Cheney Creamer – Executive Director
Cheney has a wild passion for community engagement and reconnecting people with nature. She is an internationally recognized Horticultural Therapy Specialist, HeartMath® Certified Coach, and Organizational Wellness Consultant.
In 2013, Cheney founded One Green Square Wellness Consulting and has been the Chair of the Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association since 2019. She is an Organic Master Gardener, Cannabis Sommelier, and enthusiastic advocate for environmental awareness. Cheney has focused her life, work, and studies on social psychology, nature-based therapies, native plants and medicine, and our relationships to food production and consumption. Committed to sharing therapeutic gardening practices, Cheney believes deeply in helping everyone experience the benefits of getting their hands and feet in the soil!
She has studied with indigenous wisdom keepers and worked with native plant reforestation projects around the world which has instilled a core belief about reconciliation through land reparations and environmental stewardship. Cheney is dedicated to continuing her work with individuals and communities to rebuild native plant food corridors, develop public food forestry projects, and re-imagine community gardens to apply a more inclusive, therapeutic gardening approach. She is incredibly honoured to work with Urban Bounty to grow an engaged and resilient food system through education, advocacy, and community-building initiatives.
You can often find Cheney digging in compost, collecting seeds, or just generally getting covered in soil at the Therapeutic Community Garden in Ryall Park (one of her favourite projects!). She can also frequently be spotted wandering (or resting!) in the forest or being silly with her dogs (Ginger and Maggie).
Paige Leslie – Community Programs Manager
Paige has her BA in Creative Advertising from Humber College in Toronto. She worked in advertising for 4 years before moving to BC looking to do more meaningful, nature and community based work. Her passion for environmental sustainability, farming, gardening and herbal plant medicines brought her to work in regenerative farming and local food systems. She is currently working part time for Urban Bounty. She also works full time for the Vancouver Farmers Markets and is in a Herbal Apprenticeship Program with Ravensong Herbals. If she has some free time she enjoys working in her garden, swimming, camping, photography and traveling.
Jessamyn Hung – Operations Manager
Jessamyn brings a background in nonprofit operations and community care work. Outside of operations, they grow food and flowers for a queer and trans community program and on a small farm. When away from their desk, Jessamyn is often fostering dogs and finding ways to bring more animal friends into their life.
Kayla Buttress – Land Stewardship Coordinator
Kayla started her journey in agriculture working on an urban farm in Prince George, where she developed a deep appreciation for community-based food systems. That experience shaped her interest in making fresh, locally grown food more accessible. She recently completed a Bachelor of Applied Science in Sustainable Agriculture from Kwantlen Polytechnic University and now works as Urban Bounty’s Land Stewardship Coordinator, supporting gardeners across all of our sites. Outside of work, she spends her time hiking, knitting, and seeking out the best local ice cream spots. Kayla enjoys connecting with people and helping create welcoming, productive growing spaces. If you see her around, please say hello!
Tova Gaster – Community Engagement Coordinator
Tova has a background in journalism, editing, and youth programs. She has a geography and history BA from UBC, where she worked as an environmental politics researcher at the Centre for Climate Justice. She loves writing, gardening, and connecting with people, and at Urban Bounty, she’s excited to facilitate all of the above. Outside work, you can find her playing soccer, going to concerts, and making sandwiches.
Sugandha Talwelkar – Volunteer Coordinator
Sugandha is an engineer who has spent the last decade working in climate tech and sustainability. She is deeply passionate about social impact and community building. Having lived in three different countries, across seven cities, Sugandha kept rediscovering her deep-rooted connection to nature and environmental conservation which led her to Urban Bounty. With her experience in strategy, planning and product building, Sugandha is hoping to use her interpersonal skills, her absolute joy of being outdoors, and meeting new people to create a robust volunteering group to further food security in Richmond and its neighbourhoods. Apart from diving into climate and conservation, Sugandha is a writer who pens poetry and fiction. You will find her biking or walking around in Vancouver neighbourhoods or holed up in a cafe conjuring a world of her own.
Loki Wallace – Seed Security Advisor
Loki is driven by their passion for community-building, the intersections of marginalized peoples and climate justice, and co-creating local food and seed security. They are always awed by the potential of just one seed, and firmly believe that the life cycle of a plant is where magic and science peacefully coexist.
After a decade of converting lawns into food gardens, building guerilla food gardens, seed library stewardship and participatory seed-breeding projects, they took the leap to formal education and completed the KPU Farm School program in 2021. Now in their third year as an incubator farmer within the KPU extension program, they have a small seed farm on unceded Musqueam land, along the banks of the Fraser River (Steveston). They sell their seeds primarily through the BC Eco Seed Co-op where they are also the Operations Manager.
Rowan Hindson – Community Gardens Program Intern
Rowan is a third-year university student majoring in Environmental Studies. His educational focus, as well as his volunteer work for Environment Canada, has helped prepare him for his role as a Community Gardens Intern to support and tend to Urban Bounty’s green spaces across Richmond. Urban Bounty’s values align with Rowan’s interest and passion for the outdoors, environmental sustainability and stewardship, and community connectivity. Rowan looks forward to collaborating and assisting community members in his new role. In his free time, Rowan enjoys exploring the city on his bike, going for long runs, and playing fighting games. This position has been made possible by the Government of Canada’s Canada Summer Jobs program.
Aeryn Ng – Urban Food Forestry Program Intern
Aeryn is a landscape ecologist with a BSc in environmental sciences and a MSc in forest and conservation sciences. She has a strong passion for human-nature connection and community-based sustainability approaches. Aeryn has completed research locally and internationally on forests and the ways in which trees support our livelihoods. She is excited to learn as much as possible from her fellow Urban Bounty colleagues during her time as the Urban Food Forestry Intern. When not at work, Aeryn loves to rock climb, go camping, and play Magic the Gathering.
