Love Nature? Want to help with conservation? We are looking for WWOOFers with building, gardening, sewing and forestry experience this this spring. At Lost Bay Farm, you'll work hard, eat extremely well, and play a lot. We love sharing what we've learned about organic agriculture during the 50+ years we've been gardening. Our dream is that every WWOOFers will leave here with new skills and interests! We can only accept WWOOFers for a minimum of 2 weeks unless they provide their own transportation.
Our 55-acre farm is on the Canadian Shield in the United Nations Frontenac Arch Biosphere, a 45 minute drive from Kingston, Canada's first capital city, where there is lots to see and do. We live near a small lake, with a sauna and canoe for your enjoyment.
We have been hosting WWOOFers since 2004. Please read our reviews so you can see what they have experienced.
You will be welcomed as part of our family, and share meals with us. We are a retired couple, both working as volunteers for wildlife conservation; your help at Lost Bay Farm helps us make this contribution. Because we can't always work with you, you must have a mature attitude, be able work independently at times, and be able to follow directions in English. We can only accept non-smokers.
Lost Bay Farm is a 20-minute drive from the world-famous Thousand Islands, and a 40-minute bicycle ride from Charleston Lake Provincial Park, which has sandy beaches for swimming, old trees, and fine trails which we hike in the summer and snowshoe in the winter. Bikes are available for you to ride, as well as cross-country skis (you'll need your own boots) and snowshoes for winter recreation. Our property borders on a small, peaceful lake--great for swimming or for just hanging out after work. If you are an experienced rider, you may want to help us keep our semi-retired horse Bokhara exercised. We also have a cat named Shadow, and chickens for eggs.
WWOOFers help us to grow and store organic food, care for chickens and Shadow, build and repair structures, combat invasive species, fix fencing, help cut and move firewood for winter, maintain the flower gardens as well as the kilometers of trails on our own land, which you are welcome to hike, ski or snowshoe. Meals are organic, and can be ovo-lacto vegetarian; you will be treated as a member of the family while you are here. WWOOFers are expected to help with meal preparation and cleanup. We love to cook, and enjoy sharing recipes with WWOOFers. If you are qualified to drive in Ontario, it would be most helpful since Cameron's eyesight isn't good enough anymore to continue driving.
Accommodation is an apartment attached to our house where there is a bedroom, a bathroom and a studio.
We look for WWOOFers who have a conservation ethic. We live next to the Lost Bay Nature Reserve. WWOOFers help keep invasive plants from getting into the reserve or spreading into the forest.
We enjoy including WWOOFers in our social activities, if they wish. Emily is an ESL qualified teacher and is happy to help you with English; we also speak Spanish and French at an intermediate level. Cameron retired from a career in journalism.
WWOOFers work 5 1/2 hours Monday to Friday, half days on Saturdays. Work is varied. Sundays are free time. We believe that you should have free time each day for your own enjoyment.
Our area is one of the most biologically diverse in Canada (#1 for vascular plant biodiversity in Canada) , with a huge variety of trees and woodland plants including a wide variety of spring ephemeral flowers. Wildlife is abundant; there are deep-forest birds, such as pileated woodpeckers and red-shouldered hawks, shy animals such as fishers and coyotes, endangered species such as Blanding's turtles, Cerulean warblers and Whip-poor-wills. There are also species that are simply a pleasure to watch, such as deer, beavers, herons, osprey, otters, the occasional bald eagle, rabbits, and butterflies. You will hear many varieties of frogs, especially in spring in the early evening.
Certification: Our operation is too small to be certified. We have strictly followed organic practices since 1970.
Current projects: Starting plants for 2026 gardens, transplanting, garden preparation, compost making, repairing structures, weeding, tool conditioning, trail maintenance, using stored food in cooking.
Internet access available.
We live in Nature, and we care for the land and its many creatures. We try to live as lightly on the land as we can. We look forward to sharing our way of life with you!
Read more
Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Poultry farming
Forestry
Wild foraging
Flower farming
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Renewable energy production
Food justice / sovereignty
Methods or systems
Holistic management
Mentoring opportunities
Woman-operated
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
22.3
Hectares
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55
Acres
