Agraria_Journal_WINTER_2022

ALICIA CHERETON Alicia is Agraria’s new Farm Assistant, but she has been no stranger to Agraria this season. Alicia was a member of the 2022 Regenerative Farmer Fellowship and has been working closely at the George Washington Carver site with Assistant Land Director and previous RFF coordinator River Johnson. Alicia is also a freelance yoga and meditation instructor with the deep belief that healing, connection, and nature coincide with one another. “When we take care of Mother Earth, do what we can to help our community, and heal our bodies and minds from the inside out, we are able to make beautiful ripples that spread out into the world for others to be inspired by,” she said. Originally from Warren, Michigan, Alicia grew up without much farmland around her but has always felt most at home outdoors and when connecting to a beautiful landscape. She began calling Yellow Springs home about 10 years ago and is happy to be at Agraria. Her favorite things to do on the farm are caring for the land and helping create opportunities for growth, education, and food sovereignty for all. Alicia hopes to continue watching the farm grow and share its bounty with as many as possible. AUDREY HACKETT Audrey joined Agraria in September as associate editor of the Agraria Journal . A poet, writer- of-all-trades, and former reporter for the Y ellow Springs News , Audrey is especially interested in how acts of “deep imagination” can create and sustain relationships to the land. Audrey grew up in northern Virginia and overseas, living in Western Samoa, Saipan, and Sri Lanka before the age of thirteen. She holds two master’s degrees, one in Scottish studies from the University of Glasgow, and one in poetry from Vermont College of Fine Arts. While her background is in literary arts, she is deeply interested in plants, animals, and the dazzling webs-within-webs of nature’s interconnection. She raises monarch butterflies from her backyard milkweed, supporting their safe passage from egg to larva to pupa to butterfly. Developing close and respectful relationships between species is one of her primary life interests. Audrey has worked as a journalist, magazine editor, communications director, freelance book indexer, garden center worker, medical receptionist, and art teacher, among other roles. A published poet, she received an Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council for 2022. Audrey and her husband moved to Yellow Springs ten years ago after a brief residence in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a long one in western Massachusetts. She is grateful to live in a community of thoughtful people and wise trees. AGRARIA JOURNAL 2022 41