Our mission is to build a resilient food system in Greater Victoria by growing, harvesting, and sharing food. Year after year, we strive to make a difference by caring for the land, empowering our community, and building momentum within the local food movement to continue to connect people with healthy food.
We care for the land
By increasing biodiversity, abundance and health in the Urban Orchard and supporting the development of healthy food environments.
We empower the community
By providing resources and supports to program participants, volunteers and staff to help them become leaders in food systems change.
We are building a movement
This is more than just food. By providing opportunities for people to learn and interact with the local food system, we are changing the way the community lives, thinks, and eats in Greater Victoria. When you collect dirt under your fingernails gardening, or feel sunshine warm your shoulders in an orchard, or bite into a fresh picked fruit and let the juice drip down your chin, you are grounded in a shift that strengthens our connections with each other and the natural world.
Staff
Julia McDougall
Interim Executive Director [email protected]Julia McDougall
Julia (she/her) is passionate about environmentalism and community engagement. Raised in Kamloops, British Columbia on Tk'emlups te Secwepemc territory, Julia spent her childhood hiking with dogs, canoeing through local lakes and rivers, and photographing the wildlife around her. With a camera and backpack in hand, Julia has travelled to six of the world's seven continents to learn as much as she can about different cultures and their connections to nature. Julia completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Guelph in Animal Biology and later pursued a Master's degree in Conservation Research at Oxford Brookes University. She has conducted research on mountain gorillas in Uganda and black bears in Canada, which has shown her the importance of community dedication to local conservation issues. The links between positive environmental health and public engagement are clear, and have paved the way to her connection with Lifecycles Project Society. On her days off, you can often find Julia surfing in Tofino, hiking with her pup, or kayaking around the coast of Vancouver Island.
Sophia Collins
Sophia (she/her) is excited for the opportunity to be working towards LifeCycles mission of resilient community-focussed food systems, and to learn more about orchard stewardship. She was raised and currently lives on W̱SÁNEĆ and lək̓ʷəŋən territories and is a settler of mixed European descent. She is passionate about environmental justice, particularly within urban planning, and is a recent graduate from UBC with a degree in Environmental Sciences and Indigenous Studies. Sophia has previously worked for research labs examining the effects of climate change on ecological systems, and the best practices for sustainable and equitable urban planning. She looks forward to further developing her understanding of how urban green spaces can serve to increase food security, promote environmental justice and community wellbeing, and work towards decolonization. In her free time she enjoys reading, music, and exploring the world on her bike.
Alex McArdle
Executive Director [email protected]Alex McArdle
Alex (she/her) is the owner and primary farmer at Bird & Bean Farm, while also taking on her role here at LifeCycles as the General Manager. She has settler heritage, her family origin is mainly from Scotland and Ireland, and grew up on unceded Algonquin Anishinaabeg traditional territory, in Ottawa. Alex identifies as queer and is lucky enough to share the property she farms on with other awesome members of the queer community. Alex’s love of the outdoors began at a young age. She was a camp kid who then became a canoe tripping guide in the summers. After high school, she spent a few years travelling around the world by volunteering as a WWOOFer (world wide opportunities on organic farms) and her love of the natural world began to include growing. At the same time, however, Alex grew more and more concerned about our changing climate and wanted to affect change more directly through law and policy. She decided to go back to school to pursue first an undergrad degree in Sustainability and Sociology, and then a law degree focusing on environmental and Indigenous law. After law school, however, she quickly discovered that colonial law felt far too reactive in a time when proactivity is so needed, and she found herself being more and more drawn to Indigenous law revitalization. She began searching for jobs outside of colonial law and feels incredibly grateful to have been able to work for the Indigenous Law Research Unit, affiliated with UVic, for over 2 years. However, the longer she worked fulltime in an office, the more she dreamed to be able to be outside and grow again. Thus, her search for opportunities in the agricultural field began. Even though Alex deeply has loved farming these past years, she missed engaging her brain in big-picture discussions, which is a big part of why she is so excited to be working with the LifeCycles Project! This year she looks forward to being a contributing member on her farm as well as working at LifeCycles to bring her love of food and her hate for food waste together!"
River Stevens
Welland Coordinator [email protected]River Stevens
River (they/them) is passionate about increasing the resilience of urban and suburban landscapes through utilising plants native to these territories, increasing food security through integrating edible perennials and fruit trees into the landscape, and helping to increase connections to land through making gardening more possible and accessible. Currently they do this work though their landscaping business Nightingale Gardens, and are very excited to be expanding this work as they take on the role of Welland Orchard Coordinator.
Their background is in agriculture, with five seasons spent working on small-scale organic farms, as well as a Landscape Horticulture Certificate (Red Seal levels 1 and 2) from the Pacific Horticulture College. They have also spent several years facilitating group learning and activities, for both kids and adults, in a variety of environments.
Their family is primarily from Ireland, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and England. They were raised on kʷikʷəƛ̓əm territories (Coquitlam BC) and have been living on W̱SÁNEĆ and lək̓ʷəŋən territories for the past 10 years. Their work is grounded in intersectional queer feminism, disability justice, and decolonization. They are queer, trans, and neurodivergent, and have a lifelong love of fruit trees.
Ella Swan
Fruit Tree Project Manager [email protected]Ella Swan
Ella (they/them) is enthusiastic about increasing food security and reducing food waste. Raised to value local food systems, they have been working and volunteering for organizations related to sustainable agriculture and ecosystem health since their early teens. Their educational background is in Gender Studies, Environmental Studies and Restoration of Natural Systems. For Ella, the links between healthy food, healthy people and healthy ecosystems are clear. With practical experience in environmental restoration, farming and volunteer management, they are looking forward to supporting the administrative side of the Fruit Tree Project as well as joining in on fruit picks when opportunities arise. Ella is also passionate about art, and has a textile art practice. This is a way to (literally) weave together arts and environmentalism with their focus on reused materials, sheep to yarn explorations and natural dying. Ella is a settler of Scottish and English descent, and has been an uninvited guest on W̱SÁNEĆ and lək̓ʷəŋən territories for the past 9 years. They were born and raised on the territories of the Ktunaxa and Secwépemc peoples.
Aimee Ernest
Harvest and Volunteer Coordinator [email protected]Aimee Ernest
Aimee Ernest (she/her) has a passion for nature and sustainability, as exemplified by years of volunteering and working for environmental non-profit organizations. This passion eventually led her to pursue an education in Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria. The majority of Aimee's work experience is based in sustainable agriculture, local youth science outreach, and volunteer organization. She is excited to bring her love of tree biology, improving food system resiliency, and working with the community to the Fruit Tree Project this season!
Aimee was raised on the territories of the Stó꞉lō people along the Fraser River and has been living on W̱SÁNEĆ and Lək̓ʷəŋən territories for the past three years. Her family is primarily from Denmark and Germany. In her free time, Aimee is an avid baker and crafter, along with participating in a few different sports, including fencing and soccer.
Hannah Kirk
Hannah (she/her) is excited to be part of a movement which uplifts the community via food security and ecological awareness. Her background in environmental science and non-profits lead her to the LifeCycles Project Society. Hannah attended Camosun College for an environmental technology diploma which provided her a foundation in general environmental science and practices. After graduation she worked odd jobs before realizing her passion for small scale local community initiatives. She has spent time with a variety of other non-profits in the community and wishes to lend her skills to another.
Hannah has an unknown heritage primarily of European settler descent and grew up in the Northern territories of the Tsimshian and Nisga'a. Growing up in these territories gave her a great appreciation for nature and the cultures which protect it. Since moving to the W̱SÁNEĆ and lək̓ʷəŋən territories 8 years ago, she has strived to always bring her passion of nature to all her work.
Board
Jess Gunnarson
Jess joined LifeCycles’ board of directors in 2018. He learned about LifeCycles while picking apples in the community and was quickly drawn to this valuable work. Jess started his career with the BC Public Service in 2001 and has held multiple roles in the past 20 years in the justice and public safety sector. His education includes a Bachelor of Social Work and Masters of Business Administration. Jess looks forward to continuing involvement with LifeCycles’ board and advancing the organization’s important mandate in the community.
Orvis Starkweather
Orvis Starkweather joined the LifeCycles board after volunteering as a Harvest Leader with the Fruit Tree Project. Orvis has been a grateful guest on the territories of the Esquimalt, Songhees and WSÁNEĆ peoples for the last 4 years. Orvis is descended from Irish, English, Scottish and German people that settled around the Great Lakes. Orvis is committed to food sustainability as a way of ensuring healthy communities and environment. Orvis comes to the board with a background in queer and trans organizing, including successfully advocating for the creation of gender neutral bathrooms, community building, and resource development. Orvis works as the People and Equity Analytics Advisor with the Human Resources Department at UVic. Orvis likes to sew, preserve food, cycle, visit art galleries, and do jigsaw puzzles.
Sandra Christensen
Sandra (she/her) grew up on a farm along the North Saskatchewan River (Cree territory) and raised her three children on the West coast, continuing her passion for living in relationship with the land. She has been actively involved in community food projects over the years, with an interest in experiential learning and human-plant relationships. Professional expertise includes teaching academic English at Camosun College, engaging in scholarly research as a doctoral candidate at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and supporting her daughter’s herbal apothecary, Green Muse Herbs and Flowers.
Our Roots
Grown from seeds first planted in 1994.
On an international youth exchange program in Santiago, Chile, our founding members learned about the links between globalization, the corporatization of food systems, environmental degradation, and food security. The program in Chile worked with local organizations to develop projects that would enhance the quality of life within urban communities. Our founders wondered how they could do the same thing at home, and from there the idea for the LifeCycles Project grew.
Our first project was the development of community gardens, tended by youth, whose harvests supplied local soup kitchens. Since then, our programs have grown to include a number of interrelated initiatives that address urban sustainability and food security by offering practical, accessible and hopeful solutions.
While “Think Globally, Act Locally” seems simplistic, it is still the best model for social and environmental action. This is one of our founding principles and it is why we have endured as one of Victoria’s best-loved community organizations for over 25 years. Local action, rooted within the community, is the most effective way to create change.
Supporters
We gratefully acknowledge support from:
