Meet The Farmlands Trust Board of Directors

Ed Johnson - Chair - Ed is a successful self-made businessman whose love of farming dates back to his childhood in California.  He currently lives in Mt. Newton Valley and runs an independent organic farm business from his property.  Ed grows a mixture of fruits and vegetables to supply local restaurants and donates a substantial portion of his crop each year to assist in feeding the homeless through Our Place in Victoria. Ed is also the committee chairman for the Farm Management Team.

 

 

 

Glenn Davidson -  Treasurer  -  Glenn is a Certified General Accountant who has practiced in Brentwood Bay since 1987.  He is currently treasurer for the board of the Need Crisis Line and volunteers his accounting services to several other charitable organizations including the Peninsula Streams Society, the Pacific Animal Therapy Society and the For the Love of Africa Society.  With two sons pursuing a local career in farming, Glenn is keenly aware of the many agricultural issues of today and brings a broad spectrum of knowledge to our board.

 

 

Natasha Caverley - Secretary - Natasha holds a B.A (With Distinction) in Psychology, M.Ed in Counselling Psychology and Ph.D in Organizational Studies from the University of Victoria. Natasha is a Certified Canadian Counsellor (C.C.C) through the Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy Association. Natasha has held research and policy analyst as well as organizational development positions in Aboriginal, non-Aboriginal and public service organizations specializing in community facilitation and troubleshooting, management and organizational behaviour, including policy development, instrument design and analysis, and strategic planning. At present, Dr. Caverley is the President of Turtle Island Consulting Services Inc. located in North Saanich, BC. Natasha is also the Chair of the FLT Governance Committee.

 

David Clark - Member - David is a retired geologist with an honours bachelor of science in this field.  Educated in India and Scotland with post graduate study in Canada, he has worked in the field in Western Canada and in various assignments in North Africa and Indonesia. David fell in love with Vancouver Island and the Saanich Peninsula when he first set foot here in 1966.  He currently resides in Mt. Newton Valley and brings computer technology and mapping expertise to the Board . As a resident he is concerned that local agricultural production has declined so it now only supports about six percent of the Island’s needs. David is interested in contributing to local food security and creating opportunities for young farmers to enter the profession.

 

Sebastian Silva – Member - Sebastian is a business consultant with a masters degree in law and a passion for food security issues. He particularly enjoys learning about agriculture and ecology from the FLT's many knowledgeable members and supporting the organizations' educational mandate. He is working with the FLT and its supporters to preserve farmland for future generations so that little ones like his daughter can continue to have the same opportunities to buy and eat local food. He is grateful to be living in such a beautiful place and on weekends can be found shopping at the various farms and markets scattered across Greater Victoria. Sebastian is a member of the governance committee.

 

Nelly Lam Tom-Kee -  Member  -  Nelly is a mother of 2 young chefs, married to a civil engineer who is passionate about environmental issues and servant to 2 spoiled dogs. She immigrated to Canada, from Hong Kong, in the late seventies. A Graduate from Concordia University in Montreal; worked in the accounting field, and has been implementing financial applications for major corporations, Canadian and provincial governments and international organizations. Nelly and her husband, Jan, moved to North Saanich 3 years ago. Both have very strong desire to be close to nature, the sea, appreciate local business; encourage local community to live in harmony with nature and encourage farming. Nelly and Jan has worked and lived in many cities in Europe and Canada; and believed that Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands is the most peaceful and beautiful place to live.

 

R. MichaeL M’Gonigle -  Member  -  Michael is a law professor and political ecologist with an extensive background in environmental activism. His work with Greenpeace in the 1970s led to the international moratorium on commercial whaling, during which time he also co-founded Greenpeace International. Throughout the 1980s, he was a leading activist in wilderness conservation and forestry reform in British Columbia; as Chair of the Board of Greenpeace Canada, he initiated the Greenpeace forest campaign in 1990. In recent years, he has cofounded SmartGrowth BC, Forest Futures (Dogwood Initiative) and was a founding co-director of the Sierra Legal Defense Fund. Holder of the EcoResearch Chair at the University of Victoria, he directs the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance. Author of dozens of academic publications and studies, his popular writing includes (with Wendy Wickwire) Stein: The Way of the River, Forestopia: A Practical Guide to the New Forest Economy (1994) (with Ben Parfitt), and Planet U; Sustaining the World, Reinventing the University (2006) (with Justine Starke).

 

 

Community Advisors - Robin Tunicliffe, Tom Hobby

Special Advisor - Don Caverley, Barbara Souther (Past Chair/Founder)

 

 

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