Raised on a working farm in rural British Columbia, surrounded by a diverse community of four- and two-legged friends, I grew up with an ingrained commitment to agroecology: I just didn't know the word existed yet. Leaving my rural town of 250, I went on to complete a BSc. in Ecology at the University of Calgary and then 2 years' study in Europe (France and Netherlands) for a Masters in Evolutionary Biology. During my studies I volunteered with groups such as the Dunster Environmental Student Committee (1990-1998), Alberta Acts on Climate Change (2007), BikeRoot U Calgary cycling co-op, and Amnesty International (ongoing since 2005), among others.

After many travels for research and study, including months in the Peruvian Amazon and Costa Rica, and time in Kenya, I found I was still missing a crucial piece: connecting our ecological research with hands-on, practical skills for people living in poverty and on the fringes of the dominant infrastructure. It simply didn't seem necessary, and yet I saw the same issues patterned around the world. I thus came to permaculture as a way to integrate my background experience in farming with my training in ecology and evolution, and long-term interests/activities in sustainability, food security, rural education, international travel and building of real life skills in self-sustenance.

I completed a PDC in Jordan in 2012, and have been teaching, designing and implementing permaculture and ecological design practices ever since.