Commons Governance
Gabriola Commons Foundation, Commons Coordinating Council, Teams and GroupsGabriola Commons Foundation, Commons Coordinating Council, Teams and Groups
The Gabriola Commons Foundation (GCF)
Official landowner of the Commons and a registered charitable society
- To hold, protect and steward the property on Gabriola Island know as the “Gabriola Commons” as a public amenity, with green spaces, hiking trails, and public exhibition, performance and meeting spaces for the use and enjoyment of the public in perpetuity.
- To preserve the ecological qualities of the Gabriola Commons.
- To promote sustainable agricultural practices
Activities of the GCF are directed by an elected Board of 7 – 10 Trustees.
Trustee Goals and Activities
- Oversight of all legal and financial matters of the Foundation
- Protection of the Commons in perpetuity by registering a covenant agreement on land title
- Drafting a three-year Stewardship Plan for the Commons.
- Anyone can attend part or all of a Trustee meeting; contact trustees[at]gabriolacommons.ca for details. Minutes of all Trustee meetings are available on request electronically or in as hard copy.
A Covenant Team functions within the Trustee mandate.
The Covenant Team has been working to create documents pertinent to registering a covenant on the title of the Gabriola Commons – to protect, preserve and steward the Commons in perpetuity as a community commons and public amenity.
Draft Covenant documents:
2022-2023 Trustees
Treasurer: Mary Wilson
Secretary: Robbie Huston
Privacy Officer: Deborah Ferens
Contact: trustees[at]gabriolacommons.ca
More GCF documents available on the Resources page.
Commons Coordinating Council
The Commons Coordinating Council is the heart of the organization of the Gabriola Commons
This is the place where teams, projects, groups and community members share ideas and information and ensure the health and well-being of the Commons. The discussion is always energetic, creative and collaborative.
The Commons Coordinating Council is a monthly gathering of team representatives, groups and community members.
Council runs with the following format:
- 2 facilitators for 6 months each on a 3 month rotation.
- A 20 minute discussion on a pre-selected topic of broad Commons interest.
- Teams report on their activities.
- Any decisions taken at Council are by consensus, using a non-heirarchical approach.
Monthly Council meetings are a great way to learn about the Commons.
Council meets at 7 pm on the first Tuesday of each month upstairs in the Farmhouse. Anyone is welcome to attend.
More CCC documents available on the Resources page.
Commons Teams, Projects & Task Groups
A Team is an entity concerned with a one or more related functions or development of the Commons and has a well-defined mandate, objectives and budget.
Teams are groups of people who volunteer to make the Commons work according to its Charter and Principles. These stewardship groups take various forms and degrees of permanence depending their purposes, and function interdependently with one other.
Each group has a Representative who is responsible for taking the team’s information to and from Council and, when required, collecting input for follow-up to and from Coordinating Council. The team representative is trusted to speak on behalf of their team when a time-sensitive decision needs to be made at Council and time is short for full team input.
Generally autonomous in its decisions, a team reports regularly at Commons Council.
Project groups are also formed from time to time to manage a specific task and may eventually evolve into a permanent team.
Such project groups are monitored through the Share the Commons Team and have well-defined mandates pertinent to their projects.
A Task Group may spin off from a team or project and reports directly to the corresponding team or project.
A Task Group is a permanent or temporary entity that is smaller in scope and/or duration than a team or project; a spin-off from a team or project and reports directly to the corresponding team or project.