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@evawilliss

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From the compost pile to the microscope. 🔬🌱

Regenerating soil requires more than returning organic matter to the system. We need to understand the biological processes responsible for breaking it down, cycling nutrients and supporting plant growth.

Building on our ongoing soil research, Niels uses microscopy to examine bacteria, fungi, protozoa and other microorganisms in our soil, compost and biological inputs. By evaluating these microbial communities, we can better understand decomposition processes, identify opportunities to improve our compost production and monitor the biological conditions within our agroforestry systems.

This analysis helps connect what we observe in the field with the microorganisms working beneath the surface, informing how we manage our soil and develop the biological inputs we return to it.

And this is exactly the work you’ll participate in during our programs!

Alongside Niels, students help build compost piles, examine samples under the microscope and learn how biological observations inform practical decisions in regenerative agriculture.

Join us at Los Arboleros Farm and take part in the process.

#soilmicroscopy #soilhealth #regenerativeagriculture #composting #fieldbasedlearning

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Nestled in the coastal region of Manabí, Ecuador, Los Arboleros is our 75-acre farm and permanent field site for education, research, and regenerative land management exploration.

For the past nine years, we have been experimenting, exploring, and refining our approaches to regenerative agriculture, ecological restoration, and sustainable construction. Today, the farm hosts several of our university education programs and serves as the home base of our Farmer Field School, bringing together students, researchers, and local farmers in a shared learning environment.

Working in the same landscape year after year allows us to build on previous work, observe how systems evolve, and turn hands-on experimentation into lasting knowledge and impact.

#LosArboleros #AppliedResearch #RegenerativeAgriculture #EcologicalRestoration #FieldEducation

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Recap of our program with Cal Poly Slo and UC Davis students 06.26

If receiving deep introductions into the skills our world needs to meet the demands our industries and ecosystems are asking of us to create more resilient systems, join us this evening at 5pm Central!!

Use the link in our bio to learn more about our Los Arboleros and Tena programs

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At Los Arboleros Farm in Manabí, Ecuador, our agroforestry systems have been shaped by a continuous effort to plant, prune, maintain, and observe what is happening within them.

Over the past eight years, our continuous experimentation and refinement have advanced our understanding of designing and developing these systems and enabled us to share improved practices with our communities.

That continuity is central to RFI’s education programs. When students join us, they enter ongoing projects and relationships with the people who care for these landscapes. Working alongside our field team and community partners, they contribute to regeneration that continues across seasons and cohorts. Each group builds on earlier work and helps lay the groundwork for those who follow.

Through this sustained work, we aim to strengthen the resilience of our communities and surrounding landscapes while preparing future leaders to contribute to the changes our world needs. Students develop practical skills, judgment and confidence by engaging with real challenges, seeing how decisions unfold over time, and learning to adapt.

#Agroforestry #RegenerativeAgriculture #FieldEducation #Manabi #regenerationfieldinstitute

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The way we grow, manage land, and build must change.

Agrifood systems and the built environment are among the world’s largest sources of emissions and resource use. Transforming them into regenerative, climate- and nature-positive systems is both an environmental challenge and a workforce opportunity.

The demand is moving faster than the workforce.

The need extends beyond traditional environmental roles. Organizations need people who can design agroforestry systems, restore landscapes, use GIS and field data, work with renewable materials, support resilient supply chains, and build regenerative ventures.

RFI helps students begin finding their place in this emerging bioeconomy.

Our programs are built around active RFI projects in regenerative agriculture, ecological restoration, bio-based construction, environmental monitoring, applied research, and enterprise development.

By contributing to that work, students build foundational skills, confidence, and direction while learning how connected regenerative solutions can strengthen ecosystems, local capability, and livelihoods.

#FieldEducation #BioBasedEconomy #BambooConstruction #Agroforestry #regenerationfieldinstitute

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From participant to promoter, mentor, and member of our Los Arboleros Farm team, Eziquiel’s journey is one we hope to replicate across Manabí.

Last year, our Farmer Field School supported 110 farmers across 95 plots and planted more than 25,000 trees. With our third consecutive Rotary Global Grant secured, we aim to make this our most impactful year yet—expanding regenerative agroforestry, connecting farmer networks, restoring ecosystem health, and building resilient livelihoods across the Manabí province.

Join us to help bring the third generation of the Farmer Field School to life!

Support the campaign through the link in our bio.

#farmerfieldschool #rotaryinternational #manabiecuador #youthinagriculture #syntripocagroforestry

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We’re looking for students who want to build something.

As an RFI Campus Representative, you’ll bring together an interdisciplinary group of students and lead them into an immersive education experience in Ecuador—working hands-on with regenerative agriculture, bamboo construction, ecological restoration, biodiversity, and the emerging bioeconomy.

But the work starts before you ever get on the plane.

You’ll build relationships across campus, connect students, faculty, and researchers with RFI, and help open doors for new programs, research, projects, and collaboration.

You’ll gain real experience in leadership, outreach, relationship-building, and project management—with direct support from our team.

And if you build a group of 11 students?

Your program in Ecuador + round-trip airfare are fully covered.

One representative can start an entire RFI community.

Maybe that’s you.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Apply through the link in our bio.

#RegenerationFieldInstitute #bioeconomy #ExperientialEducation #RegenerativeAgriculture #bambooinnovation

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gathering bones and other such keepsakes

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Four weeks into RFI’s fellowship, field observations and raw data are being turned into tools and deliverables for continued use beyond the cohort.

Our Wildlife, Ecology, and Conservation team has finalized its howler monkey monitoring and is developing protocols and biodiversity guides for future researchers.

The agroforestry fellows are completing a census of our syntropic systems and mapping the newly planted garden.

Our GIS fellow is building an interactive farm map that brings together topography, land use, agricultural systems to form the regenerative mosaic emerging across Los Arboleros.

The Farmer Field School team has secured a U.S. Rotary partner and is now developing the fundraising campaign for the 2027 program.

Student-audience research is strengthening our recruitment and professional-development messaging.

The MassBu team has fabricated 15 panels for testing and is creating investment, philanthropic, and design portfolios with collaborators around the world.

Our digital storytellers are documenting the people, processes, experiments, and everyday work behind it all.

As the final week begins, the fellows are transforming four weeks of interdisciplinary work into maps, guides, campaigns, prototypes, and public resources that will directly shape RFI’s next phase.

#RegenerationFieldInstitute #RFIFellowship #AppliedResearch #OrganizationalDevelopment #SocioEnvironmentalEntrepreneurship #RegenerativeAgriculture #SyntropicAgroforestry #WildlifeConservation #BiodiversityMonitoring #GISMapping #BambooInnovation #MassBu #DigitalStorytelling #FieldEducation #Ecuador

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Lake days with my dawgs 🌭

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These cabañas are taking form—built through a collaborative design-build with students from the University of Miami, the University of Oregon, University of Washington and University of Vermont, and carried forward by the steady hands of our team on the ground here in Ecuador. They mark a meaningful expansion of the institute, creating space for long-term staff, visiting researchers, professors, and collaborators, and reflecting the growing momentum of our programs. More than new structures, they represent the future of the community we are continuing to build here on the farm and our surround landscapes.

#regenerativedesign #designbuild #communitydriven #ecuadorprojects #agroforestrylife

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