Savour our Progress-Highlights since April 2008

Eco Echo provides communities throughout the Gatineau and Ottawa area with exceptional learning opportunities to care for the natural environment and practice sustainable living.  Eco Echo seeks active partnerships with the private, public and third sectors, forging collaborations that result in sustainable solutions and programmes.

Eco Echo serves as an outdoor campus to engage talents of our young people, using a cross-generational and cross-cultural approach that supports strong rural values.

Covered bridge in Wakefield Quebec

PROGRAMS TO DATE (See our Events page for current activities):

Spring 2008

  • Eco Echo was launched with media and community gatherings to introduce over 100 community members to the purpose and promise of Eco Echo which inspired additional programming contacts and local partnerships.

Summer 2008

  • A week-long day camp with Earth Lore Wilderness, with environmental educators Pierre Blin and Heather Burrill, introduced 5-10 year olds to nature’s abundance.

Fall 2008

  • Weekend workshops with the Mycologues de l’Outaouais, permaculture expert Brad Peterson (Environmental Design) and organic farmer Ken Taylor (Windmill Point Farms) introduced 40 community members to the benefits of permaculture and watershed management.

Winter 2008

  • Resident artist and host Pierrot Vadeboncoeur begins weekly drumming workshops with the Wakefield Grannies

Spring 2009

  • A day-long fruit tree and grafting workshop with Ken Taylor inspired 60 participants from as far away as the Niagara Escarpment and Lanark, Ontario. The La Pêche Organic Community Orchard (POCO) took root at this workshop!

Fall 2009

  • Second annual “hands-on survey” with the Mycologues de l’Outaouais for over 50 participants identified 50 mushroom species on the property.

Winter 2009

  • Eco Echo supported the first steps as members of La Pêche Organic Community Orchard made plans to develop a new source for locally grown fruit on the pesticide-free farmland and preparation began on a one acre plot.

Spring 2010

  • An Earth Day Festival on April 24 hosted neighbors, families and visitors who explored the land, enjoyed tractor rides, visited the Quarry amphitheatre, played on haybales, walked the labyrinth, co-created an environmental artwork, Le Cri, with Marc Walter, listened to music, and celebrated Council member Louis Rompre's planting of the first cherry tree in the Community Orchard.

Summer 2010

  • Members of the La Pêche Organic Community Orchard tended and cared for a variety of 35 fruit trees as they established roots in their new soil.
  • Two weeklong programs in August 2010 presented by Isabel Diaz and ARTerres Eco-Art Camp engaged 27 youngsters between age 6-13 in a variety of interactive and creative outdoor learning activities.

Fall 2010

  • Les Mycologues de l'Outaouais joined us in September for their third annual program and discovered 117 delicious and unusual mushroom varieties.
  • A Homa Therapy Workshop presented by Sahaj Kaur Durnin, Ayurvedic Nutritionist, shared the ancient knowledge of Agnihotra with community members.
  • Land artist Marc Walter's "outdoor studio" in the fields and woods of Eco Echo welcomed hundreds of visitors over two weekends in October during the 22nd Annual Artists in their Environment Tour.
  • The La Pêche Organic Community Orchard planted an additional 40 bare-root fruit and nut trees, bushes and vines for hibernation throughout the winter. It is now the most diverse orchard in the Gatineau!
  • Organic farmer Ryan Wilson led an ecological property design workshop in November and inspired 20 community members to take a "hands-on" approach to managing their own property using the principles of permaculture.

Spring 2011

  • Eco Echo partnered with Ottawa's Hummingbird House Healing Centre to host author and Pachamama Alliance co-founder Lynne Twist (www.soulofmoney.org) in presenting The Pachamama Alliance's Awakening the Dreamer/Changing the Dream Symposium for 35 thought leaders. (www.awakeningthedreamer.org).
  • The Second Annual Earth Day Festival on April 23rd, with sponsorship from the Desjardins Caisse populaire Desjardins de Masham-Luskville, focused on readying the orchard for spring and featured popular rides on two ponies from Captiva Farms. We're grateful to the many volunteers and families who generously participated in welcoming Spring to the Gatineau!
  • The Wakefield Incubator Farm, under the guidance of entrepreneur Laura Lee Hogan and permaculturist Matthew Salkeld, planted a half acre of the fertile field with a variety of vegetables and flowers to inspire others who wish to gain experience with commercial farming.

   l Gathering the 'shrooms-2011

Fall 2011

  • Members and friends of Les Mycologues de l'Outaouais joined us for their fourth annual discovery and identification workshop and found over 100 mushroom varieties at Eco Echo.
  • Community leaders participated in the Pachamama Alliance workshop: Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream in partnership with groups engaged in local issues.