Mission Circle Members
Hans Rosch - Hans is the Board’s rock. The longest serving Board member, Hans acts as Sunnivue Farm’s structural engineer, mechanic, and maintenance director. Hans is committed to Bio-dynamic Farming practices and has been a student of Rudolph Steiner for many years. He can fix anything and has kept a firm hand on the rudder steering ROSE Land Care Association since the beginning years starting in 1991 when ROSE was incorporated as a non-profit organization.
Josh Laurence - The efforts to build community through sustainable agricultural practice and education have been part of my doing and thinking for some time. When I discovered the work of ROSE, I was impressed and inspired to get involved. I have enjoyed lending a hand at New Moon Community Homestead, the vehicular expression of biodynamic farming with which I am most familiar.
I would like to see more opportunities for apprenticeships and educational/youth group involvement. That usually brings along older folks (parents and the like) who are usually caught up in the day-to-day of survival, until young ones bring them along with a bit of hope and enthusiasm for making a difference. That will lead to diversification of involvement and broader community impact.
Katherine Lawless - Kate Lawless is a professor of global studies at Huron University in London, ON. Her research focuses on social and ecological justice, material cultures, agroecology, and the relationship between subjectivity and place. Kate leads a team of soil scientists, social scientists, artists, and curators on the federally-funded research project “Soil as a Relational Medium,” which reframes soil as a living body and set of social and material relations rather than an object or resource and examines human-soil relations in regenerative agriculture. She is also a dedicated educator whose teaching spans the fields of human geography, cultural anthropology, political economy and ecology, and critical and cultural theory and places a high value on community-engaged and active learning. Kate has a strong record of community engagement, working with the City of London and local non-profits, including Life*Spin and Urban Roots London, on experiential learning opportunities. Currently, Kate is a member of ROSE A Land Care Association board of directors, and she is on the Science Advisory Committee for the Ontario Woodlot Association’s application to the AAFC Living Labs Initiative.
Kristina Courey - Kristina is the education and community programming lead for New Moon Community Homestead. Kristina has a Masters degree in the Sociology of Education and has a background in alternative educational models and has worked with a variety of client populations including children, mothers, and people with disabilities. Kristina leads the Forest School at the farm. Kristina is the Farmer Trustee of ROSE Land Care Association.
Nicole Buzzelli - biography pending
Shannon Hawke - came to ROSE in 2024 through New Moon’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Shannon recently became a fully credentialed architect and brings her design and building skills to the table.
Past Contributors
Dagmar Wendt - Dagmar Wendt is an entrepreneur who owned and operated an iconic restaurant in London, ON for over 30 years. Dagmar became interested in ROSE in 2016 and truly believes in the principles of Biodynamic agriculture. To honour her commitment, Dagmar leads a biodynamic reading circle on behalf of ROSE Land Care Association. She is also the Board treasurer. “I am passionate about healthy soil and regenerative growing methods. Since 1991, Sunnivue Farm has been farmed by passionate people. We are in a transition now, and the IRP will help our farm community attract investors who are also committed to a holistic, ecological, and ethical approach to farming, gardening, food, and nutrition.”
Jens Sticklings - Jens Stickling has been involved with the Sunnivue Farm for almost ten years. He is a real estate investor who brings a wealth of knowledge to the business and investment side of the farm. Jens is committed to the triple bottom line: “Community supported agriculture (CSA) was pioneered by biodynamic farmers. Over 5,000 farms encompassing more than 400,000 acres certified in 60 countries around the globe work in creative partnerships with schools, medical and wellness facilities, restaurants, hotels, homes for social therapy, and other organizations. Biodynamics brings new thinking and practices into financial circles.”
Mary Simpson - Mary Simpson, MES, York U, is a farmer who has had a career in rural community development. She recently joined the ROSE Board, bringing her skills in governance, planning, and project management. She and her husband operate the 200-acre Old River Farm, also a community farm committed to regenerative farming, education, and research. “A farm trust like ROSE will demonstrate how we can keep farm ownership in the community for the next seven generations.”
Administrative Support
Aimee Challis - Aimee Challis - Aimee has been the administrative coordinator for ROSE Land Care Association since August, 2018. She is intimately familiar with the business and farm dynamics of the association, is dependable and organized with her administrative duties. She was connected to the organization through Hutton House & a past Board member. As the first point of contact for communication within the organization, Aimee applies her past work experiences to aid in upholding the mission & mandate of ROSE, ensuring all inquiries are addressed. Aimee is especially proud to support this organization through its most recent changes- New Moon Community Homestead leading the farm and ensuring ROSE’s mission and mandate are being upheld. She also wholeheartedly supports the recently adopted sociocracy policies / procedures being implemented within ROSE.
rose.land.care.association@gmail.com
Mary Simpson, Help Desk, ROSE - Mary Simpson, MES, York U, is a farmer who has had a career in rural community development. She recently joined the ROSE Board, bringing her skills in governance, planning, and project management. She and her husband operate the 200-acre Old River Farm, also a community farm committed to regenerative farming, education, and research. “A farm trust like ROSE will demonstrate how we can keep farm ownership in the community for the next seven generations.”
Nicole Buzzelli - text pending
Operations
ROSE has adopted Dynamic Governance (aka sociocracy) as its business handbook and defines Operational Roles for its volunteers. Trusted supporters take on clear responsibilities and are given the power and support to carry out that role.
Mike Courey is operator of New Moon Community Homestead along with his wife Kristina Courey and four children. Mike brings to the team a strong background in community development, inclusive economic development, research, and agriculture. Mike is active on the operations and infrastructure circle and acts as the Director of Operations for ROSE. That role is evolving as New Moon grows into a worker cooperative and ROSE matures as a governance organization.
Mike has a PhD in Sociology focused on inclusive economic development and led a 3-year project called Inclusive Economy London and Region. He is a lead farmer in New Moon Community Homestead and teaches courses at King’s University College’s department of sociology and has published in the area of Sustainable Development Goal measurement for cities. He has specializes in community economies, leading teams on social procurement, community and cooperative ownership of businesses, and decent work. He is engaged in the social finance community in southwestern Ontario.
Jesse Barbosa, Permaculture Designer - I’m in my late 20s and getting into a more sustainable lifestyle! I have completed a permaculture design course and want to change the way people look at their food in order to survive as a species for the centuries to come! I'd like to be able to figure out how to farm/homestead in a sustainable, responsible way and then teach that to as many people as possible! I am aware that in order to see change you must first focus on yourself and then grow your circle of influence!
Before coming to work and volunteer at New Moon community Homestead, I had little to no volunteer experience or community involvement! This is the first time I have felt drawn to donate my time to a cause.
I would like to see New Moon and ROSE implement rotational grazing, winter cover cropping, commercial kitchen capabilities, and housing for a large team and their families! I'd also like to see the development of 2 new ponds and the recovery of the one by the store! I would like to see a community hall as well as a large greenhouse, a small orchard (or a couple) and some non-farming, revenue generating asset such as a dog kennel which would bring the rural and urban communities together.
Steve Redmond, Nutrient Management and Land Management Advisor - Stephen Redmond has 30+ years of professional agricultural experience. Over the last 20 years his focus has been on educating farmers and others on the Nutrient Management Act (NMA, 2003) and the associated NM Regulations & Protocols. Steve also has extensive soil sampling and analysis experience and has assisted several culinary farms with the use of organic amendments to balance soil fertility and overall soil health.
Steve has been President of Middlesex Soil & Crop Improvement Association, Vice-chair of the Ailsa Craig & Area Food Bank, Chair of St. Patrick Parish Finance Committee and Parish Council. Steve is helping the farm stewards with a sustainable farm management plan such that Sunnivue Farm can successfully raise beef cattle, laying chickens, broiler chickens and other livestock as necessary. “ The farm has the opportunity to be a Demonstration Farm in the London area for other land owners who want to develop an intensive organic food production system.”
Sunnivue Farmers
O’Neil and Peters Organic Dairy and Cropping:
Jason O’Neil and Twan Peters have rented the fields and barn since 2016. Jason operates an organic dairy herd in the Sunnivue barn and Twan focuses on the crops.
New Moon Community Homestead:
A new project launched on Sunnivue with a focus on supporting the objects of ROSE, New Moon Community Homestead is a mixed meat, egg and produce operation with a community building focus. Mike and Kristina Courey are the lead farmers on the project, which invites households to participate in the production of their own food, and also offers community programming including Farm and Forest School (in collaboration with At Last Forest Schools).