Apryl Leaf was born in Ashcroft, B.C. and was raised in the Interior town of Falkland. She composed her first poems at the age of 11. After graduation she enrolled in outdoor school and then studied music, creative writing and literature in North Vancouver, joining others in the summer months for reforestation work in the Interior and Coastal mountains. She became employed in a variety of marine-based work and marine studies as well as raising a daughter. She earned a journalism diploma, then worked as a reporter for small North and South Coast newspapers. She edits poetry for a Lower Mainland book publisher.