How to repair the hydrological cycle of a landscape, with Nicole Masters, Zach Weiss, and Mark Shepard

12 snips

Sep 20, 2024

Guest

Mark Shepard

Nicole Masters, an educator in regenerative agriculture, joins Zach Weiss, a protégé of Sepp Holzer specializing in ecosystem restoration, and Mark Shepard, an expert in landscape hydrology. They delve into the critical role of restoring hydrological functions to combat climate change. Highlights include assessing drought impacts in various regions, innovative strategies for reviving healthy water cycles, and sustainable agricultural practices like agroforestry. The discussion also emphasizes the importance of soil health and community engagement in managing landscapes effectively.

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Intro

00:00 • 2min

Assessing Drought Impacts Across Regions

01:34 • 2min

Restoring Hydrological Cycles

03:12 • 15min

Revitalizing Landscapes: Sustainable Agricultural Practices

18:24 • 16min

Mitigating Salinization in Agriculture

34:37 • 7min

Mindset and Management in Landscape Intervention

42:07 • 2min

Understanding Soil Health and Water Management Techniques

43:59 • 2min

Restoring the Hydrological Cycle

45:32 • 9min

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.