Regenerative Skills

Investing in regeneration: how to rethink your wealth

On this show I’ve often taken a strong focus on the actions that we can all take to restore ecosystem function and productivity, whether it be planting trees in an agroforestry system, repairing the hydrology of a landscape, or building our homes with natural materials. I’ve centered around these topics because frankly, they’re the ones I have most experience with and can speak about with some confidence, but there are also many other angles on regeneration that are equally important. 
Many of you will agree with me that, as essential as it is to get out there and work in nature directly, planting trees is only useful if there isn’t someone right behind you coming to chop them down. Worrying about how ethically your food is sourced doesn’t do much good when we waste a third of it. Oftentimes the harm of the industries and actions that we inadvertently support more than undo the positive steps we fight to take. 
That brings me to the focus of today’s episode which is on Regenerative investing, and the compelling story of Marco Vangelisti, the founding member Slow Money, a nonprofit that is centered around no-harm investing. 
We’ve long been told that we as consumers vote with our money. The decisions we make about what to buy is equivalent to what we support and what we want to see more of, but most of our daily shopping is a drop in the bucket compared to the amounts of money being invested in speculative markets and commodity trading. This is the money that often determines the expansion of industries and new operations. It’s the banking and investing sectors that are funding the destruction of our planet, but I’ll let Marco tell you how and when this all connected for him. 
Get the resource packet for this episode!
Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community
Links:
https://ek4t.com/
https://ek4t.com/tanhi21Q2/
https://slowmoney.org/
https://ek4t.com/how-do-we-deal-with-climate-change-by-restoring-the-hydrological-cycle/
https://ek4t.com/greta-and-sallie/

Exploring Regenerative Fashion: Expert panel 3

Welcome to the third of the monthly expert panel discussions. As I mentioned before, each month I’ll be hosting discussions and debates between some of the most prominent voices in regenerative agriculture, soil science, restoration land management and more. If you’re a subscribing patreon member, you’ll also be invited to the live events and the open Q&A for listeners after the panel.
In this session, I hosted a discussion on regenerative fashion with my friends and colleagues at Climate Farmers, a non-profit organization working to advance regenerative agriculture in Europe.Since these discussions are longer than the regular weekly episodes, I’ll keep the introduction short and jump right into the introductions for our three panelists.
Rebecca Burgess is the executive director of Fibershed, chair of the board for Carbon Cycle Institute, and the author of both Fibershed and Harvesting Color. She is a vocationally trained weaver and natural dyer. Burgess has built an extensive network of farmers and artisans in the Northern California Fibershed to pilot an innovative fiber systems model at the community scale.
Aroa Alvarez Fernandez is a sustainability entrepreneur who is one of the founders at Trace Collective & Trace Planet, an activist fashion brand and community organisation on a mission to make the fashion industry a driver of environmental regeneration, and to help communities reconnect with the products that they buy.
Real quickly before we get to the panel, we had some technical difficulties when recording and lost the first minute of the call, so we jump into Rebecca’s answer a bit abruptly, but the question I asked in the lead up is, What does a global regenerative fashion industry look like in terms of fiber and material production? She started by stressing the need to take care of this at a local in order to better inform a global scale.
Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community
Links:
https://fibershed.org
https://www.thetracecollective.com/

Step 1 in building your permaculture property: With Verge permaculture

Let's take a look at the 1st step in the process of creating a design for building your permaculture property.
In working in regenerative design for a while and being connected with many other people who make their living this way, myself and a lot of others have begun to identify patterns in the questions and troubles that people reach out to us consultants and designers for. I haven't been in this line of work though nearly as long as the team at Verge Permaculture and so it felt really good to hear that many of the commonalities that they’ve seen from clients and students mirror my own experience. The truth is that permaculture is a very broad design philosophy that can feel overwhelming even with years of experience, especially at the beginning of a project when you’re still gathering information about your ecology and context and when you see so much potential in front of you. For this reason it can be extremely helpful to have a guide that outlines a process that can illuminate and simplify the options available to you and cut through the overwhelm. 
Throughout this season I’ll be teaming up with the members of Verge Permaculture to show you the process that they’ve outlined in their new book, Building your Permaculture Property. 
In five clear steps, their process can guide you through the minefield of choices and pitfalls while designing your project and then implementing the design. 
Step 0 inspect your paradigm
Step 1 Clarify your vision, values, and resources
Step 2 Diagnose your resources for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
Step 3 Design your resources to meet your vision and values
Step 4 Implement the Right Design That Will Most Improve Your Weakest Resource
Step 5 Monitor Your Resources for Indicators of Well-being or Suffering
In today’s episode I’ll be speaking with Takota Coen of Coen Farm in Alberta Canada about Step 0 and Step 1 to start you on the process of design and implementation. 
For those of you who want to get ahead of the game and learn from more than 15 of the biggest names in Permaculture on how to transform your property, the authors Takota, Rob, and Michelle will be hosting their online summit for the release of the book from April 23-25th. The summit is completely free and you can register at mypermacultureproperty.com
So let’s get started at the beginning. Takota began our discussion by explaining the 5 common problems that he and the team at Verge repeatedly hear about which lead to the 5 step process in the book.
Get the resource packet for this episode!
Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community
Links:
https://vergepermaculture.ca/building-your-permaculture-property-summit
https://vergepermaculture.ca/
https://www.coenfarm.ca/
Want to learn more about permaculture and regenerative design? Check out these previous episodes:
https://regenerativeskills.com/abundantedge-daniel-halsey/
https://regenerativeskills.com/https-www-abundantedge-com-abundantedge-daniel-christian-wahl/
https://regenerativeskills.com/abundantedge-nelson-lebo/

The history and future of agroforestry

With regenerative agriculture and agroforestry increasingly becoming popular topics in environmental and even political circles. I wanted to do a one-on-one session with one of my favorite speakers in this sphere, Patrick Worms. 
Many of you frequent listeners will remember him from the panel discussion on agroforestry two weeks ago that I hosted with Climate Farmers.
I got to know Patrick’s work and perspective more intimately as part of the online course on ecosystem restoration design that we both teach on.
Patrick is the Senior Science Policy Advisor at World Agroforestry, President of the European Agroforestry Federation, and trustee of the International Union of Agroforestry, he’s also a valued member of the advisory council with the Ecosystem Restoration Camps.
In the courses and conversations I’ve seen with him, I’ve always been struck by the stories and compassionate understanding of the people that Patrick has met in his work and travels.
In order to make some of these stories and insights available to you listeners, I let go of the usual focus just on actionable information to let this chat take its own course.
Though we still cover a lot of practical advice in this talk, what I often take away from listening to Patrick is a renewed reverence for the individual people who are working to manage their lands and produce food around the world.
It’s easy to think of agriculture and the food industry as these monoliths without faces, but the lives of the people who make up these systems, from those to tend the land all the way through the logistics, distribution, transportation, all the way to our kitchens are important to remember ad pay attention too as well. 
To get us started off with some background though, Patrick shed some light on the history of agroforestry and it’s deep traditions in Europe specifically.
Get the resource packet for this episode!
Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community
Links:
https://www.worldagroforestry.org/
https://www.cgiar.org/
https://euraf.isa.utl.pt/welcome
https://www.iufro.org/
https://www.evergreening.org/
https://ejpsoil.eu/
https://www.renature.co/
Check out these other episodes on agroforestry!
https://regenerativeskills.com/the-potential-of-agroforestry-expert-panel-2/
https://regenerativeskills.com/alfonzo-chico-de-guzman/
https://regenerativeskills.com/how-to-start-a-profitable-elderberry-farm/
Don't forget to check out

How to plan and succeed with your own reforestation project

Since last week’s episode was an expert panel discussion on agroforestry, I wanted to expand on that theme and help to bring some practical and actionable information on how to plan your own reforestation project. I reached out to Michael Pilarski first since I’m helping to organize and launch the knowledge exchange platform for Ecosystem Restoration Camps, and as an advisory council member, Michael has a ton of experience and knowledge on this subject. In today’s episode we’ll cover the most important steps in designing and implementing a reforestation project, whether it’s for a conservation project, or a profitable agroforestry enterprise. 
So let’s dive right in with Michael’s calculations on the feasibility of doubling the world’s forest cover within our lifetimes.
Get the resource packet for this episode!
Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community
Links:
https://friendsofthetrees.net/
https://globalearthrepairfoundation.org/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNPSTkjWIrl7FD31xbJ5STg
https://www.ecosia.org/
https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/news/cocoon-tree-growing-counters-desertification-mediterranean
Check out these other episodes on reforestation!
https://regenerativeskills.com/alfonzo-chico-de-guzman/
https://regenerativeskills.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-state-of-the-worlds-forests/
https://regenerativeskills.com/11-inspiring-examples-to-give-you-hope-that-the-worlds-forests-can-be-regenerated/
https://regenerativeskills.com/how-to-grow-a-healthy-native-forest-in-record-time-with-afforestt-founder-shubhendu-sharma-146/

The potential of agroforestry: Expert panel 2

Welcome to the second of the monthly expert panel discussions. As I mentioned last time, each month I’ll be hosting discussions and debates between some of the most prominent voices in regenerative agriculture, soil science, restoration land management and more. If you’re a subscribing patreon member, you’ll also be invited to the live events and the open Q&A for listeners after the panel. 
In this session, I hosted a discussion on agroforestry from three distinct perspectives with my friends and colleagues at Climate Farmers, a non-profit organization working to advance regenerative agriculture in Europe. Since these discussions are longer than the regular weekly episodes, I’ll keep the introduction short and jump right into the introductions for our three panelists
Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community
Links:
https://www.ecosia-regenerative-agriculture.com/
https://new.worldagroforestry.org/
https://einhorn.my/einhorn-condoms/

How to Make biochar enriched compost for epic veggies

It's time we take a look at How To Make Biochar Enriched Compost For Epic Veggies.
A lot of what I spend my time on these days, between working with Ecosystem Restoration Camps, Climate Farmers, and running this show, is researching techniques and solutions for people who are working to regenerate damaged landscapes, either for generally healthier environments or for rich and abundant farmland.
Since a lot of both of these goals revolve around the health of the soil as a foundation for mycorrhizal and plant life, I continually come back to the power and potential of pyrolyzed carbon, more commonly known as biochar.
There are tons of examples of people making this remarkably simple product all around the world and using it to restore health to poor and degraded soils, but since I’ve been here in northeastern Spain for a while now, I wanted to hear from someone nearby whose worked biochar into a profitable and ecological business.
Meet Christer Söderberg, the gentleman behind Circle Carbon Labs on the island of Mallorca.
Get the resource packet for this episode!
Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community
Links:
https://circlecarbon.com/
https://www.permachar.net/kon-tiki-biochar-kiln/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy9k0_sX1xU

How to start a profitable Elderberry farm

How To Start A Profitable Elderberry Farm. Since I first arrived in the northeast of Spain a year and a half ago, I’ve been obsessed with getting to know the native plants in my area. I’ve been blown away by just how many edible and medicinal plants are all around me and growing in the most unlikely places, from cracks in the concrete and the edges of parking lots to erosion gullies and whole forests of rosemary and thyme. I’m sure anyone who has studied plant medicines knows that some of the most resilient and persistent pioneer plants that conventional gardeners are always at war with also happen to be some of the most potent medicines and nutritious foods. 
One in particular that I found growing in some really harsh conditions was elderberry. When I first arrived in August a lot of the bushes were transitioning from flower to fruit and I took the opportunity to harvest some, not really knowing how I was going to process it. 
Luckily I found some help from books and friends in my network who had more experience and ended up making enough elderberry syrup to last me until know and all of the pandemic paranoia self medicating at the first sign of a stuffy nose that came in between. 
For that reason I was thrilled to see an old buddy of mine from Minnesota, Pete Widin, start putting out content about elderberry as a profitable business venture. 
Many of you might remember Pete from previous season of the Abundant Edge podcast where he came on to talk about attracting clients to your permaculture business and unlocking your potential in regenerative business, and while he still works a lot in permaculture landscape design and business consultation, I invited him back this time to share his knowledge about Elderberry as a profitable and resilient agroforestry business with some really incredible potential. 
Get the resource packet for this episode!
Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community
Links:
https://www.instagram.com/petewidin/
https://www.artisanenvironments.com/
Hear more from Pete Widin:
https://regenerativeskills.com/abundantedge-pete-widin/
https://regenerativeskills.com/abundantedge-the-key-to-client-attraction-for-your-permaculture-design-business-with-pete-widin-of-artisan-environments-llc/

How to build a One Rock Dam to regenerate an erosion area

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.
Get the resource packet for this episode!
Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community
Links:
https://streamdynamics.us/ https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/let-the-water-do-the-work/ 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX8rPv-YKIc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_9PXRcduGo
For more episodes about watershed regeneration, check these out
https://regenerativeskills.com/galen-fulford/
https://regenerativeskills.com/brad-lancaster/
https://regenerativeskills.com/mark-shepard/
https://regenerativeskills.com/zach-weiss/

The Future of Regenerative Agriculture, expert panel 1

Welcome to the first edition of our monthly expert panels. This first edition starts off strong by addressing one of the most talked about issues of our time; understanding the future of regenerative agriculture.
For this panel I teamed up with my friends and collaborators at Climate Farmers. Together we're working to advance regenerative agriculture in Europe. For this panel we assembled and all-star list of some of the most prominent voices in the movement today.
Benedikt Bösel joining us from Germany, is the managing director of Gut&Bösel, board member of Soil Alliance, Chairman of the AgTech platform Bundesverband Deutsche Startups e.V.Richard Perkins, joining us from Sweden, is the co-owner and director of Ridgedale Permaculture and leading expert and educator on small scale regenerative agriculturePatrick Worms, joining us from Belgium, is the Senior Science Policy Advisor at World Agroforestry, President of the European Agroforestry Federation, and trustee of the International Union of Agroforestry
Today we’ll be exploring the potential of regenerative agriculture. Not only to address and reverse many of the environmental problems we face around the world, but also revive local economies, improve our health, and reconnect us to the ecologies that we depend on as our natural roles as stewards of the land.
We’ll also look into some of the important actions we must take to shift the farming industry as well as identify hurdles that must be overcome. Lastly we'll dive into how all of us listening can take part in this transition to a regenerative farming future.
Don't forget that these podcasts are just the beginning. The discussion continues on our dedicated Discord server.
Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community
Links:
https://www.ridgedalepermaculture.com/#
https://www.gutundboesel.org/
https://worldagroforestry.org/
If you enjoyed this — or any! — episode of the Regenerative Skills podcast, please leave a review of the show! Reviews help boost the show in rankings, which makes it more visible… and that means more listeners! It’s a great way to spread the word about Regenerative Skills!