Alternative co-operative community, Homestead, Ranch/ Livestock Farm, Mixed Farm, Farm, Family farm
British Columbia
**We are prioritizing longer term stays- people who are curious to stay a while and get to know the ways of the farmstead. Please don't apply for less than a month and know priority will be given to those who would like to stay for a good part of the season and be actively involved**
We invite you to join us on our beautiful community farm, in the heart of Cortes Island. We are primarily a homestead and grow food for the community. This 300 acre parcel of land encompasses lakes, bluffs, forests, fields, orchards and gardens. As a homestead, we have been providing for our needs for over 30 years, and are mostly self-sufficient in energy and food. We have cows for dairy and beef, chickens for eggs, and on some occasions, goats, ducks, or pigs. We grow lots of vegetables to eat and store throughout the winter.
We appreciate help from passionate helpers seeking fields and gardens to tend, food to harvest and enjoy, and animals to love. We are enthusiastic about living sustainably and operate the farm year round. We have an alternative energy system and strive to connect the diverse aspects of the farm to make a greater whole. We eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together most days, and think it's pretty amazing that 80% of the food we eat is grown right here on the farm. We are eager to have people on board that appreciate this privilege. We make our own butter, yoghurt and cheese, as well as preserve vegetables, fruit, meat, and fish so that we can enjoy our bounty throughout the year. We ask for 25 hours a week in exchange for scrumptious food and comfy accommodation.
Housekeeping, cooking, and animal care are among daily scheduled chores included in your Wwoof time, with the remainder filled by seasonal farm projects such as gardening, preserving, stacking firewood, and working on building and maintenance projects. We try to give you the jobs you are most interested in doing, with daily meetings to check in. Everyone gets one day off during the week, and on the weekends we take it easy, but you may be scheduled to do animal chores or cook a meal. Our farm is surrounded by provincial parks and is near the beautiful Von Donop Inlet, there is plenty of rainforest trails right from the property for biking and hiking. The farm has three gorgeous lakes that are ideal for swimming, canoeing, and fishing, and sometimes skating. We also have a sauna and wood fired hot tub! Off the farm you will find Cortes has a vibrant and eclectic community of alternatively-minded people who are usually happy to pick up a hitchhiker or two. This is a magical place for us to care for, enjoy, and share. If you are easy going, community minded, and have a deep respect for your environment and the people that fill it, we would love to have you as an important member of the BlueJay Lake Farmily! Please check out our farm website for further information: http://www.bluejaylakefarm.com
Organic methods: We mainly have a 'closed system'. We bring organic dairy, chicken, and duck food and some local hay onto the farm to supplement the existing livestock feed. We have a huge compost pile - sawdust bedding (is a by-product of the sawmill on the farm), manure, and the parts of the animal we cannot eat. The cows and beef are the heart of the farm, as they supply the most bulk material to the compost pile. Currently we use no chemicals, organic or otherwise.
Certifications: Not certified as our neighbours purchase our food and can monitor.
Current projects: Other than the usual farming activities, we are creating a fire break around the farm, and plan to work on our driveway. There is always something going on, as the farm has many community members with wonderful and wacky ideas.
Internet access available
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Poultry farming
Cattle farming
Sheep or goat farming
Dairy farming
Meat processing
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Renewable energy production
Mechanics / tools / technology
Methods or systems
Holistic management
Permaculture
Host type
Production farm
Certified organic
120
Hectares
|
296.5
Acres
Accommodation
Blue Jay
Member since 2008
Languages spoken:
English
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 96%
Response time: typically within 4 days
British Columbia
Reviews
Christina
Germany
•
December 2025
I stayed for about 7 weeks at BlueJay Lake Farm and really loved it! Henry is such a welcoming host and is always trying to make sure that his wwoofers have a good time. :) The farm is absolutely beautiful and it is so impressive what Henry has created there. Almost all of the food we ate was directly from the farm so every meal was delicious and fresh. The woofer cabins are very cosy and comfy and we were always welcome to hang out in the house too. The work we did was very diverse - from daily chores like milking the cows, cooking and getting eggs from the chickens to helping out at Henrys saw mill, food processing or mechanical stuff. Henry is always happy to answer any questions and loves to tell stories about the farm. I really enjoyed card game evenings, getting together for happy hours and bonfires and Henry making pancakes for everybody on Sunday. :) There are some really nice walks in the area and the lake right next to the farm is such a treat. Thanks for everything Henry! :)
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Onanya
Australia
•
November 2025
Blue Jay was such a beautiful experience. I was originally going to stay for a month but ended up extending for an extra two weeks cause I didn’t want to leave!
There’s so much to learn and do. Delicious, fresh food straight from the garden, long afternoons swimming at the lake. The chickens and cows were so cute and milking was such a cool skill to learn and experience. I really appreciated having a scheduled roster on the blackboard, which meant every day was different and kept things interesting! Every wwoofer has their own little wood cabin which is also so cozy. I felt very lucky to be eating such wonderful, healthy meals everyday that were almost completely from the farm. The community of Cortes holds a very special place in my heart.
Thank you Henry and everyone at Blue Jay farm for being so welcoming and providing such a lovely space to connect with the land and form friendships I will have for life!
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Olivia
Canada
•
September 2025
Wow! Where do I start?! My stay at Blue Jay Lake was exactly what I was looking for and exceeded my expectations by a mile. Henry was very kind and welcomed me into his home with a very open heart. He was patient and very willing to teach me any new skills I asked about. He told us about trails and camping areas on the property as well as activities on the island.
The actual work was super doable and fun, and I was always getting to learn something new. You never had to do any tasks that you weren't comfortable doing.
The accommodation was also very lovely. I had my own cozy cabin where I could see the lake from. The meals were prepared by us using the food we grew. It was all very tasty and a great time to try out something new. I tried many new foods!
Overall, I couldn't recommend this farm more. I made friends for a lifetime and memories I'll never forget. I really hope to be back someday, I'm missing everyone so much already, especially Eggbert ;)
Thank you Henry and Blue Jay Lake for everything <3
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Marissa
Canada
•
July 2025
Blue Jay Lake Fram is a magnificent farm that offers thousands of learning opportunities like: living in a community, gardening, home steading, learning about yourself, learning to work with others, working with your hands, and more and more. I had a lovely time and believe anyone can enjoy themselves at the farm because it is so vast, wild, and has thousands of opportunities! thank you Henry for hosting me!
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Lilli
Germany
•
March 2025
We stayed at Blue Jay Lake for two weeks and had a good time! Henry is a very nice, kind, knowledgeable and also hard working host. He really wants his WWOOFers to enjoy their time there. The farm is in a beautiful location and has opportunities for great hikes and canoeing. The work varied a lot, but our favourite thing was milking the cows and then making things out of the milk.
This farm really is unique due to its self-sufficiency!
Thanks for everything:)
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Kloe
Canada
•
March 2025
Blue Jay was a really special place and I'm super lucky to have been here! There is a deep sense of community at this farm. Plenty of other kind lovely woofers and members of the island to meet and the host was very friendly. He made sure to ask what I skills and tasks I liked the most and give me more of those. During my time I had the opportunity to work with cows, chickens, and food farmed from the land I stood on. The nature surrounding the farm was also stunning and despite my time there I didn't manage to explore even half the trails that were available.
A wonderful experience. I was originally meant to stay for 2 weeks but I ended up staying an extra week. If you have the chance to go to BlueJay I say go! I hope to return one day.
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