About Leighton Morrison

Kingdom Aquaponics™ founder Leighton Morrison has a unique and diverse background. As a child Leighton gravitated to alternative energy, natural systems and sustainability after experiencing the 1973 oil crisis. He designed a passive solar house with indoor gardens for food production in mechanical drawing class in 7th grade. In his teenage years he began to breed fish for sale and incorporate them into a living garden system.

In the eighties he became obsessed with the project Bio Sphere 2 and the science behind it. In 1983, he started a construction company with a sustainability emphasis, and attended Boston Architectural Center. Leighton then started a marble and granite company in 1993 and worked for clients looking for an artistic flare and an alternative to man made solid surfaces. This reflected applied knowledge to another of his passions: geology. In 1996, he constructed a zero impact home on the coast of Maine and eliminated all nitrogen and phosphate discharge into the ocean from the waterfront property while fabricating exotic stone for discerning clients.

In 2008, Leighton went back to his roots/passions and began the structural work for an aquaponic future. Through a process of discovery, beginning with a comprehensive plan for a stand-alone aquaponics facility in Vermont, he recognized a significant business opportunity. Instead of just focusing on the local “farm to table movement”, truly organic food production and food security, he investigated repurposing the waste streams of aquaponics and aquaculture.

About Craig Trester

Craig M. Trester is a creative biologist, educator, and community scientist that utilizes principles of biomimicry and traditional ecological knowledge through applied mycology to develop regenerative solutions for many of the environmental challenges that impact our world. Through educational outreach he has sought to provide people with the knowledge and resources to recognize and practically apply the benefits that fungi have to offer our health, environment, and society. Aside from Craig’s work as an educator much of his research focuses upon how might the qualitatively regenerative principles and techniques of permaculture be combined with the quantitatively powerful tools of molecular biology, to paint a picture of the deeper ecological connections throughout nature facilitated by our microbial world. He believes novel approaches for bioremediation, carbon sequestration, and regenerative agriculture can be made a reality, through research of fungi and soil biology, diligent observation of our surroundings, and intentional application of beneficial microorganisms.