We are Henry and Margaret Verschuur, of BlueJay Lake Farm. We have two additional homes on our property, and there is an opening for someone to live in one of these. It is a working farm, and we would like each community member to participate in some way on the farm. You would need to enjoy a farm lifestyle, be eager to take part in the various projects, want to live in community, and be willing to live without some conveniences. Enthusiasm is far more important than experience. Children would be great!

This organic farm consists of 300 acres nestled in Green Valley on Cortes Island, British Columbia. About 30 acres of this is fields, scattered in various parts of the farm. We have two milk cows and various beef cattle, a flock of laying hens, a border collie and a couple of cats. There is a two-acre apple orchard and various other fruit trees. There is a garden area, small and large greenhouses, a barn, and various other buildings. The rest of the property is forest, bluffs, and swamps. There are three lakes on the property. BlueJay Lake is near the houses and is ideal for swimming and fishing. It is an amazing property—beautiful, rich in wildlife, diverse, isolated by mountains, peaceful, and clean.

We are on Cortes Island, which is between Campbell River on Vancouver Island and Powell River on the BC mainland.

Our driveway is two and a half kilometers long and needs to be maintained by those living on the farm. We use it as little as possible. If you need to leave the farm regularly, you would need to either spend more time and money maintaining the driveway or use a bicycle to get to and from your vehicle. Children attending school would need to walk or cycle the driveway every day to get to the bus stop.

We have an alternative energy source that provides limited electricity.

There are currently two families on the farm. We have three children, ages 9 to 14. It is a great place for kids to grow up, and a big part of being in this community is the children.

Perhaps you dream of working with and enjoying the land but cannot afford your own place. Perhaps you think you might enjoy this lifestyle but aren't ready to make a commitment to it. Or you'd like to learn more about homesteading. Or perhaps you are a family who would like to take a year off from your regular lives and do something totally different.