Agraria_Journal_WINTER_2022

BRIE JEFFREY Chebrya (aka Brie) came to Agraria first as a 2022 RFF Fellow. She has since joined the team as a VISTA for the BIPOC Farming Network and caretaker at Melrose Acres Urban Agriculture Center in Springfield, Ohio, where she’s from. She graduated from Wittenberg University in 2016 with a self-designed major in Social Frameworks. Occupied by questions such as W hat’s the relationship between individuals and their societies ? Is there such a thing as an objective bettering of society? , she says she left school with more questions than answers. Post grad, she roamed around. On one of her first trips, she met a woman who later invited her to her homestead in Virginia and introduced her to organic gardening. She’s also landed in places like Twin Eagles Wilderness School in Idaho, the Hobo Convention in Iowa, and a program called City Year in New York City. She says, “If I had one word to describe what I’ve been trying to accomplish, it’d be connection.” Brie is ever motivated to deepen her sense of place and awareness of where things come from. She looks forward to meeting new people in Ohio and to doing something useful. DESIRÉE NICKELL Desirée is a retired English teacher with over 40 years of experience in the field of education. She has worked at Wright State University, Bowling Green State University, Antioch University, the Miami Valley Literacy Council, Meadowdale High School, and, most recently, at Yellow Springs High School (YSHS). Upon her retirement from YSHS in 2021, she decided to get more involved with the Green Environmental Coalition, a local non-profit environmental organization, which ultimately led her to Agraria. Currently, she works part time at Agraria as a Yellow Springs Community Foundation Encore Miller Fellow, designing and implementing a pilot project to educate high school students about global warming and climate change and exploring options such as the creation of a wildlife habitat or tiny forest using the Miyawaki Method to mitigate the problem. The project launched in September, when YSHS freshmen spent a day at Agraria learning about local habitats, regenerative agriculture, and the benefits of connecting to nature. Ultimately, with the help and support of Agraria, these students will plant a wildlife habitat and/or a tiny forest on the grounds of YSHS. Desirée is grateful for the help and support of Agraria staff in the implementation of this project. “I know a lot about Shakespeare, but almost nothing about global warming and climate change,” Desirée says. “With the support of Agraria staff, I am learning more and more every day, and I am excited for the opportunity to involve YSHS students in the global effort to save our planet.” AGRARIA JOURNAL 2022 43