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This episode is brought to you by Ki Reforestation, a Canadian reforestation technology company restoring difficult landscapes using drone seeding, with a seed-agnostic approach and an Indigenous-aligned ecological restoration model. Today, I’m joined by Trevor Grant, Founder & CEO of Ki, to unpack Canada’s growing reforestation deficit and why new tools are needed to rebuild forests after increasingly severe wildfires — especially in steep, remote terrain where traditional crews face safety and access constraints. We dig into Ki’s system, from heavy-lift autonomous drones and real-time environmental sensing to AI-informed seeding prescriptions and the “magic sauce” behind the work: pharmaceutical-grade seed encapsulation designed to improve soil contact and reduce predation and withstand environmental factors.
Trevor also shares where drone seeding is (and isn’t) a fit, early field learnings since 2022, how costs can compare to manual planting, and what Ki is building next through a proposed five-year R&D program with academic, government, industry, and Indigenous partners. Learn more and join Ki on its mission through visiting Ki's website.
“We’re able to tailor density down to the number of seeds dispersed per square meter and adjust prescriptions in real time based on slope, soil, vegetation, and microsite conditions observed during flight.”
0:10 Introduction to Forest Invest
0:20 Sponsor spotlight: Ki Reforestation
1:01 Meet Trevor Grant, Founder and CEO of Ki Reforestation
1:12 Trevor’s favourite tree and why it stands out
2:21 The origin story behind Ki Reforestation
3:32 Canada’s wildfire crisis and the reforestation deficit
4:36 Restoring forests after wildfire: timing, access, and safety
5:27 How Ki’s drone seeding technology works
7:20 Heavy-lift drones, species mixes, and microsite planting
10:00 Seed encapsulation: the core innovation behind the model
12:53 Can drone seeding compete with manual tree planting?
17:08 Ki’s use cases: harvesting, wildfire recovery, and mine-site rehabilitation
19:44 Where aerial direct seeding is not the right fit
20:56 What Ki knows so far, and what still needs to be proven
22:11 Field trials, early results, and lessons learned since 2022
24:03 Indigenous partnerships and holistic restoration approaches
25:18 Customers, collaborators, and the 5-year research programme
28:39 What governments should ask before choosing an aerial reforestation company
31:08 Addressing scepticism and proving where the technology works
33:00 Seed sourcing, supply bottlenecks, and planning timelines
37:09 Government interest, funding gaps, and public-sector support
38:55 Carbon markets, additionality, and who should benefit
41:19 Why Ki is taking a slower, research-first approach
42:18 What excites Trevor most about Ki’s current stage
43:33 The future of Ki beyond Canada
45:33 Where to learn more and get involved
Founding Director and Host: Shauna Matkovich - The ForestLink
Producer and Editor: Magdalena Laas - Unscripted Creatives
Nature by MaxKoMusic/Soundcloud
Sopwell Woodlands and Scohaboy Bog SAC, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, IRELAND by wild_rumpus/Soundcloud
Ambient Documentary by Sound Guru (Pixabay)
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