PlantVentures is an in-depth storytelling project rooted in regeneration. Through our video series, we explore real-world examples of botany, horticulture, permaculture, native plant stewardship, and ecological education ~ illuminating how people are healing land and cultivating meaningful relationships with place.
From local farms to forest gardens, teachers to changemakers, PlantVentures highlights individuals, communities and projects that are restoring ecological balance and inspiring others at the same time.
Allow me introduce you to our Vision
The goal is to showcase stories like these. Within PlantVentures, we aim to document the full progression of regenerative transformation, from empty plots and compacted soil to thriving, biodiverse ecosystems. These stories are not just about plants growing, they're about people imagining new possibilities in the ways of food systems and bringing them to life, step by step.
In future episodes, we’ll be capturing these journeys across gardens, farms, forests, and communities, highlighting the real work, the quiet patience, and the creative brilliance it takes to co-create with nature. Our mission is to uplift these vibrant examples so others can learn, dream, and dig into the journey. Let this be the first chapter in a long, inspiring series of Earth-rooted examples of transformation.
From Sprouts to Canopy: The Rise of a Lush Food Forest
What started as a modest patch of soil grew into a towering ecosystem of sunflowers, lemon cucumbers, red callaloo amaranth, eggplants, and peppers, all thriving in harmony. This transformation captures the early stages of planting and the incredible growth just months later, showcasing how layered polycultures can regenerate land, feed people, and inspire awe.
10+ Feet of Abundance: How a Blank Canvas of Grass Became a Food Forest Garden
A once-bare patch of grass evolved into a vibrant food forest, bursting with color and delicious plants. Featuring mammoth sunflowers stretching skyward, sprawling lemon cucumbers, and summer squash, this example of a story is a living testament to what happens when permacultural creativity, soil health, plant diversity, water, sunshine and perfect timing come together in a beautiful synergy.
What started as a modest lawn, ended up growing into a towering ecosystem, all thriving in harmony. This transformation captures the early stages of development and the incredible transformation just months later, showcasing how multilayered polycultures can regenerate space, feed people, and inspire change.
Built without synthetic inputs, the garden relied on compost, deep mulching, and careful plant pairing to cultivate resilience. Tall sunflowers provided a living trellis and windbreak for tender crops, while sprawling cucurbits covered the soil while also climbing up the mammoth sunflowers, reducing evaporation and suppressing weeds and adding a vertical food production system at the same time. The result was not just a productive space, but a demonstration of ecological cooperation: where each species contributed to the system’s overall health. This small-scale but high-impact project served as an experimental site for observing how quickly abundance can emerge when plants are given the right support. Companion planting, succession timing, and passive watering strategies created a system that required minimal intervention as it matured. The towering growth, reaching up to 12 feet in some places, demonstrated the power of regenerative design even on the most humble flat lawn area.
This is our Mission
We’re actively seeking voices from the field. If you're a land steward, educator, farmer, permaculture designer, botanist, or naturalist of any kind with a story to tell, we want to hear from you. Let’s amplify regenerative work and inspire connection to the Earth and all the beautiful creatures that live here.
Who We're Looking For
• Teachers & educators
• Gardeners, farmers & growers
• Permaculture and landscape designers
• Botanists & ecologists
• Native plant stewards
• Landowners & property managers
• Students & community groups
→ Apply to Be Featured: symbiolumina@gmail.com
Cultivated with Reciprocity
At the core of PlantVentures is a belief in reciprocal relationships, with land, people, and place. We approach each story with respect, curiosity, and care, centering the voices doing the work on the ground.
We honor traditional ecological knowledge, grassroots movements, and experimental approaches alike, recognizing that regenerative action comes in many styles, shapes and sizes.
