At BUG, we we are committed to being timely and offering exceptional quality. We hold a growth mindset, always striving to learn and improve. We are enthusiastic about doing what’s right for the Earth and our community. We look forward to growing food with you!
Ashley Joyce, Founder, Lead Gardener and Vegetable Enthusiast
Ashley moved to Bend when she was eleven years old. Later, as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student in rural Finland, she milked cows and saw vegetables growing in the gardens of her host families. She never grew a vegetable in her life, though, until after graduating from Brandeis University with degrees in Anthropology and International and Global Studies. She then served as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer in Philadelphia, helping her neighbors gain greater access to nutritious food.
These experiences led her to apprentice on organic vegetable farms in Oregon and California, and earn a Certificate in Ecological Horticulture from the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at UC Santa Cruz. In 2009, after completing the program, she moved home to Bend and spent nearly nine years teaching nutrition, cooking, and gardening, as an educator with the OSU Extension Service SNAP-ED Program in Deschutes County, proudly wearing a cape on a daily basis in her role as a Food Hero.
A 2014 graduate of the Master of Arts in Teaching Program at OSU Cascades, she is a licensed early childhood and elementary teacher with an ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) endorsement.
Bend Urban Gardens combines Ashley’s contagious enthusiasm for growing vegetables as well as her strong teaching skills and strategies to provide helpful and engaging edible garden inspiration and mentorship. When she isn’t gardening, she can be found walking, running or paddle boarding with BUG’s mini Goldendoodle spokes dog, Toby.
Paige Welsh, BUG Team Member
Over the past decade, since earning a B.S in Health and Human Performance and becoming a Certified Master Health and Nutrition Coach, Paige has developed a deep passion for gardening and sustainable farming. She recognizes the profound impact gardening can have on overall health and well being, and is drawn to BUG’s mission to make gardening accessible to all.
Through hands-on work experience on farms like Around the Bend Farms locally in Central Oregon, building garden beds, and installing irrigation systems, she is motivated to continue contributing to a meaningful cause - strengthening our local food system by helping build thriving sustainable gardens.
When Paige isn’t building gardens and caring for plant starts at BUG, you’ll find her weightlifting, rockclimbing, mountain biking, camping and painting.
In 2025, Ashley is looking forward to her 16th growing season in Central Oregon. She and her husband grow their own CSA share in their front and back yards, enjoying both annual veggies and perennial fruits. Their space was featured on the 2015 High Desert Garden Tour and their year-round solar greenhouse won the People’s Choice Award on the Environmental Center’s 2022 Green Tour.
As a lifelong learner and collaborator, she is a member of the Central Oregon chapter of the Oregon Landscape Contractors Association and board member of The Foodscaper Conference, an annual online educational gathering for edible ecological landscaping professionals. In October 2023, she earned a permaculture design certificate alongside fellow foodscapers through Midwest Permaculture’s design course.
