Resources - Lifecycles Project

Michael J Bergob

Michael is a first-generation Canadian with a strong commitment to social justice. He is an avid writer and has published on a wide variety of topics, including a year-long monthly series on Issues in Governance. He is the founder and former Managing Editor of the Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, an open-source peer-review journal of the Canadian Disability Studies Association. Michael is a former Director and Chair of Dawn-to-Dawn Action on Homelessness where he established the Share the Harvest Community Garden as a safe space for homeless people. He is also a former director and Vice-Chair of LUSH Valley, which now oversees the garden. He has also volunteered with a number of professional associations and non-profit organizations in a variety of capacities. Michael is a proponent of community gardens and food sharing opportunities in whatever form that they take. He joined the Lifecycles Project to continue developing food systems security.

Mike Engelsjord

Mike (he/him) is a lifelong resident of BC, growing up in the interior, then living in the lower mainland, and now greater Victoria. Mike is grateful to the Indigenous Peoples who have and continue to steward their lands where he has the privilege to live. He enjoys all parts of the food cycle including gardening, foraging, cooking, preserving, sharing, eating, and composting. He sees food as fundamental to community and culture and believes in food justice and sustainability. Mike works as a biologist in environmental protection and ecological restoration.

Raheal Ghirmay

Raheal brings a background in healthcare and consulting, with a deep commitment to fostering healthy communities and environments. Since relocating from Ontario in 2021, she has been grateful to live and work on the traditional territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. Passionate about local food systems, environmental sustainability, and community well-being, she enjoys exploring the outdoors, experimenting with seasonal recipes, and creating space for meaningful connection through food and conversation. Joining Lifecycles is a natural extension of her desire to support community resilience while sharing experience and feeding a lifelong passion for health and sustainability.

Vivian Walsh

With a deep commitment to environmental sustainability and community health, Vivian (she/her) is driven by a vision of establishing reciprocity between people, food systems, and the land. Vivian has extensive experience in policy, communications, and grassroots initiatives, leading strategic cross-sector projects to advance health equity across the country. Her dedication to sustainable food systems and environmental stewardship was fostered through her early experiences supporting local organic farmers on the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg people. Vivian strongly believes in the transformative potential of education and holistic community engagement, qualities she enthusiastically brings to her role with the LifeCycles Project.

Yashita Kaku

Over the past year, Yashita has been really interested in farming and has been especially interested in engaging with the farming community by increasing youth interest and awareness about food insecurity. By contributing, she hopes to offer a youth perspective in board meetings and connect school students with organizations like Lifecycles. She thinks that youth voices are what shape the future of sustainable farming, and she hopes to bring that mindset to the board meetings!

Apollin Lu

Apollin has been passionate about food my whole life. Her dad is a farmer, and she spends most of her weekends helping out on his farm. She understand how difficult it is to grow food, which is why food waste is an issue that is close to her heart. At Lifecycles, she offers a unique perspective, as someone who is engaged in the food security community and also youth. She is a member of the Urban Food Table, and there she learned a lot of different perspectives on food production. She is always interested in hearing what others think about the food system here in BC, and she thinks Lifecycles is a great opportunity to engage further. At the Food Recovery Alliance, she helps recruit new members and host events. She feels that this experience will allow her to get more youth engaged with the events that Lifecycles has. In addition, she is a member of the Young BC Greens, and she could introduce the work that Lifecycles does to that organization. She is really excited for the opportunity to bring her passion, lived experience, and community connections to the Youth Board at Lifecycles, and the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to a more just and sustainable food system.

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.

Pierre Chauvin

Originally from France, Pierre moved to BC in 2017 and got involved in the local francophone community. In 2019 he moved to Victoria to work as Radio Victoria’s executive director, B.C.’s only French-language radio station. As a member of the Victoria Bike Cult™, Pierre enjoys avocado toasts, advocating for people’s access to accessible trails and paths, and community-led initiatives. After a couple of incredible seasons volunteering as a harvest leader for Lifecycles, Pierre decided to get involved behind the scenes and join the board of directors.

Nowshin Arony

Nowshin (she/her) is an IT professional who loves building technology that genuinely helps people. Her path into community-focused tech began during her graduate studies at the University of Victoria, where she managed teams at the INSPIRE program delivering software for local non-profits. Through that work, she found her favourite kind of problem to solve: making digital tools easier and friendlier for the people who actually use them. Since then, Nowshin has worked on software projects for the BC government and small businesses, always with the same focus, listening carefully to non-technical users and turning their feedback into something that works for everyone. At LifeCycles, Nowshin is excited to support the websites, digital training, and volunteer-facing systems that keep the programs running. Outside of work, Nowshin can be found baking or walking along the ocean. Victoria has been her home for several years, and she feels lucky to be part of this community.

Katy Hawthorne

Katy (she/her) is passionate about sustainable agriculture, reducing environmental impacts, building community and spending time outdoors. She is thrilled to be joining the LifeCycles team as the Harvest Coordinator this season and is currently completing her Master of Engineering in Industrial Ecology at UVic. Her research is focused on ecological sanitation systems that recycle nutrients from human waste in agricultural systems and reduce negative human health and environmental impacts of linear nutrient cycles. Her background is in environmental engineering and she has worked in municipal infrastructure engineering and water and wastewater treatment in Nunavut and environmental remediation in northern Manitoba. As a volunteer with Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) Katy has lived and worked on organic farms in Greece, Hawaii, and Australia while learning about the importance of increasing nutrient circularity, reducing food waste, and incorporating traditional ecological practices to create more sustainable agricultural systems. Katy grew up on Treaty 1 Territory and the homeland of the Red River Métis in Winnipeg and has lived on unceded Ləkʷəŋən land in Victoria for the past year.

Jessie Paterson

Jessie is passionate about all things homegrown and handmade. She studied Art History and Environmental Studies at UVic and has since enjoyed working on a local organic farm, at a local community center running child and youth programming, and at a local commercial art gallery. She is delighted to be back at Lifecycles for the 2026 season in the role of Volunteer Coordinator after having a wonderful time harvesting fruit alongside volunteers last season in the Harvest Support Worker position. Jessie grew up near Moh’kinsstis, where the Bow and Elbow rivers meet in Calgary, the traditional Treaty 7 territory of the Blackfoot confederacy, Stoney Nakoda Nations, and Tsuut’ina Nation. Jessie fell in love with island life and has been living on W̱SÁNEĆ and lək̓ʷəŋən territories for the past 10 years. She is from a settler family of German, Scottish, and Welsh descent. Jessie inherited a flair for the dramatic arts from at least one side of the family, and has been following the family trade by building her teaching practice in Speech and Dramatic Arts. This year she adjudicated several regional performing arts festivals in BC and she is passionate about encouraging literacy, public speaking confidence, and the joy of self expression in children and youth. She brings her background in communication arts to Lifecycles to offer volunteer support and coordination, community building, and joyful fruit gleaning.

Laura Tait

Laura (they/them) has worked in the food systems sector for 15+ years. Before moving to W̱SÁNEĆ and lək̓ʷəŋən territories (Victoria, BC), they grew up in Treaty 1 Territory (Winnipeg, MB) where they cut their teeth working in both urban and rural small-scale agriculture, including running their own farm business. Their land-based work experience is deeply rooted in relationships and an intersectional approach that understands food systems as shaped by class, race, gender, and other social determinants of access. Building on their farm experience, Laura moved into coordinating food security and community garden programming, supporting community development and local food access initiatives through their work with the Oaklands Community Association. During this time, they brought their passion for farming and inclusion together with their relational organizing approach in founding the Queer & Trans Farmers’ Market (2024-2025). Laura continues to work alongside equity-deserving communities to support inclusive food-based projects in the region. They are excited to bring their organized, intersectional, and collaborative approach to support the Bear Hill Farm project.

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.

Our Story

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.

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.

Lisa Small

Lisa (she/her) has always had a deep love for getting her hands in the soil and has spent over a decade working on small-scale farms in coastal BC. She was the Programs Coordinator for the Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable (CRFAIR), where she developed and coordinated Growing Together—a collaborative initiative that created tools and resources to support people in growing food. She is deeply passionate about supporting local agriculture, increasing food literacy, and helping people grow and access good, local food. In addition to her work with LifeCycles, Lisa coordinates the Yates Street Community Garden on lək̓ʷəŋən Territory in downtown Victoria, and organizes Victoria Seedy Saturday, a yearly event attracting about 3000 gardeners. She is committed to being in service to community and to building relationships through growing and sharing food.

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 Executive Director. She is a settler on this land and grew up on unceded Algonquin Anishinaabeg traditional territory, in Ottawa. Alex’s road to working in food and agriculture has been a bit circuitous as she started her education in sustainability then attending law school, before coming back to her true passions in anything food related and farming. 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!