Volunteer
Want to be involved?
Community participants are the heart & soul of the Gabriola Commons
Teams of peers self organize to do the work of the Commons to
- steward and protect the rich, diverse ecology
- nurture the land’s agricultural potential
- foster shared community use for current and future generations.
Come and meet great neighbours; be part of the Commons culture and legacy.
How to get Involved
- Attend a Saturday Workbee
10am – noon and join us for soup after. - Scan the list of teams for one that suits your interests and email the contact person.
- Join the Newcomers’ Team.
- Help organize an event.
- Propose a new project to the Sharing the Commons Team.
Projects we’ve been working on
Cob Wall Project
The two leaders of the project were Pollen Heath and Lisa Butler. Pollen and Lisa were...
Gabriola Commons Teams
Land & Community
Farm Team
Join the Farm Team if you enjoy working on the land.
To apply the Commons vision to protect the agricultural potential of the Commons by:
- enhancing the land to produce food for generations to come;
- engaging in organic food production, modeling sustainable community agriculture;
- modeling sustainable supported agriculture, using renewable energy practices; and
- engaging in horticultural research specific to Gabriola.
To coordinate the agricultural initiatives presented in our three-phase agricultural plan for the Agricultural Land Commission.
Commons farming blog, Gardening on the Commons.
Contact: Heather Menzies
farming[at]gabriolacommons.ca
Property Stewardship
Join the Property Stewardship team if you like to fix things or help coordinate community groups using the Commons.
- To maintain the Commons buildings and grounds by:
- monitoring the facilities and grounds; and
- arranging for upgrades or repairs
- To be responsible for short term uses of the Commons by:
- working with the volunteer booking coordinator;
- developing information sheets and policy for users of the Commons;
- ensuring rental fees are paid and submitted to the treasurer; and
- dealing with the issues and concerns of Commons or community groups using the facilities.
- To participate in project task forces by providing advice for future management of renovations or new structures
Contact: Don Smardon
property[at]gabriolacommons.ca
Trails and Green Spaces
Join the Trails & Green Spaces team if you interested in the identification and protection of ecosystems.
- To identify and protect the undeveloped “green spaces” on the Gabriola Commons through mapping of the diverse ecosystems.
- To recognize specific areas such as the marshland around the pond as ecological reserves and propose limited means of access.
- To develop trails carefully, permitting access through selected areas in a way that respects the environment by restricting passage to the pathway.
- To identify and take action against harmful invasive species and promote the planting of native over non-native species.
Contact: Judith Roux
trails[at]gabriolacommons.ca
Community Kitchen Stewards
As a collaborative team, the Kitchen Stewards manage community use of the Commons Community Kitchen and develop policies and procedures to ensure safe, clean and equitable use of the facility.
Goals/Objectives
1. Develop guidelines that will ensure Community Kitchen use is equitable and accessible to all in the community of Gabriola.
2. Develop procedures/protocols to ensure safe operation of the kitchen and its equipment and adherence to relevant regulations and guidelines
3. Develop procedures/protocols to ensure hygienic and sanitary conditions
Strategies:
1. Develop Procedures Checklists and rental form for rentals
2. Develop daily/weekly/monthly/annual task lists for Stewards
3. Develop policies regarding use of fridge, freezers, cold stores, dry stores.
Rental contact info is by email. Contact:
Brent O’Malley
kitchen[at]gabriolacommons.ca
Events
Join this team if you like to help with various events and projects.
- To help community members participate in the Commons.
- To raise the profile of the Commons in the community.
- To contribute to the fundraising for the Commons.
Contact: Colleen Reid
wildwellness.live@gmail.com or events[at]gabriolacommons.ca
Soup Makers
Nutritious lunches of soup and bread are served at the conclusion of Saturday Workees. A group of cooks roate the making of soup from local ingredients.
If you would like to participate, contact Fred Harris:
fred.harris1[at]gmail.com
Newcomers' Team
Contact: Patrick Colvin
newcomers[at]gabriolacommons.ca
Yurt Keepers
Contact: Kristin Allen
yurt[at]gabriolacommons.ca
Mandate:
We will maintain and promote the use of the Commons Yurt. The yurt is a hub of connection, education, culture making and collaboration with other community organizations.
Strategies:
- Maintain the integrity, security, cleanliness and functioning of the yurt structure
- Promote the availability of the yurt as an educational, wellness and entertainment venue
- Organize bookings and payments
- Build a secure storage shed near the yurt for firewood, etc.
- Create a composting toilet system that is exclusively for users of the yurt
- Upgrade interior and exterior of the yurt to ensure safety and comfort of users.
Governance & Admin
Board of Trustees
Join the Trustees Team if you enjoy working with others to respond to administrative and/or financial challenges.
The Trustees Team stewards the financial and legal aspects of the Commons to meet the requirements of a non-profit registered charity, the Gabriola Commons Foundation (GCF).
GCF is the entity which holds title to the property for the benefit of the community and through which charitable donations flow.
Trustees address legal and financial issues, with diligence and transparency, in the best interests of the health and wellbeing of the Commons.
The trustees are a team in keeping with the governance and organizational structure of the Gabriola Commons, holding a place of shared responsibility with all other teams around the Gabriola Commons Coordinating Council table.
Goal:
Legal, financial structures and systems are aligned with Commons values and principles without automatically assuming that the traditional structures and systems are the way it must be done.
Objectives:
1. To continually re-assess and re-think traditional ways of interface with legal and financial bodies.
2. To develop creative, effective and transformational strategies and practices while still meeting legal and financial requirements.
Please note:
To join the Trustee Team, you must be elected at the Commons Annual General meeting, or under special circumstances, appointed to the Board by the current Trustees. In either case, you must be a member of the Gabriola Commons Foundation. If you wish to become a member, please contact the Trustees at this address:
Contact: Bob Andrew
trustees[at]gabriolacommons.ca
Bookings
Contact: Deb Ferens
bookings[at]gabriolacommons.ca
Communications
Mandate
The Communications Team (COM) facilitates the exchange of ideas and information about the Gabriola Commons, among Commons teams and individual participants, and between the Commons and the Gabriola community.
Objectives for 2020-2022
- To enhance knowledge and understanding about the Commons
- To promote community participation in the activities of the Commons
- To encourage the exchange of ideas, concerns and hopes for the Commons
Strategies
- Manage the consistency of the Commons communication identity – logo, colours, font, etc.
- Coordinate signage, maps, print materials, etc.
- Maintain the Communiqué (electronic newsletter)
- Maintain the Commons website, assisting teams with posting of pertinent news and information.
- Maintain an archive for photographs taken on the Commons.
- Write and support others in writing articles for publication in the local newspaper, on the Commons FaceBook page, various blogs, and other media.
- Act as the primary point of contact/liaison with various media
- Attend and report regularly at Commons Coordinating Council.
Contact: Heather Menzies
communications[at]gabriolacommons.ca
Council Stewardship
The Commons Coordinating Council (CCC) is the heart of the governance of the Gabriola Commons. These monthly meetings are where information, activities, issues and news are shared promoting the health and well-being of the Commons. It meets the first Tuesday of every month at 7pm.
Mandate
Council Stewardship Team supports the functioning of the Commons Coordinating Council.
Objectives
During the 2023-2024 year, this team will:
- ensure smooth functioning of Commons Coordinating Council meetings.
- support teams’ and individuals’ communication by consulting on effective ways to report to Council orally and in writing.
- support communication about and across Commons agriculture, ecology and community.
Strategies
- Provide information about Council
- Draw up guidelines for meeting logistics
- Provide a template agenda
- Arrange for meeting facilitation
- Arrange for note taking and editing
- Provide template for taking Notes
- Provide template for team reports
- Send meeting reminders
- Circulate Notes to team representatives and website
- Promote additional Council communications as required
- Provide information about Peer Governance
- Report to Commons Coordinating Council regularly
Covenant
The Covenant Team is an ad hoc Gabriola Commons Foundation Board of Trustees group formed to create documents pertinent to registering a covenant on the title of the Gabriola Commons. This covenant and its essential attachments establish protection, preservation and stewardship of the property on Gabriola Island known as the Gabriola Commons as a public amenity, for the use and enjoyment of Gabriolans in perpetuity as a community commons.
Objectives for 2019-2020
- Prepare the current draft of the Covenant and application forms for submission to the BC Land Title Office and the BC Agricultural Land Commission.
- Procure suitable Covenant Holder(s) and work with them as required.
- Complete and attach the Baseline Report to the Covenant when it is submitted. This describes the land and amenities as they exist at the time of registration in the BC Land Title Office.
- Complete the Full (Master) Baseline Report and all its documentation, such as complete detailed descriptions of ecosystem polygons.
- Complete and attach the Stewardship Agreement to the Covenant when it is submitted. This is a formal agreement between the GCF and the Covenant Holder(s) for protecting, preserving, and stewarding the Commons’ natural, agricultural and cultural features. Its attachment is a template for the Stewardship Plan.
- Prepare a draft of the first three-year Stewardship Plan
- Contribute to the formation of a Stewardship Team.
Strategies
- Continue meeting regularly to refine the draft Covenant and get it and its attachments ready for submission to the BC Land Title Office.
- Complete and submit the BC Land Title Office forms.
- Complete and submit BC Agricultural Land Commission Referral.
- Seek additional consultations as necessary.
- Identify, approach and work with potential Covenant Holders.
- Prepare Covenant Holder documents for Gabriola Commons Foundation Trustees to sign.
- Prepare an expanded Baseline Report for archiving.
- Write a draft of the first three-year Stewardship Plan.
- Initiate and participate in the formation of a first Stewardship Team.
- Attend and report regularly to the Commons Coordinating Council.
Contact: K. Louise Vincent: covenant[at]gabriolacommons.ca
Finance
Join the Finance Team if you are interested in getting an overview if the inner workings of the Commons, especially from a financial perspective. No accounting experience required.
As a sub-committee of the Trustees, the Finance Team:
- Ensures that financial records are systematically maintained, accurate and complete
- Provides recommendations to the Trustees and Coordinating Council through a financial lens
- Helps other teams with their budgets and other financial concerns
Contact: Gloria Filax
finance[at]gabriolacommons.ca
Process Team
Join if you are interested in exploring and implementing how the Commons can nurture our well-being and wholeness through healthy interpersonal relationships, clear communications, compassionate understanding, and successful conflict resolution.
Mandate:
The Commons Process Team (CPT) promotes peace on and for the Commons.
This team will work collaboratively with teams, groups and individuals to support healthy interpersonal relationships, clear communications, compassionate understanding and successful conflict resolution.
It will provide resources, sponsor events and programs, develop strategies for consideration by the Commons Teams, Council and Foundation, and offer processes for and assistance with conflict resolution.
Objectives:
- To work with groups and individuals on or connected with the Commons with the intention of working toward peaceful and respectful co-existence, skilled communication, and healthy trust and harmony.
- To encourage discussion and adoption of good practices that support these ends.
- To encourage healthy interpersonal and intergroup communication, respectful and fair conflict resolution, and collaborative power sharing, and to provide opportunities to build skills to uphold these goals.
- To orient all participants, especially newcomers, to the overall vision and purpose of the Commons, and to modes of interaction which support the Commons vision.
- To ensure that healthy, fair and respectful processes are developed, agreed on, and offered, for dealing with differences, airing disagreements, and resolving conflicts.
- To nurture a culture of mutual compassion, honesty, and respect, as a path for creating a better and more peaceful future.
Contact: Jen Turner
process[at]gabriolacommons.ca
Sharing the Commons
- Host conversations with interested groups and individuals to talk about the proposed project/event and identify relevant steps and documents/teams to consult.
- Assess the proposed project/event’s fit with Commons values and processes.
- Provide guidance in creating a working group and project mandate.
- Assist the working group in consulting with and getting support from other teams in council.
- Provide a member of the STC team to assist the group in its liaisons with council and other teams.
- Provide information to the Commons community about the project/event.
Mandate
The Share the Commons Team acts as the entry point for potential new projects on the Commons.
Objectives
- To work with groups and individuals wanting to develop new events or projects on the Commons so as to maintain a peaceful, productive and respectful co-existence of all land and facilities uses.
- To facilitate discussions on the Vision and Purpose of the Commons as new projects are developed to ensure that that they reflect them.
- To strive for full participation in the sharing of the Commons to affirm its identity as a Community Commons.
- To act as a bridge to the Council and other relevant teams during the development of new projects and events.
Strategies
- Host conversations with interested groups and individuals to talk about the proposed project/event and identify relevant steps and documents/teams to consult.
- Assess the proposed project/event’s fit with Commons values and processes.
- Provide guidance in creating a working group and project mandate.
- Assist the working group in consulting with and getting support from other teams in council.
- Provide a member of the STC team to assist the group in its liaisons with council and other teams.
- Provide information to the Commons community about the project/event.
General
- Respond to inquiries to ascertain whether a group or individual proposing to hold an activity on the Commons might merely need to book space through the Bookings Team, and to both refer them and advise on relevant documents to complete.
- Assist at Commons events to encourage new participants to become more involved by joining a team or project group.
Contact the Share the Commons Team if you are interested in proposing a new project or event on the Commons, or helping one of the “on the books” potential* new projects move forward.
Contact: Gloria Filax
sharing[at]gabriolacommons.ca