Thorsten Arnold
Resilience strategist for climate-adaptive food systems
Thorsten Arnold works at the intersection of climate resilience, regenerative agriculture, and food system design. His work focuses on rebuilding the soil–water–food nexus that stabilizes ecosystems, strengthens rural economies, and improves society’s ability to adapt to climate change.
Together with his wife Kristine Hammel, Thorsten co-owns Persephone Market Garden, an ecological vegetable farm in Ontario. The farm integrates market gardening with holistic adaptive multi-paddock grazing, silvopasture, and woodlot management. Beyond food production, the farm is evolving into a community hub for regenerative agriculture and ecological education, hosting workshops, WWOOF placements, internships, and youth programming including a pilot farm and forest school.
Thorsten’s professional work bridges science, land stewardship, and institutional design. Trained in environmental engineering and Earth system sciences, he completed his Master’s thesis at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and later a PhD at the University of Hohenheim on watershed governance and irrigation economics. His academic background uniquely integrates the two main pillars of climate dynamics: global greenhouse gas forcing and the role of regional land use and agricultural landscapes in climate regulation.
A central theme of Thorsten’s work is the “soil sponge” concept—the idea that well-managed agricultural landscapes can absorb water, buffer climate extremes, regenerate ecosystems, and support resilient rural economies.
Professional Practice
Thorsten works as a food system analyst, project designer, and strategic advisor, helping organizations, farmer groups, and institutions navigate complex challenges in agriculture, climate resilience, and regional food systems.
His work includes:
• Grant writing and project development for farmer-driven and regional food initiatives
• Climate resilience assessments for farms and agricultural organizations
• Policy analysis and strategic reports, including recent work examining ethanol policy and its implications for agricultural land use and food systems
• Business and cooperative design, most notably the farmer-driven cooperative Eat Local Grey Bruce, which he designed, incorporated, and helped launch
• Monitoring and evaluation frameworks for ecological outcomes, including work on adapting Savory Institute’s Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV) approach to Ontario conditions
• Environmental monitoring and analysis supporting regenerative land management
Thorsten also works closely with farmers on holistic grazing planning and landscape management, integrating grazing systems with watershed and ecosystem considerations. His work emphasizes the practical link between soil health, hydrology, biodiversity, and farm economics.
A recurring focus of Thorsten’s projects is deep-dive analysis into strategically important questions for the future of agriculture and rural regions. Examples include:
• Evaluating climate resilience strategies for farms
• Investigating policy incentives and unintended consequences in agricultural markets
• Developing monitoring systems to track ecological outcomes on working farms
• Exploring cooperative models for regional food infrastructure
Institutional and Policy Work
Thorsten has worked with national and international development agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, where he contributed to the Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) initiative.
He has also contributed to governance and policy processes in multiple countries, including Germany, Chile, Peru, and Canada, with particular expertise in watershed governance and water resource management.
In Ontario, Thorsten has played a key role in advancing farmer-led initiatives and food system innovation. His projects include:
• Designing and launching Eat Local Grey Bruce, recognized by the Fair Finance Fund as one of Ontario’s leading local food cooperatives
• Conducting climate resilience assessments of farms in collaboration with Ecological Farmers of Ontario (EFAO) and the Arrell Institute at the University of Guelph
• Business and supply-chain analysis for organic and local food sectors
• Traceability and value-chain work for regional food systems
Thorsten currently serves as a board member of the Grey County chapter of the National Farmers Union and has previously served on the board of the Organic Council of Ontario. He has also worked with Ecological Farmers of Ontario, Sustain Ontario, and the Organic Value Chain Round Table, and has contributed to initiatives such as Regeneration Canada’s Living Soil Symposium.
Educator and Public Speaker
Thorsten is a trained Professional Educator with the Savory Institute, where he completed advanced training in Holistic Management. In this role he contributes to farmer education on regenerative grazing, ecological monitoring, and climate resilience planning.
He regularly leads workshops and presentations on topics including:
• climate resilience for farms
• the soil sponge and water cycle restoration
• regenerative grazing and land stewardship
• ecosystem regeneration and holistic landscape planning
• cooperative food systems
• the role of agriculture in biosphere climate regulation
His goal is to translate complex science and systems thinking into practical strategies that farmers and communities can implement.
Thorsten has also authored professional articles and opinion pieces, including front-page features in the U.S. magazine Growing for Market on collaborative marketing and climate resilience planning.
Watershed Governance and Modelling
Thorsten’s second professional focus is watershed governance and environmental modelling.
His doctoral work explored the integration of agricultural economics, hydrological modelling, and governance frameworks in irrigation systems. This work led to contributions in the management and governance of complex modelling processes within public institutions.
In Ontario, Thorsten helped lead work on the Drinking Water Source Protection Assessment and the development of policies and tools to evaluate risks to drinking water sources. His work also contributed to early guidelines for governing numerical modelling in public sector agencies, developed with the Oak Ridges Moraine Coalition and the Toronto Region Conservation Authority.
These projects built on experience across multiple jurisdictions and institutions and resulted in several publications addressing:
• model governance in public agencies
• risk assessment frameworks for drinking water protection
• institutional lessons in watershed modelling
Farming and Personal Life
At Persephone Market Garden, Thorsten and Kristine continue to develop a living laboratory for regenerative agriculture and community learning. Their work integrates vegetable production with grazing, agroforestry, and biodiversity-oriented woodlot management.
Outside his professional work, Thorsten enjoys time with family and community, and maintains long-standing interests in movement arts and culture. He practiced Aikido for more than twenty years, has taught Argentine tango with his wife in Owen Sound, and is an enthusiastic juggler who occasionally offers workshops for youth and at music festivals.
EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS
Professional educator, Holistic Management, Savory Institute, 2020
Ph.D., Irrigation management at watershed level, University of Hohenheim, 2010
MSc., Marine Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, 2002
B.A. eq, Environmental and Process Engineering, Brandenburger Technische Universitaet Cottbus, 1998
Publication list
Download Arnold_Publications_2020.
Video features
We were featured in several documentaries.