How Passionate Locals Transform Brownfields into Food and Friendship

What do you get when a sanitation worker, a compost wizard, and a gravel pit come together to grow community? You get Jay Fish, Founding Co-Farmer at Highfield Regenerative Farm, a 15-acre urban oasis tucked in the heart of Calgary. Jay’s story is anything but conventional: from chipping away at compacted industrial soil to pioneering a community-driven model of regenerative agriculture, he’s spent the last eight years transforming overlooked land into a living, breathing space for people and plants alike. In this episode, Jay gets candid about what it really takes to restore soil health, navigate municipal red tape, and foster a thriving volunteer-led ecosystem. Whether you’re curious about compost, passionate about food justice, or just wondering how one guy with a skid steer and a lot of grit helped turn a brownfield into a green space, this episode will ground you in hope and human connection.