Justin Nadeau’s work has earned him the moniker of “inventionator.” Partly since his actual title of “School Food Garden and Environmental Education Coordinator” is a mouthful, but also because the made-up word more aptly describes his job. Simply put, Nadeau is the resident mad scientist for FoodShare, a non-profit agency focused on hunger and food-related issues. His duties include designing and building mini-ecosystems and environmentally friendly gardening devices.

FoodShare’s headquarters take up much of a Bloordale school building, and a tour of the premises reveals a plethora of Nadeau’s contraptions scattered across the property. In the basement cafeteria, rows of lunchroom tables are surrounded by Nadeau’s inventions, all in various stages of completion. The back wall is lined with filing cabinets, freshly painted a vibrant shade of green: Nadeau is transforming the derelict office furniture into a type of planter he calls the File-a-Sprout. At the front sits the Salad Bar, a restaurant buffet counter in which Nadeau has planted a variety of edible greens.

“This is something I invented,” he casually explains, showcasing his award-winning hydroponic system dubbed the “Vegaquarium.” As its name would suggest, the device consists of a small fish tank (and fish), topped with a hollow wooden lid filled with planters. A pump allows the aquarium water to filter out and through the plants, circulating the fish waste to fertilize the vegetation and supply a sustainable cycle. Nadeau divulges that this newly built version will soon give life to watercress sprouts.

The Vegaquarium is sandwiched between two much bigger installations, also self-sustainable surf-and-turf ecosystems made from recycled parts. In the greenhouse, Nadeau shows us a clothing rack and coat hangers he converted into a trellis tomato garden and a delicate climbing vegetable arrangement he has been growing on the spines of a broken umbrella. “I enjoy adding whimsy to gardening,” says the self-proclaimed tinkerer. “Especially using found items and repurposing them in a very fun way.”

Fun is a primary requirement of Nadeau’s work. His target audience consists of children and teenagers; his challenging end goal is to get them interested in healthy food production and consumption. The inventions are a part of FoodShare's food literacy program called Field to Table Schools, which aims to "re-introduce food education to schools." The projects are therefore intended to be portable, adaptable and reproducible in the classroom.

So far, Nadeau's work has been distributed exclusively to a handful of schools involved in the Toronto Foundation for Student Success' "Beyond 3:30" after school program, with whom FoodShare has an existing partnership. His team has since developed a fundraising resource for schools that will allow them to place orders for Nadeau's designs.

It’s Nadeau’s unabashed imagination that makes his work so relatable—and enjoyable—to kids. He often brainstorms with youth, dreaming up ways of turning household objects into mini-gardens. His favourite part is the execution of these ideas and subsequently witnessing kids’ enthusiasm as their plants begin to grow. “It’s amazing how good you feel and how alive you feel when you see something germinate and sprout,” Nadeau says. “There’s so much excitement around that.”

Though his passion for his work is evident, Nadeau says the road to his dream job was a winding one, shaped by a series of serendipitous events. In 2007, after his first year of work as a subsurface utility engineer for a firm in Whitby, Nadeau was growing restless and increasingly exhausted by his long daily commute. When presented with the opportunity to relocate, Nadeau and his wife sold all their possessions and moved to Europe. For the next seven months they travelled the continent, working on farms.

The pair returned to Toronto in the spring of 2009 with a new passion for agriculture. “I just felt re-energized,” Nadeau says of the experience. Determined to combine his engineering skills with his nascent green thumb, he proceeded to work a series of odd jobs in agriculture, learning the ins and outs of the industry. He began working for FoodShare in early 2010. Nadeau says seeing the kids’ excitement over his creations makes his job worthwhile. He describes revitalizing Smithsfield
Middle School’s neglected courtyard with one of his eccentric gardens. “The kids were walking into the space for the first time and they were like ‘This is paradise!’ and running around,” Nadeau says, beaming. “That was definitely a very memorable moment.”

While his green gadgets will continue to crop up at schools across the city, students can also visit FoodShare to see live demonstrations and taste some of the literal fruits of Nadeau’s labour. Last year alone, Nadeau and his team taught on and off-site workshops to over 31,000 students across the city. Their more interactive pieces are always a big hit, especially if they invite a test drive: designed by colleague James Davis, the fan-favourite is a bicycle blender, a quirky device that uses pedal power to operate a food processor.

Nadeau is happy to see his inventions instilling youth (and their teachers) with a passion for home-grown food: “Once you start to grow food, you really appreciate what’s on your plate,” he says.

“One plant can open your eyes to the entire food system.”