Help us with our vegetable gardens and landscaping on Wolfe Island, Ontario, Canada

Details

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  Description

  We live on beautiful Wolfe Island, Ontario, at the head of the mighty St-Lawrence River where it flows out of Lake Ontario. Gary is a retired biologist who worked his whole career in conservation and land management. Sophie works full-time from home. Four years ago, we purchased this 41 acre property and over the past three years we built our retirement home. We plan to mostly live off of our land, growing our own vegetables and enjoying the nature around us. Gary recently received a foundation grant to convert 38 acres of our agricultural land into native grasses and wild flowers, a project which he began last spring.
  We have lots of hobbies. Sophie loves to read, cook, crochet and knit and plans to start growing willow to get into weaving baskets. Gary also loves to read, cook, bake sourdough bread, hunt for deer and wild turkey, fish, and plans to resume brewing his beer. We live on the water and enjoy kayaking, canoeing and swimming in the St-Lawrence River.
  
  We have two grown children who come to visit from Montreal, Quebec and we have an Australian Labradoodle named Cobble, and a Maine Coon cat named Gaspard. Gary speaks English. Sophie Speaks French, English and understands some Spanish.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Farmstay help

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We are a close-knit community on the Island. We have ongoing activities through the year: seasonal market, musical concerts, summer yoga classes, a lovely sandy beach and lots of spontaneous gatherings. We are also a ferry ride away from the city of Kingston which has movie theatres, restaurants, shopping, concerts arts and cultural events. This is a nature lover's paradise. Wolfe Island is the largest of the Thousand Islands and offers beautiful landscapes, great wildlife, a large bird population, bicycle trails and striking water views. Travellers would learn how to use their skills, practice English and/or French and experience discovering a very original place.

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  Help

  We would love to have help managing our vegetable gardens and maintaining our two acres of ornamentals. We have a number of potential building projects including covering our boat shed with steel siding and roofing, building a kayak rack, and other projects. Our helpers should have basic carpentry and or gardening skills and have some physical strength.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent
  Spanish: Intermediate

  This host offers a language exchange
  I am fluently bilingual in French (my mother tongue) and English. I learned Spanish when I was in High school and love to get a chance to practice although I am very rusty. My husband Gary only speaks English.
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  Accommodation

  We have a 500 square foot apartment with a queen sized bed, bathroom with shower and a small living room above our garage. We also have a guest bedroom in our house with two twin beds and bathroom with shower. We like to prepare and serve meals in the main house or outdoors when the weather permits. Workers can participate in the meal prep if they want but Sophie and Gary are more than happy to take care of meals. We love to eat lots of vegetables, meats of various kinds, fresh baked bread, homemade yogurt and lots of fruit. We like to focus on local and organically grown food as much as possible. We are happy to accommodate someone who is vegetarian. We have a laundry machine and a clothes line or dryer on the property.

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  What else ...

  During their time off, helpers can kayak, canoe and swim. On the island, they can also discover Big Sandy Bay and its sand beach (one of the biggest sand beaches on the Great Lakes), on weekends, music is played on the patio at the hotel and there is a 9 hole golf club on the island. We have two ferries leaving Wolfe Island. The Wolfe Island ferry travels to and from Kingston every hour and one can tour the city of Kingston, Fort Henry, Queen's University, and downtown Kingston. The Horne's ferry operates from May to October and travels to Cape Vincent New York. There you can stroll around the picturesque and historic village of Cape Vincent and its shops. It is also important to know that we live 20 km from the village or the ferry so we will have to shuttle our helpers when they wish to go somewhere on their time off. Also, cell coverage is not great on the island. We are so close to the U.S. border that our phone will go to roaming unless we are on the North side of the island. However, since we have internet, phones will work well with Messenger, FaceTime or Skype. Wolfe Island is very windy. Helpers will have to plan for different clothing to accommodate to wind, rain, and mud (spring or fall). Our island can also be very buggy in the spring. We are early risers and like to be very active during the day, so we are probably not a good match for a night owl. We absolutely insist on a non smoking environment and that all Workaways be fully vaccinated against Covid 19.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  We have reliable high-speed internet. We have an office at home with a printer and are fully equipped for someone who needs to work.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We can accommodate a van or a camper up to 30 feet and could provide a 30 amp trailer plug in if necessary. However, there is no trailer dump station on the island.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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