People

Roger Berrett

came to O.U.R. Ecovillage in May of 2006 for a month, and has been here ever since. He spent his first two and a half years here creating the woodworking shop, affectionately known as the Taj Mahal, from what used to be a chicken house (Taj II is in the works!). His aspirations are to see O.U.R. successfully become a cooperative venture with an artistic bent and lots of fun, love, and foolishness. Roger is dedicated to making sure that things don’t become too serious, creating beautiful things with wood… and pie.

• Co-op Member
• Resident Fine Woodworking Craftsman
• Resident
• Aspiring snowbird

Trent Berg

is the man who holds the awe-inspiring job of “putting roofs on oddly shaped buildings”. His support for his partner, Brandy, and the community is deep. He amorously attends to the details that keep the lands, animals, and buildings functioning in harmony, all while striving to strengthen his communitarian roots. He is dedicated to demonstrate a healthy and caring way of life to his daughter, Freya, and all those willing to learn.

• Carpenter and Handyman Extraordinaire
• Resident
• Father and Supporter

Freya Gallagher-Berg

was born into community life at O.U.R. Ecovillage. She encompasses and emanates exactly what ‘community’ is as she pulls people out of their shells and joins them together in the joy of sharing. She has been a very active community member since birth, caring for the animals, and helping all those around her balance work with play.

Mike Cloutier

is a mad gardener who has more experience than Starhawk has friends on facebook. He comes to us with his partner Kate direct from building composting humanuer facilities in Haiti to work as the Farm Manager. His background includes working with the CSA at Whole Ecovillage, Commercial Organic Farm Manager at Caledon Farm in ON… Uganda working on a Sustainable Ag. project at an orphanage, permaculture in NZ and… well, you get the point. Mike interviewed at O.U.R. on New Years Eve of 2010 not only because the Garden Manager position was a great opportunity for him on his path, but because he loves the fact that he can work with like-minded folks toward a common goal. He loves the ease of sharing a life together in community and is sniffing out a life for himself in community.

Mike comes from a pretty strong background in tech with an undergrad in electrical engineering and a masters in renewable energy systems engineering, so it’s no wonder he just likes to get basic and grow food. When it gets too dark to see, or too cold to be up to his elbows in compost or sprouting seeds, you can find him playing ultimate frisbee, dangling from (small) boulders or riffing it up on his guitar.

• Permie
• Organic Gardener
• Continuing Intern

Lynn Curtis

Previously, Lynn has worked for the provincial government as a jester, retiring from government in 2004 when the Gordon Campbell “Liberals” decided to gut the civil service. Since then he has been actively involved in the development of the legal supports for O.U.R. and in the planning for the housing project on-site. Lynn would like to see “a lot of money manifest itself immediately” for both the Co-op and the Community Association.

• O.U.R. Community Association Board of Directors Member
• a central co-conspirator in the FOG Project

Joy Emmanuel

Being part of community has been an important part of Joy’s life journey. She has been a practicing Quaker for over 10 years and has enjoyed the grounding in simplicity and the reverence for community life that her spiritual practice has offered her. She has been involved with O.U.R. Ecovillage for over four years, and is now a full-time resident onsite. Joy comes from a coaching and co-operative background. She currently consults on co-ops and leads Eco-Spiritual workshop and Transformational Coaching through her company Turning Times. Joy also enjoys travel, photography and writing.

• Member of the Co-op
• Full time resident

Carolyn Dowell

is a local, self-employed gardener who follows an “organics only” policy, and an avid herbalist. She was introduced to O.U.R. in 2003 during a local seedy Saturday, and instantly felt a correlation with the discovery of “others who think like I do”. She has maintained a strong bond to both the gardens and the community of O.U.R. Of the many attractions to the Ecovillage, the three that resonate the deepest with Carolyn are diversity, creating community, and learning new skills. Carolyn sees a future at O.U.R. filled with “more, more, more… houses, fruit & nut trees, families, children playing, smiling faces, gray hairs, wrinkles, and honey bees”.

• O.U.R. Ecovillage Cooperative Treasurer
• Owner operator of Carolyn’s Gardening, Shawnigan Lake – 250 743 733 2452
• Volunteer Extraordinaire
• Shameless dog-treats provider

Brandy Gallagher

With a deep compassion for people and place, Brandy is naturally drawn and adept to working with and within communities. She is dedicated to furthering the regulatory and legal development of legitimate models of land use, alternative building, socially responsible financing, food security practices, ownership, and governance, while aiding others in finding their way through such challenging areas. As one of the main proponents behind the Canadian precedent setting rezoning and with her work in sustainable land management planning and ecological design, Brandy has helped manifest multi-use allowances for ecovillages and shared land projects that encompass a framework of legal, political, and community integration.

• O.U.R. Ecovillage Co-founder and Developer
• O.U.R. Community Association Board of Directors Executive Director
• O.U.R. Ecovillage Cooperative Member
• Sustainable Communities Teacher and Consultant
• Mother
• Resident
• TOPIA: The Sustainable Learning Community Institute Developer

Lee-Ann Hargreaves (Lee)

has been with O.U.R. since July of 2009 when she was inducted into the office. She had always wanted to work in a low stress environment of learning, acceptance and growth amidst a serene outdoor setting and found these qualities to be ‘all accounted for’ at O.U.R. In the office she wears multiple hats.: she is the friendly voice on the phone, the smile at the door and the paper shuffler (aka bookkeeper, office manager etc) behind the scenes. Lee has experience as executive assistant in office manager in various companies and has been glad to expand her ability to multitask in the O.U.R. office. When she doesn’t have her head in the books Lee is spending time with her husband and children, hiking, playing with her dog and spending time away with her girlfriends. She feels that the understanding the integration of work, play and life at O.U.R. Ecovillage allows her the flexibility to maintain a balance in her life which is one of the reasons she stays!

• Administrative support for the co-op and non-profit
• Administrative and clerical role in all aspects of the projects that take place at O.U.R.
• Probably the first face you meet onsite

Zachrey Helmberger

first came to O.U.R. in 2009 for a Community Building Course with his wife Nicole. He found himself drawn to O.U.R. Ecovillage because of the many puzzle pieces already in place (Food production, ways of working together without being at each others’ throats, housing, educational focus, plenty of water, etc). So, before long he returned to volunteer for a while, and then declared his intent to become a hearthkeeper, moving on-site for good on New Years of 2010. Zac comes from participating in building an Earthship in the arid climate of New Mexico and training at the Richmond Farm School for small scale holistic farming. When he isn’t taking care of things around the farm or attempting to grow food with little or no outside input, he loves to wrap his mind around electronics, astronomy, astrophotography and crystal radios.

• Non-Profit Research
• Member of the Cooperative
• Permanent Resident and aspiring Hearth Keeper

Marisa Jackson

grew up in Switzerland where, as a child, she always wanted to live on a farm like her parents and grandparents did. Feeling called by a land and people to learn, work, grow, and share, is what brought Marisa to O.U.R. in the summer of 2008. Marisa’s dedication to living a healthy life full of fresh beautiful food, in an environment where her children can grow and learn in a healthy, safe, and nurturing way, and making a positive change in the world is what makes her stay.

• Mother
• Kitchen Program Coordinator

Patrick Jackson

Living with differences of language, culture, and ability during his search for a path with heart has given Patrick the conviction that the meaning and sustainability of our lives as people on Earth lies in the quality of the relationships and communities we participate in and co-create. Patrick feels and sees this at O.U.R. and is dedicated to supporting and nurturing it to grow and spread as O.U.R continues to develop.

• O.U.R. Ecovillage Cooperative Board Member
• Resident
• Father
• Resident Shiatsu Practitioner at the Mountain Shiatsu Studio.

Khaya Jackson

became a teacher of wonder and awe of the natural world since he moved to O.U.R. Ecovillage with his family, Patrick, Marisa, and sister Fiamma, in the summer of 2008. He is a natural in the garden and in wild animal tracking, finding joy and excitement in getting up close and personal with the smaller things in life. Through his discoveries, Khaya helps care for the delicate balance between the big and small living things that share this ecosystem.

Fiamma Jackson

is one of the lucky children that call O.U.R. Ecovillage “home”. She moved here with her parents, Patrick and Marisa, and her brother, Khaya, in the summer of 2008. She provides a constant glow of sunshine through her radiant smile on the rainiest of days. She fills an integral role in the community, and is a reminder to all of the future generations we are working to preserve the land for.

Nicole Leduc

comes to us with vast and diverse experiences, from building an Earthship in New Mexico to 30 years in for-profit management. She first stepped foot in O.U.R. Ecovillage back in 2009 under the guise of a community building course but really to get to know us all a little better. She was looking for a community that spoke her language – of living sustainably in nature with nature, stress (the unhealthy kind!) free, in community. And surprise! She loved what she found here, and came back in 2010 and then arrived for good, with her husband Zac, on New Years of 2010. She remains enamored with the village because of the intense process of creation, both within O.U.R. and personally. In her spare time she loves to travel to new places and meet new people. When she isn’t in the ecovillage office, she likes to cook and eat great food, create shibori and silkscreen textiles, read sci-fi and fantasy or take time on the land.

• Mom of one
• Cooperative member
• Non-Profit administration
• Permanent resident and aspiring Hearth Keeper

Kate Rustemeyer

appeared on the land on New Years Eve 2010, just before she and her partner Mike were to leave to offer their services for relief in Haiti. Kate grew up in BC, North Van to be exact and has developed her hardcore edge through many years of tree planting and her time working with the CSA at Whole Ecovillage in ON. Then, one day she was looking for a place to live and farm and stumbled on O.U.R., that she decided was really the perfect location for an Ecovillage and farm (thanks Kate!) So, here she came ready to step into a second year internship that entails garden and planting schedules, helping to lead the garden team and working with the new interns to keep O.U.R. Kitchen full of tasty produce all spring, summer and fall long.
And of course, like all of us, Kate has her indulgences, like Ultimate Frisbey, volleyball, Knitting and reading (be gentle folks, she was concerned she would sound boring if I included that last one…) but mostly, Kate likes to keep things in perspective with her hands in the soil.

• Permie
• Organic Gardener
• Continuing Intern