The Cultivo Podcast

People and planet - The symbiotic link in landscape regeneration, with Social Impact and Policy Manager Tamara Moctezuma

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 08:00:00 -0700

When it comes to landscape regeneration, there's often a critical relationship between local communities and the environment.

On the latest episode of The Cultivo Podcast, Sean speaks with Social Impact and Policy Manager Tamara Moctezuma about designing inclusive approaches to restoring resilient landscapes; and the intersection of policy, social impact, and ecosystem regeneration; and how social and environmental goals don't just align – they reinforce each other.

Tamara also discusses:

How land stewards are not just project participants but the key decision-makers and primary beneficiaries.
The importance of investors and offtakers focusing on deeper engagement with local communities.
How the most effective and socially responsible way to approach regeneration projects is to invest the time and resources upfront to build a foundation of trust.
While revenue sharing is a key component, projects can and should offer other crucial benefits to land stewards.
And much, much more.

Learn more about Cultivo's grasslands regeneration projects and how we're building landscape resilience on our website at: https://cultivo.land/projects/grasslands

Cultivo and our project partners work on ecosystem regeneration projects across the globe. If you’re interested in learning more about our projects, building a portfolio of high-quality natural capital projects for investment, or accessing high-integrity nature based carbon removal credits with Cultivo, we invite you to get in touch with our team.

https://cultivo.land/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/2463315/

https://cultivo.land/company/contact

The incredible biodiversity of grasslands ecosystems with Ecological Impact Manager Emiline Koopman

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 10:00:00 -0700

Did you know grasslands account for almost one-third of global Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs)?

On the latest episode of The Cultivo Podcast, Sean speaks with Ecological Impact Manager Emiline Koopman about grasslands’ critical importance for preserving biodiversity, which maintains ecosystem function around the world.

Emiline also discusses:

The biological importance of global grasslands.
The economic value of grasslands ecosystem services.
Why grasslands might be overlooked in terms of ecological importance.
Why increasing biodiversity levels are a good indicator of ecosystem regeneration project success.
And much, much more.

Learn more about Cultivo's grasslands regeneration projects and how they're building landscape resilience on our website at: https://cultivo.land/projects/grasslands

Episode links:

'Ocean' with David Attenborough: https://www.oceanfilm.net/home/

'The Hidden Life of Trees' by Peter Wohlleben: https://greystonebooks.com/products/the-hidden-life-of-trees?srsltid=AfmBOoqbUGkcVyA7pG1_9BEWSOmEKiZBqUCm1zFGlP52QN4uIuBg09It

Saiga antelope reclassified from ‘Critically Endangered’ to ‘Near Threatened’ in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/unprecedented-conservation-triumph

The ecological importance of healthy soil and grasslands ecosystems with Dr. Mary Cvetkovic-Jones

Wed, 28 May 2025 10:00:00 -0700

Healthy soil, healthy planet.

On the latest episode of The Cultivo Podcast, host Sean Leslie speaks with soil scientist Mary Cvetkovic-Jones, PhD, about the importance of healthy soil, and the carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services provided by grasslands, landscapes that account for 40% of the world’s terrestrial surface.

Mary explains:

Why a healthy planet depends on healthy soil.
Soil’s ability to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and “lock” it into organic matter.
Why grasslands are often overlooked when it comes to carbon sequestration.
How rotational grazing practices can improve the health of grassland ecosystems.
And much, much more.

Links:

If you'd like to learn more about Cultivo's grasslands regeneration projects and how they're building landscape resilience, read our grasslands regeneration primers.

Cultivo's global grasslands regeneration primer: https://cultivo.land/documents/Cultivo_GrasslandsDoc_Global.pdf

Cultivo's U.S. grasslands regeneration primer: https://cultivo.land/documents/US_Grasslands_Regeneration_primer.pdf

Nature as Infrastructure with Mark Tercek, former Nature Conservancy CEO, and Cultivo CEO Manuel Piñuela

Wed, 07 May 2025 08:00:00 -0700

On a special episode of The Cultivo Podcast, Cultivo co-founder and CEO Manuel Piñuela speaks with Mark Tercek, former CEO of The Nature Conservancy, current Cultivo Board Member, and landscape regeneration luminary, about the concept of “nature as infrastructure,” and the many services healthy ecosystems provide.

Manuel and Mark also discuss:

The countless ecosystem benefits healthy landscapes provide society.
How investment in natural infrastructure – like watersheds, forests, and grasslands – often benefits rural economies.
How investing in natural infrastructure is often the smartest and most cost effective move governments and businesses can make.
How ascribing financial value to nature helps bring support from people and organizations who might not have otherwise supported regeneration and conservation efforts.
And much, much more.

Links:

Mark’s website: https://marktercek.com/

Mark’s book, Nature’s Fortune: https://islandpress.org/books/natures-fortune#desc

Mark’s newsletter, The Instigator: https://marktercek.substack.com/

The Nature Conservancy: https://www.nature.org/en-us/

The Ministry of the Future: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/kim-stanley-robinson/the-ministry-for-the-future/9780316300162/

Accelerating investment into nature at speed and scale with Cultivo co-founder and CEO Manuel Piñuela

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 15:00:00 -0700

On the premiere episode of The Cultivo Podcast, co-founder and CEO Manuel Piñuela chats with host Sean Leslie about Cultivo's mission to accelerate investment into nature at speed and scale, our goal to regenerate one percent of the Earth's land -- an area roughly the size of Mongolia -- the ecological and financial benefits of investing in natural capital, and the aditionality and positive impacts of nature-based solutions.