GROUNDED Live - 2025: Jill Clapperton - Demystifying the Rhizosphere

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we share another unedited presentation recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025, on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.

This session features Dr Jill Clapperton, Principal Scientist and CEO of Rhizoterra Inc., and one of our international speakers joining us from North America. Jill has a rare gift: the ability to take deeply complex biological systems and explain them in ways that are clear, practical and immediately useful.

In this talk, Jill demystifies the rhizosphere — the critically important zone around plant roots where soil biology, plant exudates and microbial life interact. It’s a place where chemistry, biology and ecology collide, and where many of the decisions that shape plant health, nutrient cycling and resilience are made.

Grounded in science but delivered with warmth and clarity, Jill’s session helps bridge the gap between what’s happening underground and what farmers see above it. While some of Jill’s field-based discussions couldn’t be captured in audio, this presentation offers a powerful foundation for understanding the plant–soil relationship at the heart of regenerative farming.

Settle in and enjoy this session with Jill Clapperton on GROUNDED Live.

GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm.

GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers.

In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine.

Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.