This spring, we find ourselves standing in a place of deep gratitude and renewed commitment. Once again, we have saved OUR Ecovillage — and what has made this possible more than anything is the extraordinary circle of people who continue to show up. This year’s volunteers have been nothing short of remarkable. With open hearts and steady hands, they have helped hold this village together — through acts of care, moments of repair, and the quiet, daily labour of tending relationships. What lives here is not just infrastructure or programming, but a living practice of kindness, accountability, and “all being in this together.” As a Non-Profit, Community Services Cooperative, OUR core team is entirely volunteer-based, with no pathway for personal financial gain — only a shared commitment to service. We feel this deeply, and we thank you.
This past season has been one of both learning and doing. As a cooperative, we have leaned into the work of relational accountability — with each other and with the land — continuing the ongoing shift from harm to healing, from extraction to contribution. And importantly, learning how to do this together. We have taken on what was incomplete, turned toward what needed attention, and rolled up our sleeves for the often unseen work: repairing infrastructure systems, updating administrative foundations, and quite literally cleaning out every nook and cranny. And in a moment that feels both practical and symbolic, we have finally completed the full kitchen permit for OUR Zero Mile Eatery — an offering that has been years in the making. At the same time, it is the thousands of people each year who come to contribute, learn, and volunteer who keep this living, service-based learning ecosystem alive and evolving.
Now, as we look ahead, the question is no longer simply how to save this place — but how to protect and steward it forever. After decades of careful design — covenants, land protection strategies, ecological surveys revealing red-listed bird habitats, water mapping, and the layering of permaculture knowledge into living maps of this land — we are stepping into a new chapter. One that asks us to move beyond ownership and toward right relationship and access. This is a profound shift. It invites us to reimagine what it means to belong to land — not as something we hold, but as something we are entrusted to care for, together, for generations to come.
And with this next season comes a depth of programming unlike anything we have offered before. Our Permaculture Design Certificate course is evolving into a truly next-level, immersive experience — one that welcomes whole families through our reVILLAGEing Family Camp, centring intergenerational learning, hands-on practice, and the weaving of community across ages and stages of life. We are especially honoured to be deepening relationships with First Peoples of these lands and territories, who are stepping forward in meaningful ways to co-facilitate learning journeys alongside OUR Board and team. Together, we are growing something that is not just educational — but relational, place-based, and rooted in respect for the knowledge systems that have always been here.
This is your year to jump in. Do you have an idea of what we should do next? Do you want to collaborate on a project? We are ramping up the Art & Culture of Community to the next level — what might that mean to you? We are also actively developing next-generation proposals for Affordable Housing — working to transform private ownership models into structures of shared access and enduring land protection, designed so that future generations are not left to renegotiate what should already be held in trust. If you are interested in living this vision, we invite you to join the housing waitlist as we prepare for the next phase of building, with five new homes on the horizon.
Stay tuned for the unfolding of Awaken the Dragon: reSTORYing Our Collective Future, alongside new natural building program pathways and hands-on learning opportunities throughout the year.
At the heart of it all is OUR Theory of Change: the unique, immersive environment of O.U.R. Ecovillage creates transformational change through experiential learning in the domains of climate crisis education, peacemaking and restorative justice, cooperative culture engagement, and applied research partnerships. Over the next 3–5 years, we are growing regenerative living programs that support brave personal, collective, and systemic healing. Through the practice of hands-on skills and knowledge gained in community, participants — stewards, learners, and visitors alike — experience a deep shift in worldview. This reSTORYing of perspective becomes a kind of metamorphosis, influencing how we live, how we relate, and how we meet an uncertain future — together.
Please reach out and let us know if you can come for a visit, a cup of tea, or a meal.
With gratitude and in community,
Brandy Gallagher
Executive Director, O.U.R. Ecovillage
