What Is the LSS ?
The LSS is not just a typical symposium.
With a multistakeholder approach, we combine quality, forward-thinking content in a high-energy collaborative setting that will leave you wanting to take the next step.
Mtl 2019
With a multistakeholder approach, we combine quality, forward-thinking content in a high-energy collaborative setting that will leave you wanting to take the next step.
The LSS is for change makers who are looking to heal the planet and feed the world.
Farmers, engaged citizens, scientists, story tellers, entrepreneurs and decision makers gather to bring their diverse perspectives to the table with a shared objective: regenerating our soils for the future of life on Earth.
Soil regeneration is the least known, most promising solution to climate change.
Regenerating the health of our soils also helps address numerous other environmental and social justice issues, such as food security, water pollution and scarcity, biodiversity loss, desertification, public health and safety.
Most agricultural soils have lost
50 to 70%of their original soil organic carbon pool.
More than
40%of the global population is affected by water scarcity
Land degradation is largely contributing to mass migration:
135 millionpeople are predicted to be displaced by 2045 as a result of desertification.
Since its beginnings, agriculture has caused the loss of
133 gigatonsof soil carbon, which has largely been emitted to the atmosphere as CO2, therefore contributing to climate change.
of productive land becomes barren every year due to desertification and drought, an area roughly the size of England.
Living soils have the potential to store
Billions of tons of carboneach year, allowing to mitigate climate change, to combat desertification and water scarcity and to increase agricultural productivity.
We facilitate collaborative and stimulating opportunities for participants to learn about the science, practices and community surrounding the most innovative solutions related to soil regeneration. The LSS is not only about learning from inspiring speakers, but also from one another.
We’ve created fertile conditions where participants from across sectors will connect through one on one meaningful conversations, engaging group discussions, and fun networking opportunities leading to fruitful collaborations.
We’ve curated a very unique gathering, where inspiration leads to collective action, and where participants discover their role within the soil regeneration movement. Guests leave the LSS ready to take the next step.
We’ve curated a rich, informational and interactive program with forward-thinking experts bringing diverse perspectives on soil regeneration.
Situated in the beautiful Old Port of Montreal, Marché Bonsecours was home to the city’s main market for over 100 years and is considered one of Canada's ten finest heritage buildings. Its spacious rooms and stone walls offer an inspirational setting for meaningful exchanges.
Guests love exchanging with speakers and other participants around one of our “campfires” to have more intimate, in-depth conversations.
Because art inspires, expands perceptions and offers a universal language, the LSS will mesh together visual art exhibitions and music.
We’ve carefully planned longer lunches and fun networking cocktails to give guests the opportunity to mingle and connect with others, while enjoying delicious, 70% local and organic food and beverages.
Gabrielle’s life mission is to promote regenerative land management as a way to mitigate climate change and foster healthy food systems. This passion arose while obtaining her Master’s degree in Sustainability and Environmental Management at Harvard University, completed in 2016, where she realized that soil regeneration presents the greatest opportunity to simultaneously alleviate the food, climate, water and biodiversity crises.
Interested in diving in deeper in the practical aspects of permaculture, Gabrielle did an apprenticeship on Ben Falk’s Whole Systems Design farm in Vermont in 2015 and focused her Master’s thesis on the economic viability of permaculture-inspired farms in Quebec.
Prior to her graduate studies, she obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing at HEC Montréal and gathered years of work experience in communications, project management and event planning.
Gabrielle led the team that launched the Living Soils Symposium Montreal in 2017 and founded Regeneration Canada.
Antonious Petro is a biologist and a certified permaculture designer whose vision of an ideal society would be a symbiotic collaboration of permaculture principles, circular economy and social justice. He has a Bachelor's degree in Biology From Minia University, Egypt and a graduate degree in Community Economic Development from Concordia University. He is passionate about soil regeneration, social innovation and bike mechanics. Since his arrival in Montreal in 2013, he has gathered a vast experience in project coordination in sustainability, food security, business development and ecological land management. At Regeneration Canada, Antonious coordinates the soil education program and is the administrative assistant.
Sarah is a trained lawyer and holds Bachelor degrees in both International Studies and in Law. For several years, she practiced as a lawyer representing victims of workplace harassment. When she realized the urgency of the state of our planet, she knew she had to work towards finding solutions to combat climate change. Sarah is passionate about cooking and sustainable food systems. She loves learning about regenerative agricultural practices that are healthier for our food and our planet. She has done many workshops on foraging, has volunteered on farms, and loves to go camping and to cook in the outdoors. At Regeneration Canada, Sarah is in charge of managing the community of members, creating partnerships and expanding our network of leaders in the soil regeneration sector.
Ananda Lynn Fitzsimmons is an out-of-the-box thinker, visionary and environmentalist, with a passion for soil and growing food. She has had lifelong interest in sustainable food production and land management as well as social change and personal empowerment. She spent many years experimenting with microbial potions based on naturally occurring microbes extracted from plants, composts and soil. In 2008, she teamed up with Dr. Margaret Bywater Ekegard and they founded Inocucor Technologies. The company, now called Concentric, commercializes products for agriculture based on consortia of naturally occurring beneficial microorganisms. She now works as a consultant promoting soil health and regenerative land management practices.