In this season of the podcast, we’re asking: How Could We? Transform our food systems so they nourish people and regenerate our planetary systems.

Host Anne-Sophie Garrigou is joined this week by farmer Sheila Darmos from the southern Peloponnese in Greece. Sheila inherited one of Greece's first organic farms - The Southern Lights Farm - and completely reinvented it.

Anne-Sophie is also joined on this episode by Climate KIC’s Laurène Lebelt, who is working on HarvRESt, an EU-funded project testing ways to integrate renewable energy sources into farms.

In this episode, Sheila talks about why she returned to Greece after many years away, how her farm helps tackle ‘ecological and social desertification’ occurring across the Mediterranean, how her farm performs is also an educational site offering community living and why she was keen to create networks connecting regenerative farmers across Greece and Europe.

Laurène outlines what integrated landscape management means, how solar panels, wind turbines, or biogas systems can reshape farming landscapes, diversify farmer incomes, and connect food production with energy transition as well as the importance of bringing diverse stakeholders together, such as farmers, conservationists, energy developers, government and community members.

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This episode was presented and produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Anne-Sophie Garrigou⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and co-produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bárbara Mendes-Jorge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Climate KIC is Europe’s leading climate innovation agency and community. We are here to help create climate-resilient societies and fight the climate breakdown, building better futures for local communities, globally. Check out our website and follow us on LinkedIn.

You can also see how we are supporting farmers’ food futures, find out how to attend the 3rd European Carbon Farming Summit - taking place in Padua, Italy from 17-19 March 2026 - and check out our Green Horizons network dedicated to sustainable agriculture and knowledge exchange.

In this season of the podcast, we’re asking: How Could We? Transform our food systems so they nourish people and regenerate our planetary systems.

Host Anne-Sophie Garrigou is joined this week by Michelle Donnelly, a farmer from the Mulroy Meadow Farm in Donegal, Ireland. Michelle and her husband Cathal moved to Donegal in 2020 to pursue their dream of running a regenerative farm, which currently produces pasture-raised eggs, forest-raised traditional breed pork, and grass-fed beef. Mulroy Meadow Farm also offers farm tours and educational programmes.

Anne-Sophie is also joined on this episode by Stewart Gee, who works on Climate KIC’s Irish Deep Demonstration, a project that aims to help Ireland achieve a climate-neutral food system by 2050.

In this episode, Michelle talks about her journey from being a pharmacist to becoming a farmer, why regenerative agriculture is so important to her - especially from a health and community perspective - as well as the barriers and opportunities provided by regenerative agriculture.

Stewart discusses the enabling conditions and policies needed to scale up regenerative agriculture at the regional and national level in Ireland and what lessons learned in Ireland could inspire regenerative agriculture practices elsewhere.

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This episode was presented and produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Anne-Sophie Garrigou⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and co-produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bárbara Mendes-Jorge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Climate KIC is Europe’s leading climate innovation agency and community. We are here to help create climate-resilient societies and fight the climate breakdown, building better futures for local communities, globally. Check out our website and follow us on LinkedIn.

You can also see how we are supporting farmers’ food futures, find out how to attend the 3rd European Carbon Farming Summit - taking place in Padua, Italy from 17-19 March 2026 - and check out our Green Horizons network dedicated to sustainable agriculture and knowledge exchange.

Welcome to a new season of the podcast, where we’re asking: How Could We? Transform our food systems so they nourish people and regenerate our planetary systems.

In this food-focused season, we’re looking at a range of topics, including soil health, regenerative agriculture practices, integrated landscape management, the importance of justice and equity in this transition, enabling policies and the cultural dimension of food transformation. We’re meeing farmers, researchers, and innovators who are pioneering regenerative approaches, transforming how we eat and how we relate to our planet.

This week, host Anne-Sophie Garrigou interviews Saskia Keesstra, a soil expert from Climate KIC, who has spent years working at the intersection of soil science, farming practices, and climate policy.

Saskia discusses how healthy soil does much more than grow our food, why it is one of our most powerful allies in the fight against climate change and hear about how farmers in our network are pioneering soil regeneration practices that could transform farming and our food system.

—

This episode was presented and produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Anne-Sophie Garrigou⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and co-produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bárbara Mendes-Jorge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Climate KIC is Europe’s leading climate innovation agency and community. We are here to help create climate-resilient societies and fight the climate breakdown, building better futures for local communities, globally. Check out our website and follow us on LinkedIn.

You can also see how we are supporting farmers’ food futures, find out how to attend the 3rd European Carbon Farming Summit - taking place in Padua, Italy from 17-19 March 2026 - and check out our Green Horizons network dedicated to sustainable agriculture and knowledge exchange.