as his current Challenges and plans for the future.  The other two sections will come out on Friday in the next two weeks, which actually suits me really well because I'm just getting ready to leave for a water restoration job in La Mancha here in Spain and then to the University of Reading to start a Regen Ag transition and agronomist training that I'll be building with a diverse team, all of which I'll tell you about in future episodes. 

In so many previous episodes I've spoken with people who've explained many nuances and facts about plants and how to incorporate different species of trees, shrubs, grasses, and forbes into your ecosystem. How to manage them in different stages of growth either through active cultivation and soil condition improvement or secondarily through the management of animals or other elements of the human built world, but in this interview we're going to take a different approach to the vegetal world and consider a beautiful and often overlooked aspect of our connection with plants, and that's the possibility of creating relationships with them. If that concept seems weird to you, consider that people in all parts of the world all throughout history have cultivated deep interconnected relationships with plants of all kinds. There are connections that heal us, show us our location, signal different soil conditions, nourish, clothe, and protect us. Many cultures reference being able to speak to plants and communicate with them. They can open our consciousness to different states of being and thinking as well, and not only through psychotropic properties.  In this episode I spoke with Ryan Blosser, the co-author along with Trevor Piersol of the new book Mulberries in the Rain: Growing Permaculture Plants for Food and Friendship. The book goes beyond the sphere of most permaculture books that are heavy on design theory and techniques, and speaks about the process of investigation and time investment to build lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with the plants that you cultivate, forage or otherwise cohabitate with. Ryan is also co owner and lead instructor with Shenandoah Permaculture Institute. He is also the Farm Educator with Waynesboro City Schools where he runs Waynesboro Education Farm and is also a former child and family therapist and market farmer. Besides covering practical steps for building a relationship with the plants you come into contact with, much more than other episodes, this conversation is based on stories, both Ryan's and my own. We talk about adversarial relationships with plants that blossomed into alliances. We trade memories of plant that ground us in place and are connected with who we perceive ourselves to be. Ones that are connected to family, legend and legacy as well as a few we're still reconciling and exploring but present challenges.

Today we'll continue the miniseries I'm building on regenerative tourism. This time we'll take a close look at the specific context of the country where I live, here in Spain. Spain has been a top global tourist destination since the 60s and the industry that as grown to meet the demand for travel as shaped so much of the country especially the Mediterranean coast and cities like Barcelona, Valencia, and towns that have grown up entirely to cater to a specific type of budget tourism like Benidorm, Salou, and Lloret del Mar.  Yet in recent years there has been a major backlash from the local population protesting irresponsible development, skyrocketing prices, and exemptions from water restrictions directly related to the way tourism is managed. Here to explore these challenges as well as the potential to chart a new course for both hosts and visitors is Sonia Teruel. Sonia helps grassroots initiatives, entrepreneurs and Destination Management Organisations in their transition to a regenerative model in tourism. She is also a consultant, facilitator, and founder at The RegenLAB for Travel. In this conversation we explore the meteoric rise of Spain as a tourist destination and its impact on the communities where visitors concentrate. We look at the challenges that have ignited protests and opposition to the way tourism is managed as well as some of the responses to these issues which may cause bigger problems in the long term. From there we mine Sonia's experiences as a community conversation facilitator who works to guide collaborative processes that explore the potential for new ways of managing visitors and hosts alike in order to achieve lasting solutions.  Sonia will be the first to admit that these efforts are still in their infancy and case studies of real success over time don't exist yet in our region, but points to some promising projects to keep an eye on and perhaps emulate as they get established. Though the focus is on the Spanish context, I have no doubt that there are equivalents to many other places around the world where the tourism industry has shaped development and policy for decades, and I hope many of you listening will find inspiration for where you live as well.

Welcome back to another interview from the skill exchange calls that I've been running with Climate Farmers for our regenerative farming network in Europe.  In this session I had the good fortune of introducing Stefan Sobkowiak to our group. Many of you who've been listening to this show for a while will remember the last interview I did with Stefan in the last season during the series on agroforestry. Stefan is one of my favorite sources for practical and honest techniques for managing the whole ecology of an orchard from propagating new tree species through maintenance, pest management, harvesting and even processing and marketing your products. His film, the Permaculture Orchard has help people around the world to transition towards diversified, resilient, and more profitable models of running their tree crop businesses. His YouTube channel goes even more in depth as he's always creating videos about the innovations and even struggles that are going on at his orchard Miracle Farm in Canada.   In this session we cover a lot of ground in a short time. We talk about How to manage pests and diseases by improving soil health and biodiversity in the orchard. How to care for the health of your trees for better yields and profit. Integrating other crops and animals into the system for ecological and economic resilience. And how to adapt common methods to your unique climate and context.  There's a whole Q&A session that happens after the half hour interview on these skill exchange calls which are exclusive to the Climate Farming network here in Europe. So if you're interested in attending these calls in person to have your own questions answered by the experts and tap into the growing community of farmers, consultants, and educators around Europe, you can register right now at ClimateFarmers.org

At this point I've taken a lot of courses and trainings around water management and earthworks, but I'm still always curious to stay up to date on new takes and styles of working with water and shaping the landscape to optimize water capture on the terrain. I've talked to Ben Falk a couple of times in the past and I've always enjoyed his take on the need to build deep relationships with the systems we design and build, but in the past we never focused on water. In this episode, I reconnect with Ben, and we dive into water management and his new course on pond design and management. Ben explains the comprehensive focus of the course, covering site evaluation, water storage, pond construction, and long-term maintenance. He discusses the significance of water management in permaculture and restoration, addressing key considerations for pond building, such as erosion control and flood mitigation. The conversation also explores the ecological and culinary potential of ponds, emphasizing their role in enhancing microclimates, providing habitat, and offering diverse food sources. Ben shares insights on how ponds benefit both wet and dry climates by replenishing groundwater and managing floodwaters effectively. The episode highlights the importance of small, decentralized water systems and the myriad ecological benefits ponds offer.

Part of the Climate Farmers Academy series, dedicated to facilitating peer-to-peer learning among farmers transitioning toward regenerative management across Europe. In this episode, experienced practitioners from various European regions share their insights and practical advice on integrating agroforestry into diverse farming contexts. The panel includes Lorenz from Germany, Dmitri based in Portugal, and Joshua from England, who discuss topics such as soil health, plant diversity, tree nursery setups, and the financial aspects of regenerative farming. This episode is a must-watch for anyone interested in enhancing farm resilience and implementing regenerative practices with perennial crop systems.

Today I'll be kicking off another little series on a topic that's new to this show, which is regenerative tourism. Both, I and a number of other friends have been noticing a growing animosity and backlash towards tourism in our communities over the last couple of years. It seems that since the rise of short term rentals, and the post COVID surge of travel, we're hitting a tipping point in what local communities are willing to put up with as more of their culture and ways of life are over run by outside visitors and the industries that cater to them. Now obviously I'm a foreigner to the place where I live, as are many of my friends in different place around the world, so I want to understand this cultural moment from a number of perspectives. One being how people like myself can go beyond the empty promises of sustainable tourism, and visit new places in a way that actually enriches the culture and identity of those locations, and also the other side, where as host communities we can cultivate a relationship and cater to visitors in a way that incentivises this kind of interaction, and goes beyond the extractive tendencies from both sides. Now I'm very new to the nuisances of this topic, but thankfully my friend Charles Van de Kerkhof who has made this topic his specialty for a number of years has been kind enough to connect me to his contacts and guide the questions and concepts in the interviews of this growing series, and you'll hear from him directly soon enough. Now this first interview will help to set the tone and offer an overview of what we're trying to explore here, and I feel very fortunate to have gotten a hold of Michelle Holiday to start us off. Michelle is an author, facilitator, consultant & researcher, who For the past 2 decades, has supported pioneering clients across a range of sectors, including tourism & agriculture, to enable the transition to more regenerative systems and structures. Michelle's research & experience are brought together in her book, The Age of Thrivability: Vital Perspectives & Practices for a Better World, as well as more than 100 articles on themes of thrivability & regeneration. In this conversation, Michelle and I start by building an understanding of her term, thrivability as a concept that we set as a foundation for potential. We then look at the current paradigm of tourism and how it can erode both the value of the places that host visitors as well as cheapen the experiences that travelers are looking for. Through examples from our own travels and experiences Michelle and I look through examples of tourism interactions from different places and where opportunities may have been missed. We analyse both the perspective of travelers as well as hosts to build on a concept of thrivability for both, and Michelle shares case studies of where community led discussions have unlocked greater potential than what may lie on the surface.  By the end you'll hear about ideas and advice on how you, either as a visitor or a host, can break free of the common narrative of extractive tourism and begin to cultivate a relationship with the other that can enrich everyone involved, including the local environment.

Of all the projects that I've watched develop from the beginning, Jane is the example I most enjoy pointing to when people ask for advice on how to get their projects started with limited resources. Her determination, creativitiy, tenacity, and focus on community are blossoming into a real catalyst for change in her region of western Kenya. 

I'm really excited to share this conversation with all of you today, because Joshua Sparkes not only has a unique perspective on gardening and food production, he also speaks about these topics from a lot of experience and infectious passion. I've spoken to tons of farmers and gardeners on this show, and many of them are experts in permaculture, or market gardening, or native plants, or any other specialty, but in Josh's case, he's studied in many parts of the world and learned a range of disciplines that he combines in his own unique way to create a truly inspiring and evolving food production system at Birch farm in the UK, that actually doesn't focus primarily on food growing at all. Before I let him explain that, let's start at the beginning. Josh was fortunate to grow up in a wild part of Sussex surrounded by forests and meadows. When he finished school He joined the military and served overseas. He says his childhood was often a place he retreated too during hard times and it made him realise that his love came from nature, and so he's dedicated the last 15 years to make sure he can do his best to support and protect it through his work, which was the beginning of his journey into Natural Farming. In this episode Josh will explain how attending a horticulture program opened doors to travel and learn from farmers and gardeners around the world and how that has shaped his vision for Birch farm. We explore how putting a main focus on increasing biodiversity has evolved into a wild configuration of plants in a small space which includes trees, and species that most consider weeds and pests as part of an integral system which aims to reach a balance through many multiple interconnections rather than eradication or suppression of certain life forms. Josh also explains how principles of natural farming and syntopic agriculture are married with the need to produce vegetables for a farm store and connected restaurant while also providing unique culinary and sensory experiences for customers. Of all the different food production systems that I've heard described on this show, I would say that the vision that Josh describes is the most aligned with my own for my own farm, just with much more knowledge and practical experience. 

Welcome to another panel session. I love this format in general, but this panel in particular was a whole lot of fun, because not only did I have my close friends Nick Steiner and Megan Neary on, but I also joined in as a speaker to explore the topic of water management for farmers in a changing climate.    The guiding question we explored was, How can farmers prepare for a changing climate and ensure long-term water resilience? We explored water retention, flood management, and drought resilience—breaking down strategies that help farms thrive despite increasing climate uncertainty. We started by talking about the key changes farmers should expect in the coming decades and how to assess hydrological health on your farm.  From there we went into practical steps to build a holistic water management strategy, and how to navigate the many options available for water retention.    If you've been listening for any amount of time, you'll know me and my friend Nick as we work closely together and have talked about water cycle restoration and our contracting jobs in creating water retention landscapes in many past episodes. Our good friend Megan Neary is new to this show though. She works with Elemental Ecosystems and the Water Stories team as a project technician. With a background in geology and conservation, Megan specializes in reshaping landscapes to improve soil health, enhance biodiversity, and create decentralized water systems. Now there is a whole Q&A session that I chopped for the podcast version, but if you're interested you can find it on the Climate Farmer's Youtube channel. 

Today I want to start a fun new series on a topic that I've wanted to explore for quite a while, which is the concept of regenerative education. I've worked as a teacher and educational facilitator in different capacities since the beginning of my career, first in before and after school programs for kids, then as an arts and environmental educator at summer camps, then English as a second language in both South Korea and Guatemala, and in between teaching various technical workshops in natural building, permaculture, ecosystem restoration, the transition journey to regenerative agriculture, and of course water management and water cycle restoration. Every time I engage in these activities I gain huge respect for teachers and the incredible skill and patience it takes to be an effective educational facilitator. Similarly, I want to continue to grow as a teacher and even improve my skills as a student since I'm also always in some sort of course or other at the same time. I know this is a wide and nuanced topic and so to help me to become oriented to the considerations and scope of what I'm exploring, I reached out to Pavel Cenkl, who is the Academic Dean at Prescott College in Arizona (US) and the Founder of the Regenerative Learning Network. His work focuses on the intersection of transformative learning, community, and ecology and building a more regenerative, resilient, and equitable educational future. He's also the author of several books including Transformative Learning (with Satish Kumar), “Relational Ecologies: Building Regenerative Community Learning Networks” in Regenerative Ecosystems in the Anthropocene (2023) and “Lessons from the Periphery” in Regenerative Learning (2022). Pavel's current book in progress is titled Networked Learning: Transforming Higher Education through Distributed Learning. This conversation weaves from the troubles with traditional or conventional educational models and why they leave so many behind, and increasingly in debt, through alternative models of teaching and the potential that educational institutions really have. We explore the role of technology in learning as well as the things the digital world can't replace. Pavel also give his take on what makes effective educators and a window into their process of creating learning curriculums that are in line with the concept of regenerative education. This is the first in a series of interviews that I'm in the process of planning so if you have any ideas of what questions I should explore or who I should speak to in upcoming interviews, I encourage you to reach out to me through the Regenerative Skills Discord server. 

After 8 years of interviewing people in the regeneration sector, It's become clear to me that knowledge is not as valuable as experience. Gathering facts, concepts and theories is great up to a point, but until you put those ideas into practice, it's impossible to know if those ideas clash with your reality, or require adaptation to what's really going on on the ground. For this reason I was excited to see that Don Hall, who has worked with the transition towns movement in various capacities for 16 years now, has come out with a new book titled, The Regeneration Handbook: Transform Yourself to Transform the World. Don also holds a Master's in Environmental Leadership from Naropa University, a certification in Permaculture Design from the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute and is currently the Training Coordinator for Transition Network. You can find accounts of much of his work and learnings at his website and blog at evolutionary change.org In this episode a lot of what we explore revolves around the International Transition Network, how it started, and how it's grown to a movement since the early 2000s. We go into Don's practical experience building the transition movement in both Colorado and Florida, some of the shared priorities of those communities that formed the basis of initiatives and unity that was formed, and how others can participate in creating these kinds of programs in their own communities. We also get into related topics like how transition is as much an internal process as an external community one, and the skills that Don believes we need to relearn in order to live in close knit communities the way that almost everyone used to in recent history.

Welcome everyone to the first episode of season 9. The beginning of the 9th year of making this show. I've got a lot of exciting new projects and collaborations coming up that I'll be bringing you along for including some ambitious water restoration projects, educational trainings for regen ag transition in Europe, and  quite a few mini series on new topics and perspectives on regeneration that I'll be co creating with some friends and members of this podcast's Discord server But before I get into all of that, I want to start this season off with an exploration of the cutting edge of soil science and agronomy, and as part of the monthly panel discussion series, that's exactly what we focused on in a live interview.  Uncover the newest developments and cutting edge of scientific discovery in agronomy and soil research. We'll explore this unfolding frontier with two of the scientists and researchers who are pushing the boundaries of their fields bringing new possibilities for regenerative farmers to manage their land and businesses for greater ecological health. We're joined in this panel by Harriet Mela: Independent researcher and soil biologist from Austria James White: Soil microbiologist and professor at Rutgers University in the United States

Hello and welcome back to a special New Year episode. Unlike the normal interview format today I want to take some time to reflect on the past year, answer some very tough and thought provoking questions from the Discord community, and explain my vision and planned projects for the year to come, or at least the ones I can foresee from this early vantage point.  It's always surprising to me how this little passion side project of a podcast has stayed relevant in my life and grown to reach so many people around the world. It started in February of 2017 while I was an apprentice to my friend and mentor Charlie Rendal the remarkable bamboo and natural material builder in San Marcos La Laguna in Lake Atitlan Guatemala, and since then has both followed and propelled my learning journey and career going on 9 years now. I'm so grateful to all of you, both contributors and listeners, who have supported and participated in this project for all of these years. Because of your encouragement and efforts I've achieved so many ambitions and dreams that could never have come true on my own. I genuinely hope that wherever you are and whatever holidays you celebrate, that you've had a relaxing and enriching last couple weeks with the people you love. With that said, let's get into the topics to kick off the year of 2025. 

I'm excited to announce that we've restarted the panel format. Many of you will remember that I used to put together monthly panels with experts on popular topics. The truth is that they can be tough to coordinate and take a lot more planning than regular interview episodes so I let them go while I focused on other projects, but thanks to help from some digital tools and popular requests from listeners, we're working to bring these episodes back on a monthly basis. So if you haven't heard previous panel episodes, I'll give you a quick recap. As part of my role building the Regen ag community in Europe with Climate Farmers, I'm always trying to facilitate access to good information from experienced practitioners in regenerative agriculture. Oftentimes I look to organize these panels around the common questions that come up in our community chats. In other cases I see a lack of clear and concise information around a topic of interest. Other times I hear people referencing the work of other practitioners around the world for opportunities and inspiration and I try to connect them with each other in the Q&A sessions. Another motivation for organizing these is to increase awareness of the practicalities that are behind the aspiration to great achievements in land management. I hope that all of you out there listening to these episodes leave after having heard these episodes feeling that the incredible accomplishments and projects of the people we highlight are achievable and replicable and that you can do things like this too. You may not personally identify with their particular contexts or want to mimic them or their work exactly, but I hope you might find a point of connection in their stories and their journeys. Every project starts as an idea or a dream or a feeling that is nurtured into its potential by the people and communities that have skin in the game and dedicate their time and efforts to co-create that potential. With that said I want to introduce the panel and our speakers for this episode. So today we'll be exploring the challenges and opportunities in mixed enterprise farming. By that I mean farms that sell and range of products, especially of different food categories such as cereals and cattle, or market garden and laying hens and agrotourism and farm tours. I was really lucky to get three farmers together from very different regions who are pioneering diverse enterprise farming on their land. Now it's not usually the case that the farmers I get to speak with are people I've met in person or farms that I've physically visited, but in this case I've been to and even ran some events and projects with each of the farmers who I'm speaking with. Maria Gimenez comes to us from Wilmers Gaerten just south of Berlin Germany. Francisco Alves comes from Herdade de Sao Luis, Porcus Natura in Alentejo Portugal, and Ariane Lotti joins us from Tenuta San Carlo near the Tuscan coast in Italy. They each give much better intros of themselves and their farms than I can so I'll let them do that, but before we jump into the panel, you should know that there's a video version of this panel that includes the Q&A session in this last half hour which I am clipping off here for the podcast version. You can find that on the Climate Farmers YT chanel and if you happen to be an active farmer anywhere in Europe, you can also join the Climate Farmers community for free and participate in the farmer to farmers learning platform that we've built by going to Climate Farmers.org The community is part of a non-profit dedicated to assisting farmers at all levels of their transition to regenerative management.

Long time listeners to this show will know that soil health and deep soil science are not my specialty. I've done quite a few interviews on soil over the years, but I've usually looked for broader patterns and simple concepts around health soil function, and left the lab work and understanding all the microbes and fungi to others. A few weeks ago however I was invited by my friend Isa to a soil food web alumni gathering. There I met so many fascinating people who spoke about their projects and initiatives with farmers and other organizations which ranged from production and crop health goals, to AI learning and even national security collaborations. One of the many wonderful people I met was Tanja Dekker who is a soil life consultant and educator specializing in adaptive land management, with extensive expertise in regenerative agriculture, sustainable food forest design, and eco-conscious entrepreneurship. She leads her organization, Festina Lente, inspired by the alchemical concept meaning “make haste slowly.” Tanja is passionate about implementing regenerative practices that prioritize environmental health and community resilience. In this episode we cover a wide range of topics from the family tragedy that led her to shift careers and work to restore soil, through her unified theory of the trajectory of the natural world and our role in it, to realizing our potential as a keystone species and the practical steps involved with analyzing your soil and broader ecosystem in order to take actions that enhance its health and vital processes. This episode winds through curvy roads of philosophical concepts and down-to-earth steps for taking action in your own context.

This last week has been incredible for me. After almost 5 years of being connected to different aspects of the work at the farm in La Junquera, first through my connection with Silvia Quarta the leader of Camp Altiplano, the first in the global Ecosystem Restoration Communities network back when I worked at the restoration coordinator, then through collaborations with Alfonzo and Yanniek through the Climate farming community, and also with their incredible staff of Clara, Jeronimo, and Jacobo in coordination and organizing, I was finally able to visit them in person. In the first few days we did some course planning and taught a two day intensive on water resource management for farmers. I stayed a few days to talk about their new collective project to restore the watershed of the Quipar river, and then represented Climate Farmers in a Benchmarks soil health program. It has been surreal to meet the heroes who are working tirelessly to pioneer regenerative management in their semi arid location and to build friendships that go far beyond the occasional zoom call. That brings me to our interview today with Silvia Quarta.

Welcome to the final episode in mine and Nick's 3 part series on drought. In the first episode we talked about how drought was affecting our two homes at the moment. His home on the island of Tenerife, and my own in Northeastern Spain. We went over the definition of drought and some common myths and misconceptions, as well as the major factors that can make drought more common and severe.  In the second episode we turned to look at the myriad of options that are available to mitigate and even reverse the effects of drought focusing first on the sequence of design considerations. We looked into stopping points of drainage and damage, minimizing the need for use, and then capture and retention. From there we take a specific look at small scale to medium scale living space. Apartments and condos all the way up to small homes to homesteads of a few acres.  In this last episode we're going to wrap up the layout of different drought mitigation strategies for medium, large and even regional scales. More than home infrastructure, this session focuses on land management with interventions like earthworks, road and access design, and even restoration of water bodies like rivers and streams.  The regional scale is an aspect of drought mitigation that I believe everyone has a responsibility to get involved in, and there is a need for a variety of approaches, from political action and institutional reform, to coalition building, and even direct work on the ground. Hopefully by the end of this series you'll feel much better informed about what drought really is and some of the many options available to you to create resiliency against this increasingly common and severe occurrence in many parts of the world in order to take action and change the trajectory that your home and your community is currently on. 

Continuing with our deep dive into drought, my good friend Nick Steiner and I are going to move now from defining drought and the its myriad of causes and factors that make it worse, to a wide range of solutions and opportunities available to people who are living in different environments and with different access to land and space.  You may not be surprised to hear that we ended up running long and so I split the episode into two parts. In this session we cover mostly the order of consideration for a retrofit of a home or even a landscape design geared towards water harvesting and rehydration. Then we look at the options available to people in small living spaces like apartments and condos in urban or peri urban areas. We also start to explore the next size up which would be small to medium sized homes with access to anything from a small garden to a couple acres of land.  The great thing about looking at things in this order is that pretty much all the options available to small scale living or land access are also available as you size up. I also think it's important to explain that there's no reason you need to own or have access to large amounts of land in order to have a meaningful effect and influence on the water catchment in your local area, or often even more importantly, assist in shifting the culture of water use and abuse that is baked in to many of our modern societies to one of reverence and respect for water and the life it enables.  Now, it's impossible that Nick and I mention and explore all of the options at the various scales of living that we cover in these next two episodes, so please reach out to us if you think there are other possibilities we should be aware of or mention in future talks. We're always excited to expand our own understanding and have a better grasp of the new and emerging knowledge for working with water. 

It's that time again. In todays' regenerative round table, my good friend Nick Steiner and I give updates on our respective projects. Him on the Island of Tenerife and myself in the mountains of central Catalunya in Spain. In the update we talk about some of the challenges we've been experiencing this year. The big topic at the moment for us, and many other in this area of the world, is drought. Partly because Nick and I live in parts of the world where drought is a common factor we've been researching it for some time.  In this episode we'll break down some of the common myths and misconceptions about drought and its causes. We'll also talk about the link between drought and other common natural disasters such as floods and wildfires and then give concrete examples from our respective home bases. We go into some of the hidden factors that lead to regional droughts and some of the science behind the way water works in the environment to cool the atmosphere and create more moderate conditions in the climate.  This chat is the first in a two part look at drought and will set us up for a second episode next week where we'll break down some of the wide ranges of actions and changes that can make a difference, not only in mitigating the effects of drought but also reversing the trends in the long term and rehydrating your landscape. 

Continuing on the journey we started in the last episode, Nick and I went to the next project where we got to install the types of water retention features that we had designed for the previous clients.  Together we talk about the joys and the challenges of site where we were creating these earthworks. Over the previous summer the whole landscape had burned in a wildfire and the clients there are especially motivated to mitigate the risks moving into the future. We also got to work with a team with a variety of experiences and talents which contributed to the creativity and the outcome of the project.  In just over 3 days of work we were able to build a small infiltration basin in an eroded valley and an infiltration terrace along a fire-prone ridge with many unique features in each.  Follow us as we take your through the full process in this episode

We're starting in a big way with a special episode in which me and my good friend and collaborator Nick Steiner will be taking you along with us on a client visit in the south of Portugal in the very first steps of a water retention landscape project.  We'll be giving you a behind the scenes look at what we do on these jobs, the landscape indicators that we're observing to inform our concept plans, and all of the essential data we collect while out in the field as we build the initial design for this farm.  Southern Portugal is a classic area to illustrate the patterns of drought, flood and fire that are the result of landscape degradation. This mediterranean climate has been getting dryer and hotter in an accelerated way over the last few decades, and the result is failing farms, abandoned villages, and land that is on a downward trajectory.  Each day we'll describe what we're up to out in the field, offer summaries of the discussions with the clients, describe the landscape features and observations we're making and even the heavy machinery work that it takes to inform the placement and types of features that can be implemented in order to turn the trajectory of this farm around through watershed restoration.  Don't forget that you can see pictures and videos of our time out in the field on our social media pages and on the Regenerative Skills community on Discord. 

Today I want to go back to one of my favorite episodes of the last few years. This was back at the start of the 7th season, so almost two years ago. I was trying out a new format as I headed out on a water retention landscape job, which the episode will explain in a minute. The reason why I'm choosing to re-release this episode now is because I've been covering so many aspects around the topic of water over this series, but a lot of it has been pretty theoretical. Honestly, the way that I've come to connect with the idea of rehydrating landscapes has mostly been through my work on projects in the field with the farmers and clients that I work for.  So for that reason, I'm going to republish two episodes I've recorded on jobs in the field. Today's will be from a ranch project in which I worked on a team from Mark Shepard's company Restoration Agriculture Design led by Jake Takiff, and next week you'll come along with me and my good friend and longtime collaborator Nick Stener as we recap some jobs we did out in southern Portugal earlier this year.  So let's get started. I was invited to assist on a watershed restoration design and install project with a company that I've admired and looked up to my whole career, Restoration Agriculture Development (RAD). RAD is the design and project installation company founded by Mark Shepard, the legendary farmer and author who has helped to define the ambitions through his work and writings such as “Restoration Agriculture” and “Water for Any Farm.” Though Mark wasnt involved with this job directly, I got to work with their team lead, and accomplished farmer in his own right, Jake Takiff from Cedar Springs farm in Hotchkiss, Colorado. In this first episode, I'll be trying out a new format in which I'll bring you along for the duration of this project and give detailed updates about how work is moving forward, what we're learning in the process, and the main takeaways. 

In this series on water, the one area that I've left out so far is the urban landscape. In this week's episode I got to chat with Jerry Yudelson, the author of 13 full-length professional and trade books on green buildings, integrated design, green homes, water conservation, building performance and sustainable development. Dubbed ‘The Godfather of Green' by Wired Magazine, Jerry's passion for optimizing the built environment is reflected by his many years of professional experience in the green building and certification fields, serving as an elected LEED Fellow and as president of the Green Building Initiative. He also served on the national board of the USGBC and chaired the Steering Committee for the largest green building show, Greenbuild, from 2004 through 2009.  Despite being best known for ecological building design and policy, in this interview we're going to focus on his book Dry Run, which unpacks some of the best ways to manage scarce water resources and handle upcoming urban water crises. The book explains the most pressing water issues that urban zones face, and examines the vital linkages between water, energy use, urban development and climate change. Dry Run also demonstrates best practices for achieving “net zero” water use in the built environment through, water conservation strategies for buildings, factories, cities and homes, rainwater harvesting, greywater reuse and water reclamation systems, water efficiency retrofits, onsite sewage treatment, and new water reuse and supply technologies. In this interview we specifically address the urgent changes that cities need to make to ensure longer term water security. Jerry explains his classifications of the colors of water that help to categorize the different sources and uses for water in cities that require different management systems, and gives a few case studies of municipalities that have started to make improvements in their aquatic infrastructure.

As the importance of the water cycle to global climate regulation has gained attention in the last few years, I've also seen an emergence of voices working to explain the science and the details of the intricate workings and contributors to the nuance of water cycles. One of my favorites and one I've come to count on to consistently expand my understanding about working with water is that of Ali Bin Shahid, an engineer turned permaculturalist based in Islamabad Pakistan working to capture the rhythms of nature through quantification.  In his substack blog, R3genesis, he writes about topics such as Enhancing bioprecipitation through afforestation, mapping a rain plan for the Valencia region of Spain, how beetles drive ecosystem dynamics, and so much more. His ability to make important connections between small actors in the environment with macro processes in our ecosystem and the ways in which this knowledge can be put to use in our lives. In this conversation Ali and I explore his journey and passion around ecosystem restoration, how his background in engineering is opening new possibilities by modeling landscape hydrology, new technologies that can be used to bridge scientific disciplines for new discoveries, and how these models can inform a new generation of water and climate wise policy and incentive mechanisms.

So much of the conversation around water revolves around its scarcity. Today we'll get a chance to explore how to manage water regeneratively when the challenge is having too much. As arid zones become drier, the opposite is proving true for humid zones. The North American eastern seaboard is looking like an emblematic case of this. As storms become stronger and charged with massive evaporation from warmer temperatures and a warmer ocean, flooding erosion and saturation are becoming bigger issues. Coastlines as well are struggling with these issues as well as the degradation of their delicate vegetation, and poorly applied gray infrastructure. To get a better understanding of these ecological challenges, I reached out to a good friend Mike Lynn. Michael Lynn is an ecological designer with United Designers International and owner of Eastern Ecosystems. He has worked on numerous projects around the world including large-scale watershed restoration, agricultural and agroforestry production systems, and ecological restoration. Around the Chesapeake Bay in the US, he works with storm water management, ecological restoration, and living shorelines projects. With a passion for education, Mike provides training for a wide array of audiences.   Mike has worked in ecological design for more than a decade, starting out with small scale homestead and farm designs to large scale landscape design, watershed management, and ecosystem restoration. Having had a career in public safety, He's seen first hand the devastating effects of climatic disasters and I recognize that nature based solutions are the way forward. ​ In this episode we'll not only explore Mike's fascinating background and path to ecological design, we'll take the time to focus on the evolving challenges of water management when safe drainage and removal of excess water is the objective over retention and capture.

In this session I hosted a discussion on the importance of restoring proper hydrological function in a landscape and the steps to achieving it with my friends and colleagues at Climate Farmers, a non-profit organisation working to advance regenerative agriculture in Europe. In this panel I got to speak with three of the most experienced and influential educators working on this from a farming perspective. Since landscape hydrology and its proper function is often overlooked in its importance in regulating global temperature, I wanted to focus on this specifically. I was lucky enough to bring together three of the experts that have most guided my learning in this field, Zach Weiss, Nicole Masters, and Mark Shepard. Don't forget that if you want to see the video of the full event, you can check it out on the Climate Farmer's Youtube channel through the link in the show notes for this episode. Zach Weiss is the protégé of revolutionary Austrian farmer Sepp Holzer, Zach is the first person to earn Holzer Practitioner certification directly from Sepp. Zach went on to create Elemental Ecosystems to provide an action-oriented process to improve clients' relationship with their landscape. Elemental Ecosystems is an ecological development, contracting, and consulting firm specializing in watershed restoration and ecosystem regeneration. The firm's work includes Aquaculture, Agroforestry, Water Retention Landscapes, Terrace Systems, Spring Development, Natural Building, and more. Mark Shepard is the CEO of Forest Agriculture Enterprises LLC, founder of Restoration Agriculture Development LLC and award-winning author of the books, Restoration Agriculture and Water for Any Farm. He is most widely known as the founder of New Forest Farm, the 106-acre perennial agricultural savanna considered by many to be one of the most ambitious sustainable agriculture projects in the United States. Nicole Masters is is an independent agroecologist, systems thinker, storyteller, educator and author of the book “For the Love of Soil.” With over 20 years of practical and theoretical experience in regenerative agriculture, she is also recognised as a knowledgeable and dynamic speaker on the topic of soil health. Her team of soil coaches at Integrity Soils work alongside producers in the U.S., Canada and across Australasia supporting producers and organisations who cover over 24 million acres, to take their landscapes to the next level in nutrient density, profitability and environmental outcomes.

Continuing today with this ongoing series on waterway regeneration and a deep dive into marine ecosystems, I had the pleasure of speaking with Brian Von Herzen.  Brian is an ocean scientist, engineer and entrepreneur, though much of his career has been in Silicon Valley where he developed innovative technical solutions for companies like Pixar, Dolby and Microsoft. Brian is also the founder and Executive Director of the non-profit The Climate Foundation, an institute working to regenerate life in the world's oceans and reverse global warming within our lifetimes. Through Brian's work with the Climate Foundation, he's been promoting the concept of marine permaculture through ocean seaweed and kelp farming in a way that could potentially revitalize areas of degraded coastline as well as spark a whole new economy around marine ecosystem stewardship.  In this interview, Brian starts by explaining just how immense and important the kelp forests of the world are by describing the impact that they've had on the ecology of the west coast of the United States. I think it's so important to regain reference to what our healthy and intact biosphere used to be, because all of us alive today have almost no reference to what our natural world even looked like before humans started to alter and degrade it so severely.  Brian also breaks down what it could mean for the economy and health of the west if these underwater forests could be regenerated and cared for.  We also explore some of the challenges in getting sea farming and ocean permaculture projects started and especially funded, since the initial costs are often much higher than land based initiatives. We cover a lot of ground in this talk and even touch on topics like how marine farming fits into a regenerative economy and what those of you listening can do to support and even start your own marine permaculture projects, so be sure to stick around for some great action steps by the end.

Today I want to continue with a deeper dive into the topic of water, literally, by going to the furthest point downstream, where terrestrial water enters the ocean.  Marine ecosystems are much less understood by the general public for a variety of reasons, but our actions on land have a direct effect on the health of our oceans too. Luckily there are incredible teams of people looking to address these issues with promising new solutions and over the next couple of episodes I'll be highlighting a few of them.  To get things started I spoke to Joost Wouters, an entrepreneur, speaker, author and the ‘Sea'EO of the Seaweed Company. I got to know Joost first as a co-instructor with me on the Ecosystem restoration design course through Gaia Education. I was fascinated with his presentation and the compelling data on the potential regenerative effects that seaweed and kelp can have in bringing back the health of coastal areas. In his role with the Seaweed Company, he and his team aim to implement CO2-reducing seaweed-based business models at large scale. It turns out that seaweed is the fastest growing biomass in the world. Seaweed farming itself, if done responsibly, has the power to address many of the ecological challenges we face today, without the use of land, fertilizer, or freshwater. It reduces ocean acidification, promotes marine biodiversity, and even absorbs vast quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere. Seaweed can also create highly valuable end products. It is a nutritious food source for both people and animals and can be used as an environmentally friendly alternative to petroleum-based fertilisers and plastics. At the moment it's a unique untapped resource, and the goal of the Seaweed Company is to unlock the potential of this wondrous resource to benefit both people and the planet. In this episode Joost starts by explaining some of the urgent issues facing marine environments and how seaweed farming can help to address them. We go over the advantages that growing seaweed has over terrestrial agriculture, the high value products that can be made from different types of seaweed, the many pilot projects around the world that his company has helped to start and much more.  Towards the end we also examine the roadblocks that are holding this solution back from being more widely adopted and how those of you listening can learn more and get involved.  I've personally been learning a lot about marine ecosystems through these interviews and truly hope that a greater awareness will begin to be built around just how essential the health of our oceans is to the health of all life, even to ecosystems that are far inland and away from any saltwater. I'm really excited for this and the next few episodes for this reason.

While the climate change narrative has mostly focused on the concentration of CO2 and other greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution, we've ignored the essential role that the water cycle plays in regulating global temperatures. In this series I'll be speaking to an incredible list of scientists, farmers, and restorationists who are dedicated to reviving the precious waterways of the world. From the urban environment to the deep seas, our actions will determine whether or not we preserve our aquatic resources and all the life that depends on them for future generations.    In this first episode I got to speak with Enric Sala, a renowned ecologist making a clear case for why protecting nature is our best health insurance, and why it makes economic sense. Enric is the director of National Geographic's Pristine Seas project (which has succeeded in protecting more than 5 million sq km of ocean and created 22 marine reserves). Dr. Sala has received the Young Global Leader Award by the World Economic Forum, a Research Award from the Spanish Geographical Society, the Lowell Thomas Award from the Explorers Club, and a Hero Award from the Environmental Media Association. In his new book “The Nature of Nature: Why We Need the Wild,” he tells the story of his scientific awakening and his transition from academia to activism. More importantly, he shows the economic wisdom of making room for nature, even as the population becomes more urbanized, and how saving nature can save us all, by reversing conditions that led to the coronavirus pandemic and preventing other global catastrophes. In this interview we begin by unpacking the changes that have occurred in our oceans in the last few decades and how this is affecting people all over the world, even if you don't live anywhere near the sea.  Enric also offers a lot of hope that our oceans can recover if we act swiftly and give them the space and protection to regenerate.  I learned a lot from this talk and as I begin to learn more about how marine health is closely linked to terrestrial health, I would encourage those of you listening to examine how your own habits and lifestyle choices are connected to ocean health in ways that can be hard to see. 

My guest today is here to demystify one of the aspects of permaculture design that I hear the most questions about, but also one of the issues that I see folks most entrenched in their viewpoints about. I'm talking about earthworks; one of the first aspects that people implement and the most permanent change made in a landscape. Today I've got Douglas Barnes, author of “permaculture earthworks” and owner director of EcoEdge Design Ltd. to answer our questions and take the guess work out of the subject of terrain changes. In this interview Douglas talks about the best way to map out contours on the land, some of the most effective ways to harvest rainwater on a site, how to link up various earthwork and containment systems to make them work in tandem, and most importantly, he talks in detail about many of the safety concerns that many people have no idea about when it comes to installing swales and dams.

 I spoke with David Spicer, affectionately known as Doc Spice, an accomplished permaculture designer who has specialized in earthworks installation. Having taught and worked on various projects extensively within Australia and internationally, in places such as Morocco, Jordan, Palestine and New Caledonia, Doc has worked in a broad array of different soil types, topographies and climatic zones. He's also a valued member of the Permaculture Sustainable Consulting team headed up by Geoff Lawton and is registered Teacher #5 with the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia. Doc is a master of practical and logical mainframe permaculture design and he's pioneered the design of water harvesting and storage earthworks which frames all regenerative farming. In this episode we talk about why it's so important to invest early on in a project to get your earthworks right because of what it can mean for the health of your land. Doc also shares some insights on his personal design process and what he looks for in a landscape to give him clues as to the most effective interventions on the form of the land. We also cover some of the risks of improperly installed features, the need to draw from as many sources of knowledge as possible and he also gives some valuable advice for people who are new to earthworks on how to get started. 

In keeping with the theme of water regeneration this month I spoke to Rob Avis, the co-author along with Michelle Avis of their book in the New Society Essentials series called Rain Water Harvesting. Rob and Michelle founded Verge Permaculture, an award-winning design, consulting and education company in Calgary, Alberta after years of international training in renewable energy and regenerative design. Since its founding, Verge has helped more than 1000 students and clients to design and create integrated systems for shelter, energy, water, waste, and food, all while supporting their local economy and regenerating the land. Through their design and consulting they create havens that produce their own energy and food, harvest water, cycle nutrients, and restore the surrounding ecosystems, enabling property owners to thrive no matter what. With such a broad range of knowledge, experience, and expertise, we focused mainly on rain water harvesting techniques and systems in this episode as an entry into the larger concept of watershed regeneration and revival. In this session Rob explains some of the key components of rain water harvesting systems and the ways that you can treat and filter the water for various uses. We talk at length about why expensive filters and disinfectants are often unnecessary, even for most potable water uses, and the different ways you can keep your stored rainwater clean. Rob also speaks about how rainwater harvesting systems fit into a larger system aimed toward water resilience in multiple living contexts from urban to rural applications. I've been a big fan of Verge Permaculture and all their great work for some time now and I'm intending to create a larger series of in depth talks with Rob and Michelle in the future 

If at any point you've been interested in water harvesting in dryland contexts, it's almost impossible that you've missed Brad Lancaster's work. His pioneering activities and projects in Tucson, AZ have propelled a movement of water wise landscaping, rainwater harvesting, and smart water reuse all around the world. While so many of the examples I've highlighted in this series relate to actions and strategies for working with the land, a huge majority of Brad's work is focused on the urban and suburban context with everything from roof water, to road and storm drain diversion, and greywater and systems.  In the last handful of episodes we've explored permaculture earthworks for water harvesting landscapes and keyline design on large scales. As a complement to those topics I got in touch with Brad Lancaster, the author Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, volumes one and two which have recently been re-released as expanded new editions. Brad is an expert in the field of rainwater harvesting and water management whose work I've been following for a long time. He is also a permaculture teacher, designer, consultant and co-founder of the non-profit Desert Harvesters, which teaches the public how to identify, harvest, and process many of the native-food plants people are propagating in their areas. He's also been instrumental in helping to change water management policy and government incentives in the City of Tucson to help others implement water wise catchment and reuse features on their properties.  In this interview we cover a wide range of topics from the difference between active and passive harvesting technology and reading the landscape to determine how to work with the natural surroundings, to the increasing importance for water stewardship in non-arid climates and why it's so important to connect and invest in the place you already live rather than thinking that moving to another place will solve your environmental worries.  Brad also gives great advice on home scale water harvesting and storage which are all topics that are covered extensively in his books. He's done an incredible job with the help of many experts and collaborators to compile tons of resources that are available to help you get started on his website

In today's episode I spoke with Van Clothier about an innovative and subtle water erosion mitigation technique, and how to build a one rock dam. I know this might seem oddly specific, but after an interview with Brad Lancaster last season, he talked about how he's been learning from people like Van and his mentor Bill Zeedyk about smaller, less intrusive interventions that can have profound effects on the health of a watershed. The truth is that there are so few watersheds and water bodies left around the world that aren't highly degraded and in need of restoration. Many of the communities most affected by this damage don't have the resources to hire engineers and professionals to do survey and undertake large expensive restoration projects. A lot of what Van promotes flies in the face of these large professional technical projects and teaches people how to understand their watersheds and identify the small and gradual work that can be done to improve their health. The one rock dam is a great example of this and so today we'll be exploring what it is, how it can be installed, and most importantly, how to educate yourself on how to interact and intervene in a damaged waterway in an effective way that doesn't cause further damage in the long run, like many of these big professional projects do.  So a little background information.  Van Clothier's firm, Stream Dynamics, Inc., specializes in turning runoff and erosion problems into water harvesting opportunities with water harvesting earthworks, urban stormwater retrofits, and riparian and wetland restoration in both urban and wildland settings. Van has worked extensively in New Mexico and Arizona on a variety of restoration projects with regional drylands stream restoration and water harvesting experts including Bill Zeedyk, and Brad Lancaster. He is the co-author with Bill Zeedyk of the book Let the Water Do the Work: Induced Meandering, an Evolving Method for Restoring Incised Channels,  Recent projects include designing water harvesting stormwater retrofits for the City of Santa Fe, and restoring a very large ciénega (desert marsh) in the bootheel of New Mexico.

I had done one other episode in the past on the topic of floating wetlands that I'd like to revisit today as we continue with this series on regenerative water solutions.  In today's episode I got to speak with Bruce Kania of Floating Island International which developed their patented Biohaven floating island technology as a solution to algae-ridden and nutrient impaired waterways since 2005. Since then they´ve launched over 9,000 island systems worldwide as solutions to a variety of problems facing contaminated water.  In this interview Bruce breaks down the chemical and biological processes that happen in the water when there's a heavy nutrient load and how it affects the balance of oxygen and the lifeforms that depend on it. He tells me how the floating islands that he's helped to develop work to cycle the nutrients of polluted waterways back into the food web that then fosters the beneficial life forms that are emergent elements of healthy water ecosystems and that mature to help the whole system and surrounding ecology to thrive.  We also take a look at the case study of Fish Fry Lake in Montana and how it's gone from a polluted lake with regular algae blooms to become the most productive wild fishery in Montana where people can even swim and snorkel! Be sure to stick around till the end of the interview as Bruce explains just how big the potential of these floating wetland systems is as he's looking to develop inhabited floating islands that help to filter and clean the great plastic garbage patches in the Pacific ocean and the possibility of creating floating solar farms that function as new real estate as well. 

Today we're going to take a look at fresh water systems and specifically, how to decontaminate them through biological methods. Some of you may remember an interview I did with Tom Duncan about his floating wetlands and how they can be used to clean up excessive nutrients and pollutants back in season 1. Today I'll be expanding on that technique since it´s gained a lot of traction and floating islands are popping up all over the world to help deal with contaminated rivers, lakes, and ponds. I'll be sure to put a link to that interview in the show note on the website in case you missed it.  For this episode I reached out to Galen Fulford, the managing director at Biomatrix Water, a biological technology company working on solutions for waterway and wastewater treatment based in Moray, Scotland.  In this interview, Galen explains the science behind waterway contamination evaluation and the calculations they do to determine the restoration approach and techniques that are appropriate for each site. He also breaks down how their floating wetland systems work and how they compare and differ from traditional wetlands in the way they decontaminate water and provide habitat and sanctuaries for wildlife. We also explore the challenges that installing floating wetlands in urban environments can entail as well as some of the novel solutions in engineering that Biomatrix Water have developed to help their installations withstand events like floods and heavy contamination loads.  This is a great episode for people who really want to understand the biology and engineering behind some of the most promising natural waterway remediation techniques being pioneered today. Make sure you listen all the way till the end too when Galen explains how these floating wetland systems are being applied to ecological sewage treatment and municipal water purification.

One of the most crucial natural environments for the health and stability of landscape hydrology are wetlands. They also usually happen to be areas of the highest density of wildlife and biodiversity when they are healthy and functioning well. At the same time wetlands in all their different forms are highly endangered, being the targets for milenia of drainage and infill in order to make use of them for cultivation. Yet recovering and rebuilding wetlands is not only possible, it can be an affordable and context appropriate way of regenerating the health of entire water catchments as well. Here to shed light on the topic of wetland construction and design is Tom Biebighauser, the founder of Wetland Restoration and Training LLC which was was established in 2014 with the mission of encouraging and helping people to build naturally appearing and functioning wetlands.    Tom had heard from many landowners and natural resource managers that it was almost impossible for someone to learn how to build a wetland, and that actually building wetlands was extremely expensive. To make matters worse, the few people building wetlands were using techniques with a success rate of less than 50-percent.   Tom learned how to build wetlands, streams, ponds, and lakes the hard way through trial and error. Building his first wetlands in Minnesota in 1979 while working for the US Forest Service, he has since built thousands of wetlands. Less than one-half of the early wetlands he built held water as planned. Over time, through much anguish and relentless work, he developed innovative techniques for constructing wetlands that are consistently 100-percent successful and low cost.   Tom Biebighauser has been enthusiastically restoring wetlands, lakes, streams, and rivers since 1979. He has designed over 10,000 wetland projects and has successfully supervised the construction of over 3,000 wetlands and streams in 26-states, 3-Canadian provinces, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, and Taiwan.    Tom enjoys leading workshops where participants can learn about wetland restoration by designing and constructing wetlands from start to finish.  Tom has developed highly successful and inexpensive techniques for restoring wetlands and streams that should last forever without maintenance and that provide habitat for endangered and threatened species.    In this interview Tom and I go into quite a lot of detail about wetlands, covering the range of configurations and biomes they appear in, and how prominent and integral to landscape health they have been in areas we now consider arid and degraded. We explore the criteria for selecting a wetland construction site, as well as the design criteria and process in order for it to fit well and function in any landscape.  Tom also explains the all important maintenance and monitoring process once the wetland is installed and we even explore the unique opportunities that exist to integrate wetlands into farms, schools, communities, and many other managed landscapes that have traditionally drained and dismantled wetlands in the past. This episode is going to kick off a series of water focused episodes, some of which I'm bringing back from the archives because there are many new listeners who haven't heard them and they're worth revisiting, and new conversations as well as I look into the specific context of water management challenges and potential here in Spain and the Iberian Peninsula. I also have some exciting announcements that will be rolling out at selected intervals throughout this series. It's still a little early to say, but I can tell you that if you're passionate about supporting regional scale water regeneration and the possibility of turning this type of work into a career, then be sure to stay up to date during this run.

Continuing with my series highlighting badass local people around my community here in Spain, I was really pleased to be able to share this conversation that I had with a new close friend of mine and soil health advocate extraordinaire, Isadora Shmidt. I was first passed Isa's contact by another good friend, Noemi, who is also part of the Soil Food Web graduate network. Isa created Terra Viva, her consulting and soil analytics company operating from her home base of Manresa, a small city about an hour west of me. She has a very diverse background which you'll hear in a minute but principally she describes herself as a microbe farmer, driven by a deep concern for food security and a love for the natural world. She dedicates her work to regenerate soil health through the power of microbes and ecosystems. With a focus on tailor-made compost and liquid amendments, she partners with farmers and growers to restore soil microbiota and promote sustainable agriculture. Isa is also passionate about fostering connections within the agricultural community and continuously learning about the latest advancements in soil science. I've gotten to know her as an incredible connector who has partnered with many of the institutions and leading practitioners in our region while helping to make connections between all of them in order to advance the broader movement of regeneration in our region.  This is another special opportunity for me since she came to my farm to take soil samples for me in this year's round of measurement and monitoring of the health and ecological function of the farm. I already have a lot of data points from ecological monitoring, and so soil microscopy adds an incredible depth and dimension to the larger story of soil health that I'm working to build. In this episode we start with a quick review of the activities of the day and what we learned together from the initial analysis of the soil samples we took and looked at under the microscope. Isa does a wonderful job of explaining in simple terms the incredible range of life and activity that can be seen in this form of analysis as well as what it means in practical terms. She also shares her learnings and impressions from looking at soil samples from farms all over the region and what it means for the work ahead for the farmers who manage the soil.

I have to admit, there is an unsung hero behind many of my favorite interviews of the past couple years. Connections and recommendations to some of the people who I've learned the most from in some recent discussions with people like Phyllis Van Ambraugh, Ben Taylor Davies, Ian Robertson, Ed Brown, and others have all come from a good friend of mine Andre Antunes who you'll finally get to know on this episode. I met Andre first in a car ride with our mutual friend and the co-founder of Climate Farmers, Philippe Birker, on our way to the first ever company team retreat at a little farm near Dijon in France. Andre and I immediately hit it off for our mutual love of learning from cutting edge innovators in the regenerative space, and his personal experience working as a veterinarian and professional market gardener gave him a grounded perspective on farming that a lot of advocates in this movement are lacking. Since that first meeting we've been in close contact as we both work closely with farmers in the company network to assist them in their transition to regenerative management of their farms, and Andre has gone on to manage large transition projects with multinational companies which you'll hear about very soon. He has also traveled all over Europe making connections in the industry, attending events, and visiting renowned farmers around the continent, always facilitating connections and collaborations, many of which have led to partnerships and events with Climate Farmers. At this point he is becoming one of the best known consultants for regenerative farming in Portugal and I finally made the time to catch up with him for today's episode. In this discussion we cover a lot of ground from the unique journey he's taken to get to where he is now, all of the influences and mentors that he has learned from and worked alongside to build up his knowledge and skills, stories from the farmers he works with and the projects he's helping to advance in places like the Azores islands, and much more. Together we look into trends and hurdles in the regen ag movement in Europe as a way of checking in with how far the movement has come in recent years as well as identifying where we still need to focus efforts to continue to make progress. All in all I'm just thrilled to be able to highlight Andre and his work here because he has also been an invaluable mentor and friend to me and is one of those people who I'm never surprised to find working behind the scenes of some of the most inspiring and innovative projects of recent years.

As I continue to make connections and find people in my local area who are working on regenerative projects and supporting progress in Spain and the Iberian Peninsula, I've been amazed at the talented, courageous, and inspiring people that I've come into contact with. I've already interviewed a few in recent episodes such as Sara Garcia, and Aline Moerbeke, and I'm pleased to add another local badass to that list in today's conversation. For frequent listeners of this show, you'll remember that I've been through the trainings from the Savory Institute and have integrated Holistic Management as a core practice both in the development of my own farm, and the support and services that I offer to clients. I've also been working to connect with the larger holistic management network in Spain. There are now two Savory Hubs on the Peninsula. There's AleJab who operate mostly in the southwest and Portugal, and two years ago, Hub del Norte opened up based at Curly Creek Ranch in Navarra, the home base and farm of its founder Meghan Sapp. Meghan is the co-Hub leader for the Savory Network and an accredited Field Professional serving the northern Iberian Peninsula. She has practiced holistic management, together with her husband Iñigo, for more than six years on their farm, which recently became EOV verified. Meghan is also a founding farmer of the European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture, a former negotiator for the UN Committee on Food Security and is part of many local farming and food sovereignty organizations. Meghan has spent more than 2 decades dedicated to the energy and food systems transition as a journalist, policy advocate, entrepreneur, community organizer and project developer as well. For this episode, I had the rare pleasure of hosting Meghan at my own farm, even though we're in the middle of construction and the place is a disaster. She was passing through in between training events in my area of Catalunya, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to show her what my partner Alba and I are working on. In this fun and literal fireside chat, Meghan tells her unique story about her journey from running multiple newspapers in California, all the way to farming in the Basque region of northern Spain and teaching holistic land management. We talk about the broad uses and case studies of holistic planning and decision making beyond livestock and farming, the journey of starting Hub del Norte and the work they've been doing in the region, the challenges of lobbying for regenerative farm policy at the European Union level, and generally getting an insight into the life and work of someone dedicated to creating a transformation of the agrifood system.

Today we'll be continuing with the second part of my discussion with Anne Van Leeuwen from Bodemzicht in the Netherlands. In case you missed the first part, I recommend going back for some context where Anne spoke about how she and her partner Ricardo got started in Farming and the evolution of their farm at the original location. In this second half we'll pick up where Anne begins to talk about their new farm, how they found it, and the vision they have for it's development. We also talk about the things that they are planning to do differently from the startup of the first farm given the unusual opportunity to start, relatively, from scratch.  We explore complementary farm enterprises to ensure regular cash flow, navigating the complexities of human relationships within a multistakeholder business, and by the end we also go over her membership and participation with the European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture, or EARA, a new lobbying organization working to shape regenerative ag policy at the European Union level. 

Today's conversation is the first of a two part conversation with Anne Va Leeuwen from Bodemzicht in the Netherlands that I've been looking forward to for quite a few years. Anne and her husband Ricardo and I met for the first time at the first Climate Farmers conference in Germany 3 years ago. By then they were already building a reputation in the Dutch regen ag scene as leaders and innovators. Since then they've continued to take a leading role in bringing visibility to regenerative farming, the challenges that farmers face, and advocate for the creation of a regenerative agrifood system in the Netherlands and beyond. At the core of their advocacy has been the inspiring example of their own farm which not only produces high quality produce and animal products for locals, but has served as a hub for training, presentations and community gatherings since it began. I organized this interview with Anne as she and their organization have just completed a move to a new farm location. Their tenure at their original site was up and we had been in communication throughout their process of looking for new land and all of the planning, preparation, and logistics involved with moving their operation to a new place. Now that they're getting settled, I was excited to have Anne share her learnings and experience from the process on this show. Beyond the moving experience, Anne and I also cover a lot of other topics which range from the learnings they've gathered in the previous years both in pioneering their innovative farm model, regenerating their environment through conscious cultivation and care, navigating the challenges in the current farming system in the Netherlands, new cooperative farming models, lobbying for European Agriculture policy reform, and much more.

A couple weeks ago I was invited to speak on a panel discussion about soil health for the release of a new issue of REVOLVE magazine.  Established in 2010, REVOLVE inspires climate action by keeping you informed about the circular economy, ecosystem restoration, the energy transition, sustainable mobility and water resources.  Their latest episode focuses on the importance of soil and how to restore the health and function of soil through the perspective of researchers and practitioners. Along with Teresa Gimeno a forestry researcher with the Centro de Investigación de Ecologia y Aplicaciones Forestales or CREAF here in Catalunya, and Carlos Ortiz who works with the department of climate action at the Generalitat de Catalunya where he leads the office of fertilizers and manure treatment, were interviewed by Marta Castillo who is a journalist and communications officer with REVOLVE media. I'll leave it there since Marta gives a great introduction to the panel and each of us as speakers right at the beginning. 

Continuing on the theme of last week's episode in which I spoke with Jessica Robertson about community food forests, we're going to go deeper into the practical knowledge and skills that anyone can develop to create their own plant nursery, propagate their favorite varieties, and get their own garden or food forest established quickly and cheaply.  Joining me for this dive into DIY plant breeding and propagation is David Goodman, better known to his fans as David the Good. David is a gardening author and teacher, focusing on simple methods to grow the most food for the least amount of work. His blog can be found at thesurvivalgardener.com, and he is on YouTube as @davidthegood. In this discussion we'll take a look at what concepts and realizations helped David to find success in his early gardening and growing endeavors which he uses to this day. David is a big proponent of setting up your own plant nursery and we go into his advice for getting one set up cheaply so you can save money from the garden centers and maybe even make money with it as a side hustle. We also explore the process of selecting varieties and species that thrive in your area and conditions, and the importance of building community through your planting and breeding efforts.  I myself am in the process of setting up my own nursery and agroforestry system and I can vouch for the importance of starting your own plants, not only to save money, but to learn a valuable skill and potentially even increase the quality of plants you have access to.

With the growth in popularity around permaculture and food forests, even people without access to their own land are looking into opportunities to come together and create beautiful edible landscapes that everyone can access on public land. Enter community orchards or food forests. These are increasingly being grown on abandoned lots, local parks, or forgotten strips of land that caring neighbors take interest in and decide to grow perennial food and medicine crops on. Yet as the number of people involved grows, and the need to conform to regulations and permit processes, many people can get lost in the complexities during the attempt.  To help me better understand these challenges and opportunities, I reached out to Jessica Robertson in Canada who has helped design and install a number of community food forests and helped to illuminate the process from her experience.  Jessica is the Owner, Designer, and Head Grunt at Wild Craft Permaculture and a Lead Designer at United Designers International. Jessica has designed holistic permaculture systems for spaces from 200 sq. ft. to 200-acres and works on residential, commercial, and public projects. She is often involved in the implementation of these designs and loves sharing her knowledge with clients as they work alongside each other. She brings a background in biology, education, silviculture and urban planning to her work. In this episode, Jessica shares insights from decades of experience in the permaculture world, showing how people from all walks of life can reconnect with the earth in deeper and more active ways. We'll also work carefully through the process of designing, setting up, and keeping up with community food forests, including things people often forget about and realistic expectations for maintenance. And to top it off, we'll give you some easy steps to create your own successful community food forest right in your own neighborhood.

So much of what inspires me and that I hope to highlight on this show comes from an ever growing awareness of the incredible superpowers that humans have that emerge from our relationship with the natural world around us. Our senses coupled with adaptability, the skill of collaboration and the inventiveness of our creativity have allowed humans to find a niche in almost every major biome on this planet. Whether it's forming a symbiotic relationship with the semi-wild reindeer of the arctic circle, or coastal people of the tropics evolving superior vision underwater, or our ability to communicate with wild species to understand imminent dangers or changes in the weather, or polynesian sailors being able to navigate through open ocean by sensing the patterns in the waves. Everywhere that humans have made their home, they've developed unique ways of understanding, adapting to, and developing deep relationships with the forms of life around them.  One of the most outstanding of our collective abilities is being able to manipulate the genes and evolution of the species around us. We've done this with animal and plant domestication, breeding, and propagation, and more recently, with advanced technological tools. In past episodes I've explored the topic of landrace gardening, low tech plant breeding, and adaptation to your place and context. This is an idea that has captivated me in the last couple years and is informing a major part of the development of my own farm.  Today I want to step out of the details of landrace plant breeding to try and understand the broader potential of what partnering with the evolutionary trajectory of selected species in our sphere of influence could look like and the mind bending possibilities that hide in that way of interacting with the environment around us.  Here to explore this concept and give ideas based on his own experiences is Shane Simionsen. Shane is a long-time contributor to this podcast so I'll keep his introduction short and recommend you go back to some previous episodes to hear more of his back story and work, but briefly, Shane is an Australian experimental farmer developing zero input agricultural systems and writing biological science fiction.  In this conversation, we'll be taking a look at what Shane sees as the essential moment in our developmental journey as a species to make use of the temporary ease and convenience of global trade to do the hard work of accelerating our close partnerships with the plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi around us. We take a look at how people from the dawn of our evolution have been doing this and how modern technology can play a role in bringing these cooperative relationships to new heights.  We also go into the steps and actions that anyone can take to help create climate adapted food crops and maybe even tackle the next novel domestication project. Shane gives great examples of how he's running his own tests and experiments on his farm in Queensland, AU and shares his learnings, failures and successes to help set expectations for what a landrace or breeding project entails.  His new book “Taming the Apocalypse” is now available in digital and audiobook formats through subscription to his blog on Substack