Brandon Hebor

Brandon is an internationally recognized agri-preneur having worked with clients and students around the world to support local food systems. He started his journey into the world of agri-food by bringing the farm to the city - in the form of Canada's first Urban Farming Unit, a modular, indoor farm using fish to fuel soilless plant growth. As a long time advocate for soil health, Brandon now operates a small-scale regenerative market farm in King City, where hundreds of visitors have come to experience his 'living laboratory' that represents the inauguration of Just an Acre. 

As a member of York Region's AgriFood Advisory Committee, he has advocated for new food policies that support new and small scale farmers as well as increased educational pathways for youth to understand careers and opportunities in AgriFood. Brandon is leading the Just an Acre program with a focus on regenerating our soils, radically increasing farm productivity and revitalizing the connection and knowledge of local foods across Canada.  
 

Colleen Dempster

Colleen Dempster, M.Sc., B.Sc., is the owner and founder of Rewild Ecosystem Services (RES). She is trained under Dr. Elaine Ingham and operates one of the longest-certified Soil Foodweb Laboratories in Canada. Colleen takes a holistic approach to ecosystem restoration, with a focus on soil microbiology and chemical/physical properties of soil. 

Rewild Ecosystem Services specializes in producing compost, compost teas and extracts, that contain a complete soil food web in high abundance. By applying these products to soil, we can restore the native microbes and the functions they served: decomposition, soil-building, toxin-decomposing, Nitrogen sequestration, Phosphorus solubilization, plant hormone signaling, carbon storage, and increased water retention in soil, to name a few. Rewilding soils with microbes is a key to restoring the soil ecosystem and the services it provides.

Spencer Zehr

Spencer Zehr is the co-founder of NaturAll Solutions Inc., a company he started alongside his wife with a shared vision of making a positive, lasting impact on the world. Growing up on a farm that aimed to reduce chemical intervention, Spencer learned early on the importance of working alongside nature to achieve the best results. This foundational experience sparked his lifelong passion for sustainable farming practices.
As an advocate for regenerative agriculture, Spencer is deeply concerned about the depletion of our most vital resource—soil. To expand his knowledge, Spencer traveled to Australia to learn from renowned regenerative farming expert Graeme Sait, gaining valuable insights and techniques for successful soil regeneration. Through NaturAll, Spencer now works alongside growers to help them navigate and overcome the challenges of regenerating soil health, restoring ecosystems, and promoting long-term environmental sustainability. His mission is to empower individuals and communities to make a meaningful difference by fostering healthier, more resilient ecosystems for future generations.