My name is Bivion Cheyenne Nickelbery-James, and I am so delighted to be a part of the Market Garden Team! I go by Cheyenne, Biv, and Bivi, and my pronouns are she/her. I am in the Social Service Work Program at Seneca Polytechnic, and I am thrilled to be spending the next eight months at Black Creek Community Farm!

 My intention in choosing the farm is to combine my passion for wellness with the duty to serve others and uplift the community. I am incredibly grateful to be at the farm, and I am confident that my time here will be invaluable to my personal and professional growth. 

 I live in the neighborhood with my paternal grandmother, whose commitment to her backyard garden has inspired me to learn how to connect with the land in a more intentional way. 

I grew up in a smaller town outside of Detroit, Michigan. Growing up, I experienced the detrimental effects of food deserts and environmental racism, as the closest grocery store was a 20-minute drive from my childhood home, and we did not always have a working vehicle. There was a massive golf course across the street from my neighborhood, and I often think of the many ways that land could have served my community instead. My father grew up in Jane and Finch, and I  spent some of my high school years here, falling in love with the city of Toronto. Afterwards, I lived between Washington, DC, and Charlotte, NC for nine years and returned to Toronto in March of last year. 

While in DC, I volunteered at So Others May Eat (SOME), a non-profit organization that provided social services and  fresh meals daily to those experiencing homelessness. My time at SOME, resulted in a passion for food justice as well as a desire to connect with ALL members of my community. Since returning to Toronto, I have volunteered with religious organizations by preparing and handing out meals to those in need, and I am excited to expand on this work with a more communal and inclusive approach.  

As a Market Garden Trainee, I am most excited to learn about harvesting, planting, and the medicinal/nutritional content of the foods. I am also eager to learn how to incorporate food justice and food sovereignty into community wellness. As an absolute beginner to farming, I am immensely grateful for the patience and guidance I have been shown so far. I hope to make the knowledge passed on to me during my time at BCCF infinite by passing it along to others.  

For fun, I enjoy exploring cafés around the city, taking drop-in dance/pilates /yoga classes, and walking through Black Creek Trail. I am an esthetician by trade and an avid clean beauty enthusiast. I previously worked as a brand ambassador at a Toronto-based clean beauty retailer and developed a love for holistic skincare and event planning. Deconstructing wellness as an exclusive luxury and providing access to everyone regardless of social status is a dream of mine.