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Description
The place is home to two biologists, Curtis (botanist), Trevor (lichenologist), and Kabuki (Australian shepherd dog). We live on ten acres in a wonderful community of Upper Clearwater, surrounded by the wilderness of Wells Gray Provincial Park. It's a wonderful setting for our lives, our work, and our garden.
Curtis and Trevor have lived together as life partners since 2003. Kabuki joined us in 2020, and she's treated with as much respect as any human in our lives. She's gentle, energetic, and a lot of fun. If you visit, please be ready to be her good friend, also.
Harvest season begins in July and continues through October, and then the food from the garden is abundant. We grow most of the plant-based portion of our diet, and our crops are diverse: beets to barley, peppers to parsnips, tomatoes to teff, cabbages to coriander. And everything else you can think of that can grow in a northern climate, even some surprising hot-climate crops like sorghum and sweet potatoes. All we grow is for our kitchen; surplus is gifted to neighbours.
We are new to Workaway as of 2026, but we were registered with Woofers for many years. Many of our past helpers have returned for more work-stays, or simply as friends. And some of our helpers have been inspired to take up biology and natural history after staying with us and learning from our combined 70 years of experience and knowledge as professional biologists.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
Interests
Culture
LGBTQ
Sustainability
Pets
Writing
Drawing & painting
Photography
Gardening
Hiking
Nature
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We welcome visitors from anywhere in the world. We get a lot of visitors from spring through autumn, as well as school groups, naturalist clubs, conservationists, firefighters, gardeners, biologists, artists, writers, filmmakers, geologists, and neighbours who often stop by to chat. Many of our neighbours are immigrants from Europe, especially from German-speaking countries. Curtis immigrated from the US, Trevor is Canadian-born. Upper Clearwater is made up of about 160 permanent residents from diverse backgrounds, including many European immigrants (mostly from German-speaking countries). The nearest town is Clearwater, 26 km from the house, where you can find good-quality groceries, restaurants, an excellent bakery, a Saturday farmer's market, and occasional concerts or other cultural events.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
Our gardens offer us food, flowers, and scientific interest, but not profit. It's a paradise setting for a garden but it's too much work for us, and we can certainly use help. Our growing season is short and intense, with harvests extending from July through October. We grow most of the plant-based portion of our diet. It's a cold climate, but it's warming rapidly as climate change proceeds. You can expect to learn a lot from us on how microclimates, soils, and biodiversity interact in ways that necessitate location-specific methods. Please come with an open mind on how to garden; conventional methods often don't work here.
Those interested in ornamental gardening will find the gardens rich in diversity (the last inventory reached over 1300 species and varieties of permanently cultivated plants). Help with the ornamental gardens and landscaping is welcome as well as help growing and harvesting the crops.
Besides gardening, there's always a lot of projects to be done here: invasive species control, splitting firewood, fixing and maintaining equipment and vehicles, or running errands.
We do most work by hand, avoiding machine use whenever possible. That keeps us in good physical fitness and reduces noise, pollution, and fuel use.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
German: Intermediate
French: Intermediate
Japanese: Beginner
Chinese (Mandarin): Beginner
Accommodation
Cabin (when available), spare bedroom in the main house, camping pads, or a space for a small camper.
Because we work intensely on many fronts, not only on the land, we prefer communal meals to be limited to dinners, and we may sometimes be rushed. In season, we can offer a rich diversity of delicious fresh foods from the garden, and for the rest of the year, there is a bounty available from the root cellar and pantry. Supplementary food can be purchased in town on a stipend in exchange for 25 hours of help per week. Our local community is increasingly evolving toward food security; some of our newer neighbours came here for that purpose. There is an excellent bakery in town, a Saturday farmer's market, and a locally owned grocery store that sells to people who expect good quality. Some of our neighbours sell eggs and meats. We also have opportunities for berry picking or wild mushrooms. Local fishing and hunting are also possibilities for those interested.
What else ...
We're intense in our work and lives. We can't claim to be easy-going; we believe the times we live in call for disciplined, purposeful living. But that said, we can offer a lot of stories, knowledge, inspiration, rich conversation, and when it works out, friendship. Curtis (but not Trevor) thrives on a clothing-optional lifestyle, and asks that anyone who stays here longer-term bring a good attitude about nudism.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
Mosquitoes and other biting insects can be abundant here at times, but not as bad in much of Canada. Toughness and a positive attitude are definitely required, though. Bear awareness and other techniques of staying safe around wildlife are also a must.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
My animals / pets
Kabuki
Kabuki is an affectionate, gentle, fun-loving, high-energy canine.
Photos
