Family home and garden - rural
British Columbia
Currently looking for Wwoofers for spring, summer and early fall, 2025.
We have five acres on north Galiano Island, on a ridge with many tall trees. Our garden is an open meadow in the forest, where rich, dark soil has washed down the slope. We have vegetables, a big raspberry crop, strawberries, golden plums and three apple trees, including a Gravenstein and a Cox Pippin. We have many perennials & vines as well as annuals. Our gardening methods are organic with compost and mulch with sea soil, compost, manure & seaweed, and wood chips at an abundant nearby source.
The garden requires a lot of attention, especially in the summer dry season; mulching, watering, weeding, picking veggies etc., gathering seaweed & wood mulch. We have also developed a circular stone garden and more raised beds/stonework/paths. We work on the garden starting early spring, through the summer and well into the fall. Our two adult kids will be on Galiano for parts of the summer. We are here pretty much fulltime for the spring, summer and fall.
Suzanne likes cooking & baking and is used to adapting menus for carnivores, vegetarians, vegans and like us, omnivores. Our philosophy is to put in three to four hours of work, depending on the weather, and then leisure time reading in the hammock or off to the beach for a late afternoon swim; Wwoofers of course are welcome to join us. Work/leisure time is always negotiable as to timing during the day.Please feel free to enquire about anything; we look forward to meeting you!
Suzanne & Art
Certifications: Not certified, but use organic methods, no chemicals or pesticides.
Internet access available
Read more
Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Flower farming
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
Suzanne
Member since 2009
Languages spoken:
English, French
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 42%
Response time: typically within 8 days
British Columbia
Galiano ferry, then public transit to Vancouver and airport is easy
Reviews
Sophie
United Kingdom
•
March 2026
Staying at Suzanne and Art’s home was an interesting and overall worthwhile experience. They were very kind in welcoming us into their space and showing us their way of living. Suzanne had great advice on the best hiking and eating spots on the island (especially the Pink Geranium cafe due to its close location!). The studio was great to give the option of privacy and though it should be noted that the only inside bathroom is in the main house (with no lock and only handheld shower). We found the work slightly more labour intensive than anticipated - perhaps due to the time of year (early spring) and Suzanne noting herself that she can’t do as much heavy lifting as she used to. Most of the work done consisted of making up mulch, pruning, carrying heavy loads of wood chips and firewood. Although rewarding to see end results if you are not up for a good work out then the early spring months might not be for you!! Suzanne was an excellent cook and accommodated great to our vegetarian diets. Galiano was a lovely stop on our trip and we are grateful for the part Art and Suzanne played in that. Regarding feedback we would perhaps recommend a lock for the inside bathroom door and more regular washing of the studio quilts (although we appreciate this may be due to the limitations of island/rural living).
Read more
Claire
France
•
October 2025
My stay with Suzanne and Art was amazing ! They're both so welcoming, curious and kind. We had lots of interesting conversations. They took me to discover activities on the island (apple press, shopping, tea...).
I worked most in the garden, did lots of weeding, also covering beds and path, gardening ans helping with the fire wood too. It was so nice to see the results of my work day after day !
Their house and garden are so beautiful, with so many things to see. The bedroom was great.
I highly recommend this WWOOF !
Thanks again !
Read more
Marlène
France
•
August 2025
My experience at Suzanne's has been very rewarding for my expectations. I had the occasion to exchange a lot with her about the history of Galiano island and Vancouver, which was very interesting. Her garden is my dream garden, so it was with great pleasure that I picked up the raspberries and did pruning there, while doing some birdwatching.
Walking to discover the closest beach was also very nice and the water refreshing after a sunny day.
Being surrounded by forests and their rich wildlife has been very moving to me (hummingbirds and a doe and its fawns, as well as a river otter, without forgetting the racoons eating the golden plums...
Exchanging and tasting our mutual recipes was great too... I have tasted the best salmon of my life... Sockeye salmon!
I thank Suzanne and Art for their welcoming in their family and friends' circle.
Read more
Reply from Suzanne
I didn’t realize my review of Marlene hadn’t been posted—no doubt my fault not the website, especially since Marlene is one of the best WWOOFers we’ve ever had! She is a very pleasant and interesting person with lots of life experience to share. Marlene was very competent in garden work and knowledge, and helped a great deal with picking and preserving fruit, as well as watering and weeding and other garden tasks. A pleasure to host her, we have kept in touch and were very pleased to host her again!
Suzanne & Art
Read more
Evan
Canada
•
June 2025
I had a great stay with Art and Suzanne! Both treated me very well and were incredibly friendly and welcoming! Their garden is beautiful and a pleasure to work in, and their space (especially the studio) is cozy and comfortable. Plenty of exploring can be done on Galiano, and Suzanne and Art had great suggestions for hikes and beaches.
Jon
Canada
•
June 2023
We stayed with Art and Suzanne for 10 days on Galiano Island this May. Their garden and house is beautiful, in a very calm and relaxing forest area. Our accommodations were in a separate, very comfortable cabin, where you can watch the birds and the stars from the huge window beside the mattress. We used the outdoor shower which is lovely. Our work mostly included weeding/clearing, watering, wood splitting and top soiling in the garden. Our work day was usually from 9.30am to about 4pm, with a break where we could make some lunch, but you were free to organise an earlier start so you can finish earlier. Dinner is good too. There is one or two places within walking distance that you can go for a swim after working, I would recommend coming with bikes if you had the option though, as the house is on the end of the island that is very rural. Art very kindly brought us in the truck to a stunning walk along the Bodega Ridge which was a big highlight for us and I’d highly recommend this for some great views. The two cats, Pico and Charlotte, are nice company in the garden, we loved having them around. Thank you both for welcoming us into your home.
Read more
Adam
United Kingdom
•
May 2023
It's hard to know where to start. I had an amazing time with Suzanne and art. Straight away they made me feel welcome. the accommodation was good the food was great and the work was varied and interesting. They are some of the nicest most genuine generous people I have met.
