Meet the Members of Esquimalt Village Cohousing
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We met on a BC Ferry (that neither of us should have been on) in January of 1996. Sally, a Penelakut Band member, was attending university, enrolled in the Native Indian Teacher Education Program. Roger was a management consultant with Deloitte, bringing his expertise in telematics to five continents. We both had two adult children from previous marriages. After a lengthy courtship, we were married at our home on Quamichan Lake in 2004. Roger retired in 2007, and Sally continued to teach, earned a master’s degree in education, and became a provincial specialist in Hul’q’umi’num’, a First Nations language on Vancouver Island.
Having come from very different backgrounds—Roger born in Yorkshire and used to travelling the world, and alternatively, Sally, very grounded on the West Coast since birth—it amazed both of us that we shared so many interests and perspectives. Even after nearly 30 years together, we still do.
The birth of two grandchildren, Jubal in 2006 and Jade in 2010, changed all plans for retirement in a big way. Ours is a busy household of four: the two teenagers, one interested in history and gaming, and the other majoring in music and art, keep Roger on the run and Sally teaching!
Both of us are pro–green energy and sustainable living. Sally loves to have her hands in the soil and enjoys cooking, reading, walking, and pool workouts. Roger enjoys viewing documentaries, listening to music performances, and reading an eclectic mix of fiction and non-fiction.
From exposure to cohousing with a group in the Cowichan Valley, and also visiting others in Nanaimo, Courtenay, Sooke, and Sidney, we are grateful to Margaret and Ronaye and their team for wonderful stewardship. We look forward to the adventure of life in a collaborative, multi-generational setting. Our hopes are that our grandchildren will thrive in a cohousing community and benefit from a supportive environment as they pursue future employment or post-secondary education.
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These two charming young adults are Hannah (daughter of Eleanor) and Russell (son of Wendy Stevenson and Colin). Both “kids” are very excited about eventually living together—with a full-time caregiver—within this burgeoning cohousing community. Both are busy individuals with jobs, volunteer responsibilities, and a plethora of daytime leisure and learning activities. They are no strangers to community, having enjoyed—to date—13 years in a very successful collaborative, family-governed group that supports inclusion by fostering natural and shared supports.
Hannah loves her job at Thrifty’s, baking, and right now is a Swiftie! Her bright and friendly smile, and genuine pleasure in meeting new people, make it easy for her to fit into any new groups.
Russell is a music fiend whose first love is the blues. Many would say he is the reincarnation of Jake Blues of The Blues Brothers movie fame. His positive, easy-going nature draws people to him; as his mother, I may be biased, but I’d have to say that he is a real charmer!
It needs to be stated that all three of the parents, while not planning to live on site, are happy to be involved and to lend their various skills and talents to the community. Eleanor, especially, has extensive experience working both in the world of not-for-profit and, as a recently retired provincial government assistant deputy minister, is highly adept at negotiation, fiscal management, and policy development. Colin, as an artist who specializes in professional model ship restoration, has a well-rounded “résumé” of both practical and creative abilities. Many have deemed him a “Renaissance Man.”
All five of us are very excited to contribute our energy and skills toward the creation of this collaborative intentional housing endeavor. It is our goal to help create and ultimately leave this legacy for our children, a place where they can thrive in a supportive environment.
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I grew up in Saskatchewan and have lived, worked, explored, and studied in many areas of western Canada.
For me, the combination of ocean and mountain views we will have at EVC is a balm to my prairie soul. I am an avid traveller and have lived in The Netherlands and Finland. I have travelled to and explored nature on 6 of the 7 continents and have plans to visit more.
I worked and lived close to Esquimalt for 10 years and am excited to return to the community. It is a diverse, active community, and I especially enjoy the easy access to the Gorge waterway for swimming and paddling, the cycling pathways, and the ocean views and beach access all close to my new home.
I have been fortunate to live in many places in Canada and abroad and value the communities I was part of. Nearing retirement, I moved to a traditional townhouse strata development (my first) on Vancouver Island and experienced the challenges of building community and caring for common property in a car-focused development. My time (and frustrations) as part of the strata council showed the need for owner commitment to guide successful stratas. Cohousing adds a layer of commitment on top of established strata, and I’m excited to have a neighbourhood help guide and support my strata as we develop Esquimalt Village Cohousing.
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We met online in 2003, much to the shock of our families. Both had dogs and learned that we had many complementary interests. Paul, a retired mechanical engineer, is a keen genealogist and collector of antique bottles related to a family business that began before Confederation. Jill, whose antiquing interests are in the kitchen and crafting domains, has a background in IT and project management. Love of canoeing and outdoor adventures took us on canoe trips up to 12 days in the wilderness of Algonquin Park; retiring from all that in 2012, we began to create handiwork adventures (aka the endless list) for a small cabin in the Madawaska Valley in Ontario.
In the meantime, our three adult children headed off in different directions, one to Vancouver Island. After many Christmas holidays visiting Vancouver Island and then returning to -20°C in Ontario, Jill began the crusade to relocate on retirement.
In 2019, before it was the norm, we bought a house in Sooke sight unseen, with the help of our awesome realtor. Sooke was a great place to sit out the pandemic and we formed wonderful community connections. Unfortunately, we were too far from our daughter, so we moved, but the new place lacked the community connection. We decided to move again but wanted to be sure that we were going somewhere that provided a multi-generational community and social connection with like-minded people.
We are both focused on green energy, environmental responsibility, living light on the land, community engagement and volunteering. Jill also loves to cook and enjoys sharing both the food and the skills with others. Paul is awesome at cleaning up the mess left behind after the cooking adventures.
From our exposure to cohousing in Sooke and Margaret’s wonderful stewardship, we look forward to bucking another trend and choosing a collaborative community to retire and thrive in a supportive environment.
We would be remiss if we didn’t introduce Sherman, our Boxer dog. Sherman loves long walks, lots of cuddles and cookies. Sherman is incredibly social and his mission is to win over everyone into his pack. We also have a very close relationship with our Island grandchild, who spends a lot of time with us.
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When efforts began in January to find the perfect place for the next cohousing project in Greater Victoria, I was happily living in Ravens Crossing Cohousing in Sidney, BC. As one of the founding members there, I was part of a small group who worked from 2017 to 2021 to build our intentional community dream for 35 households. You might be surprised that I decided to move from that completed development to start again in Esquimalt. I was!
There were two primary ‘pushers’ that made me consider the jump. Firstly, I loved the process of building a community the first time and saw another opportunity to work from the ground up. The design process, the construction, and building the community itself (estimated move-in 2028) all captivate me. I thought that with the first experience of Ravens, I could contribute to another.
The deciding factor for me was the Esquimalt building location. Esquimalt has a township character all its own. It’s surrounded on all sides by ocean and joined to Victoria by several bridges. Its history, its size, its diverse citizenry, and primarily its topography are for me! Garry oak meadows, rock bluffs, its walking trails, and the smell of the salt air are special.
Sidney was close to the airport, yet triple-pane windows were a complete buffer. Esquimalt Village is on a main thoroughfare, and triple-pane windows will do the same here.
Cohousing encourages us to live on a smaller footprint, and work and laugh together to make a difference in our world! If you share that vision, please join me!
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Our interest in cohousing is driven by our desire to find a long-term, lively, diverse, inclusive, community-oriented living environment for our son Michael. He is in his mid-teens and our plan is to rent out our unit until he is ready to live independently, which we anticipate would be around age 25-26. He has a few developmental challenges, however we believe he will be more than able to live and flourish independently (or possibly with a roommate). When we read the Vision on this EVC website “We are dedicated to building a sustainable, supportive community that values shared resources, meaningful interactions and a strong sense of togetherness” we knew we had found the right place for Michael to live and enjoy!
Like the parents of Hannah & Russel, we do not anticipate living on the site ourselves, however Geoff and I are planning to be actively involved and lend our various talents to the community as well - not only during the development stage, but onward after completion.
Having lived in Victoria the majority of the last 30 years, we have seen an enormous change in the vibrancy and feel of the city as a whole….. and we think Esquimalt is the next community ready to re-blossom. We are very excited about this project - it’s centrally located, close to the inner harbour, within walking distance of many amenities, has immediate access to transit, and is only a few short blocks from the water.
We love the process of being involved in the early development stage of this community, and this beautiful building. It’s so exciting to see our collective desires, ideas, needs and wishes for this project all come together, from the ground up. If this type of living appeals to you, please come and join us!
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I grew up in Victoria, but never really felt part of a community until many years later, when I had the opportunity to live ten years in Haida Gwaii.
Haida Gwaii was missing a few key elements for it to become my permanent home, but life in a small community where one is known really appealed to me.
I started looking into ways to have that small community feel while being within a workable distance from the communities where most of my family chooses to live, and intentional community through cohousing seemed like a possible way to accomplish that.
Up until now, however, none were available in areas that worked for me. I am so excited that Esquimalt Village Cohousing seems to finally be the way for me to have it all!
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I have been attracted to cohousing since I visited the Windsong Cohousing Community in Langley, B.C., in the 90s.
I was fortunate to get involved with Ravens Crossing Cohousing here in Sidney on Vancouver Island, and it only reinforced my belief that living in an intentional community is the way to go.
Sidney is very, very nice, and Ravens Crossing is about to celebrate its fourth anniversary, but I get restless. So when I found out about Esquimalt Village Cohousing, the draw of starting another cohousing project is simply irresistible.
I see this as a new adventure for me, to continue to live in beautiful British Columbia, by the ocean, and Esquimalt is transforming right in front of our eyes—so exciting.
Our location in Esquimalt is so central and walkable, just the way I like it.
I was born in Shanghai, but spent my childhood in Hong Kong. I came to Canada at 18, and have immersed myself in Canadian culture ever since.
I enjoy travelling, photography, food, especially the combination thereof, in the company of friends.
I drive an electric car. Not only do I believe it is the future, it is also fun and relaxing.
I am immensely interested in where technology intersects with life, especially when it fundamentally improves our world.