GROUNDED Live - 2025: Joel Williams - Plants As Superheroes

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

This session features Joel Williams, a globally respected agronomist and educator known for his ability to take complex plant science and translate it into practical, farmer-focused insight. Joel has spoken at leading regenerative and agricultural events around the world — including Groundswell in the UK, VicNoTill in Victoria, and the RegenWA Conference earlier in the same week as GROUNDED.

What sets Joel apart is his clarity and openness. He’s deeply grounded in plant physiology and soil science, but also deliberately agnostic and non-judgemental — focused less on inputs and labels, and more on understanding how plants actually function. His goal is simple: help farmers make better decisions by understanding the biology at work in their paddocks.

In this session, Joel explores the idea of plants as superheroes — unpacking the remarkable ways plants interact with soil, microbes, nutrients and stress, and how farmers can work with these systems rather than against them.

Joel is based in Canada and has travelled to Australia multiple times to share his knowledge — a testament to the value farmers place on his grounded, science-led and practical approach.

Settle in and enjoy this session with Joel Williams 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.