GOOD FOOD NETWORK - Key Persons
Asiyah Robinson (she/her/hers) was born and raised on Freeport, Grand Bahama Island and moved to Lekwungen territories, known today as the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations, almost six years ago. Since being here, she has been an avid community member, actively using her voice to represent her Black and Muslim communities. She is a member of the Iye Creative Community, an initiative dedicated to Black sovereignty, primarily through food access, using local Indigenous ways of knowing in regards to land stewardship and protection. She has worked as the Director of Youth Engagement for the World Partnership Walk for three consecutive years and is a recent graduate from the University of Victoria, majoring in Biochemistry and Chemistry.
She is a true believer in the revolutionary power of being grounded in faith and spirituality and is constantly working to decolonize her thoughts, actions and processes. As a community connector, she doesn't feel her role is defined through the lens of western leadership but instead takes steps to be intentional with her actions as a source of reference for those around her.
Emily Robertson is a passionate filmmaker, photographer, and storyteller. She was born in Ontario and has lived in Victoria as a visitor on the unceded lands of the Lekwungen people for
two years. Inspired by a love of cinema, Emily studied Film Production at York University in Toronto, specializing in cinematography and editing. Shortly after her move to Victoria, she established Wildflower Productions, a freelance film production company. Using both photography and film, she endeavours to capture moments of beauty and share empowering stories. When not looking through a lens, she is inspired by exploring nature, hiking, camping, baking, and watching documentaries.
Hannah is an educator, consultant, and life-long learner, who is profoundly passionate about plants and food sovereignty. Her work and research focuses on agroecology, permaculture, medicine and food plants, and Indigenous land-stewardship and cultivation techniques. She is deeply committed to meaningful community-engagement and empowerment practices, throughout all of her work. As a lecturer in the Environmental Studies department at the University of Victoria, she has taught courses in Ethnobotany, Ethnoecology and Permaculture Design, and runs a
Permaculture Field School during the summer months. She was the founding Dean of the Permaculture Design and Resilient Ecosystems Diploma at Pacific Rim College.
Hannah also works as an independent contractor and consults on a variety of food and medicine-plant projects, ranging from urban community gardens and small-acre
permaculture designs, to collaborative eco-cultural revitalization initiatives. In addition to her love of plants and people, Hannah is a keen photographer and amateur videographer, and has applied these tools to help tell community stories, through the production of both plant booklets and short films.
Sarah Jim is an emerging artist of mixed ancestry and is a member of the W̱SÁNEĆ nation from the Tseycum village. She has received a Bachelor's Degree of Fine Arts from the University of Victoria and emulates her love of nature and native plant knowledge through her artwork. Environmental restoration work has been her main source of inspiration since 2018 when she started working in SṈIDȻEȽ; the first W̱SÁNEĆ village site. Working on the land has resulted in deep insights of how language, culture, traditional knowledge, and art are all intimately connected to the natural realm. Learning about the direct connection between culture and place has helped empower Sarah as a W̱SÁNEĆ person and a Coast Salish artist. Her curiosity, love, and admiration for the outdoors and native plants continues to propel her in a direction that helps heal the community, land, and herself through plant medicines, native foods, restoration work, and creating place-based artwork.You can see Sarah's artwork on her website here.