Our members

  • I’m of the Bikol diaspora. I was born in the Philippines, but my parents migrated to Toronto when I was a child and I gained Canadian citizenship through them, and thus became a settler here. I currently work part-time at a downtown Pride centre in Ottawa serving 2SLGBTQ+ peoples, as well I’m in an art collective/folk punk poetry band. My main community role is a spirit medium and healer. My hobbies are tabletop roleplaying games, boardgames, and gaming in general. I became interested in Biblioterre because I want to be a part of a justice initiative prioritizing Anishinaabeg leadership and land back while living in harmony with and upholding the rights of all my relations, especially the nonhuman ones.

  • My ancestry includes Ashkenazi Jewish lineage in my father’s storying and Irish and Scottish in my maternal story. My father’s family immigrated from Latvia and Poland to Montreal, Quebec where my father was born. My mother was born in England and her family moved from England to St Catherines, Ontario when she was very young. My mother converted to Judaism before marrying my father, raising us in a Jewish cultural and religious tradition. We are anti-zionist Jews. These pathways lead to living and becoming a settler on Turtle Island and my relationship to Bilblioterre. Biblioterre is a way of remembering for me, of understanding our relationships to story, to ourselves, and each other. For me,  Biblioterre is a response to systematic and systemic harm,  in a localized, relational, contextual way. 

    I currently live in the Outaouais in an intergenerational, rural setting. I am a person who has given birth to two wonderful people. I am passionate about seeds, soil and the sharing, reconnection and access to knowledge in these worlds, especially with children and youth. I love baking and am interested in growing small scale grain crops within our community. 

    With Biblioterre I support community building work and community gardening. I am starting to participate in membership support work again recently. I am interested in working on our collaborative and co-habitational housing designs and approaches at Biblioterre as well.

  • Monique Manatch is a member of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake and an Algonquin Knowledge Carrier. Currently, Monique is a student at Carleton University taking a doctorate program in Anthropology focusing on the impact, use and creation of digital arts in the Indigenous community. Her Master’s Degree is in Indigenous and Canadian Studies with a specialty in Digital Humanities. Monique also holds a post- graduate diploma in Indigenous Policy and Administration.

    In 2004, Monique became founder and Executive Director of Indigenous Culture and Media Innovations (www.icmi.ca). ICMI is dedicated to the skills development of Indigenous communities through the production media and arts.

    Monique has facilitated Indigenous artists and community members throughout Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland.

    Over the past 20 years Monique has produced several video documentaries about Indigenous issues. Monique also facilitated the production of videos and community radio programming with Kitigan Zibi Anishnabeg, Mitchikanibikok Inik (Algonquins of Barriere Lake), Mushkegowuk Cree, the Indigenous community in Ottawa and the Mi'kmaq communities in Western Newfoundland.

  • Hi there! I was born in Poland in eastern Europe. My parents and I arrived on Turtle island when I was 4.5 years old. My parents' purpose for migrating was to find greater stability as Poland was experiencing political and economic unrest.

    For the past 35 years I have lived in Tkaronto, Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the Williams Treaties signed with multiple Mississaugas and Chippewa bands.

    I am employed as a mental health clinician at a hospital. I have a background in housing; having worked in supportive housing and having participated in governance at the housing co-op where I live.

    I have always longed to be closer to nature and to be a good steward of the earth. Over the years I have learned about the land back movement and have wanted to find ways to support it. I have an interest in gardening and growing food. These are the reasons I was drawn to Biblioterre.

     I have a small plot I tend to at a community garden. I also enjoy cycling and walking, preferably surrounded by trees. When I am not outside I spend time painting, recently with watercolours.

  • Greetings! I’m a descendant of Scottish, Dutch and English ancestors who settled on the lands under Treaties 13 and 9, and the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishnabeg (where I live now). I carry the names Cole, Urquhart, Nosworthy, Haage, Walker, and Wright. I grew up on the lands under the Williams Treaties and Treaty 13, colonially known as Toronto and the GTA. 

    When in Toronto, I benefited from the guidance of Niigongizhik, who was my advisor in the last years of his life and who introduced me to the value of Natural Responsibility that inspired one of Biblioterre’s foundational pillars.

    In Biblioterre, I currently serve on the board of directors and am one of the main communication links between the co-op and the institutions to whom we are accountable as a solidarity cooperative operating not-for-profit. 

    I am motivated towards relationship building and solidarity work with Algonquin community members; towards removing barriers to land access for people from communities who have been historically dispossessed of land; and towards a personal life of reciprocity with the planet I feel love and grief for, in the hopes of earning a sense of belonging and purpose on Earth and on these lands I’m not entitled to possess. 

    I dream of Biblioterre becoming a patchwork of different value-based initiatives which, together, could act as a tiny bandage on a wounded planet. I dream of Biblioterre transferring title of ownership to Algonquin Nation, while being entrusted to continue its presence on the land as a caretaking entity in partnership with Algonquin caretakers.

    I’ve been employed as an ISA certified arborist & tree climber for the past 12 years, while aiming to transition my work towards full-time care-taking for injured and neglected farm animals, to connect their unique gifts with the needs of the land for nutrient restoration, vegetable garden composting, and the gobbling-up/chomping-down of invasive “pest” species.

  • Roberto’s a passionate woodworker/carpenter and has been in the building trades for 20 years. Roberto loves nature and tries his best to incorporate environmental ethics to his work life choices. He has a young family with his partner Amelie. His two boys are rambunctious little soccer players who love movies and outdoors. 

  • I am Ukrainian, and was born in Kyiv. My family moved to Turtle Island when I was a kid, and we became settlers here. I have recently moved to the Wakefield area since the winter of 2024, drawn to Biblioterre and the community here. Bibliterre drew me in with its vision of land back and values of care and respect towards the more-than-human world, and kept me due to the lovely people and relationships here.

    I am a gardener, naturalist and herbalist, and have worked for many years facilitating urban collective garden projects and teaching people of all ages how to grow food and tend to plants. I am also a community herbalist and greatly enjoy making medicine for friends, family and community and participating in herbal mutual aid work.

    I study wildlife tracking and am deeply invested in it as a practice of witnessing and devotion for the nonhuman world. In my free time I like to play accordion, draw, organize community events and hike.

  • My ancestry is western European. My family names are associated with Scottish, Welsh, English and Irish background. My mother was born in Sarnia Ontario and my father in Sherbrooke QC. My dad moved to southwestern Ontario to pick tobacco in the late 60’s and I was born in London Ontario. My dad’s family’s background is agricultural and I have lived rurally most of my life. I live on unceded Algonquin territory east of Ottawa in Embrun. 

    I work as a municipal councillor representing residents of Russell Township. I have led a social innovation consultancy firm and worked for various non-profits. I am a mother, daughter, partner. In addition to serving on council committees I serve on the library board and various other non-profit boards relating to gender equity and environmental sustainability. 

    I like to learn and to participate in community gatherings. I play hockey and music (strings, guitar, vocals) as much as I can. I’m an avid gardener and budding forager. 

    I found Biblioterre online just after having my youngest son as the COVID pandemic took hold and the community immediately felt like home to me. It is a place where I have grown tremendously and some of my most meaningful relationships are in this community.

  • Hello, I’m a descendant of French, Scottish and English ancestors who settled in the Clare region of Nova Scotia. The majority of my living family members residing there are Acadian. I was born on unceded territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples/Toronto after my parents moved there to find work. I now live on unceded Anishinabeg territory/Wakefield with my partner, Chloe, and our child, Juno.

    I have worked for several years in the nonprofit industry addressing various inequalities that girls, women, and gender expansive folks experience in Rwanda. I’ve also worked with disabled individuals in Ontario, connecting them with resources to better support their livelihood. 

    I was drawn to this project because I want to live more intentionally and sustainably with the land and people around me, and I want to be a part of an initiative prioritizing Algonquin sovereignty.

    I enjoy hiking and foraging for mushrooms in the area, and love to play basketball.

  • I was born and raised in Mississauga, which is recognized as part of the Treaty and Traditional Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and The Huron-Wendat and Wyandot Nations. My parents are immigrants from China (mother) and South Africa/Hong Kong (father) and moved to Turtle Island in the 1980s. Currently, I reside in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal, where the Kanien’kehà:ka are recognized as the traditional custodians of these lands and waters.

    As a visual science communicator, I strive to connect science and art/design to make knowledge accessible.  I enjoy riding my bicycle as a means of exploring the world, hiking, and camping. I also like doodling, singing and playing guitar/piano. I recently obtained my yoga teacher training certificate and am interested in holistic health approaches. 

    My main role at Biblioterre is helping with any of the communications and media items. I was drawn to Biblioterre because I am interested in creating an intentional community centred around social justice, land back and compassion and respect for all living things.

  • My ancestors are from Egypt; my parents immigrated to colonially-called Canada and I was born on the east-coast in so-called Halifax. So, I’m a first-generation born settler. I grew up in Algonquin territory (Ottawa) where I studied Sociology at Carleton U and moved to Toronto where I lived for over 20 years after finishing a Master of Social Work at the U of Toronto.

    I’ve realized over the years of doing various kinds of work that I feel most connected to myself, others, earth and life when my hands are touching the ground; whether that’s gardening or other ways of engaging with the natural world. I’ve coordinated community gardens and urban agriculture programs working in non-profit organizations. I’ve also volunteered on farms in different parts of the world such as Cuba and Costa Rica. One of my main passions is to bring people together to connect with nature and our diverse cultural roots.

    I speak 4 languages, and am learning a few more (mainly late-stage Egyptian-Coptic)

    I love singing, snacking (that’s a hobby), learning creative skills, and am figuring out paths towards income generation with collaborative-cooperative structures. I have contract work with Algonquin College where I recently developed and taught a new course for the Community & Social Services program, Land Based Social Justice Education.

    I was drawn to Biblioterre’s commitment towards Land Back and Indigenous solidarity, as well as the great potential to organize gatherings for/ by people who often don’t have much access to rural/ natural spaces, such as BIPOC.

    Many of my closest friendships in recent years have been formed through my involvement with Biblioterre.

  • Aaniin, bonjour, hello. I grew up as a white settler in Ojibwe territory (Treaty 3 – North-West Angle Treaty), then spent the first decade or so of my adulthood on the traditional land of the Ongiara, Haudenosaunee, and Mississaugas peoples (Treaty 3 – Between the Lakes Purchase) before moving to unceded, unsurrendered Algonquin Territory. Most of my ancestors are of German, English, and/or Irish origin.

    I am a former educator and current gardener with a special interest in native plants. I enjoy working with kids of all ages, plants, animals, and numbers. I have had many roles in Biblioterre throughout the years, but currently my main community roles are bookkeeping and general upkeep (i.e. gardening, trail maintenance, libraries, event space organisation, volunteer days, event planning, etc.), and other administration. I’ll might be one of the first people you meet here because I live at Biblioterre.

  • hello! My family is mostly of Irish and Scottish lineage in addition to Acadian and Mi’kmaq. I was born on unceded and unsurrendered  Wolastoqey/Mi’kmaq/Peskotomuhkati territory (also known as  Bathurst, New Brunswick) where my mother and her family lived for several generations before. My father is from Newfoundland, where his family had lived for at least 3 generations. I identify as white, queer and neurodivergent. I have always felt most at home in the forest and near water. 

    I am passionate about community and my family. I love to laugh and be with others but can also be introspective. I care deeply about others and a variety of social justice issues. I find I do my best thinking in nature. My partner Meg and I seek to teach our children (ages 6 and 2) about the importance of care and connection with others and with our natural world. 

    Professionally, I work in public policy and human rights and have a background in social work.

    I am so thankful to have the opportunity to connect with with such lovely people through biblioterre.

  • I am Toishanese/Cantonese and am a first-generation born settler on Turtle Island. My parents are from Guangdong province in Southern China. My great grandfather was the first in my family to migrate here. Both my grandmothers were strong women who were from Toishan, grew food and were single parents at times in their life. 

    As a settler, I look for ways to work in solidarity with Indigenous peoples and became interested in the land back initiative at Biblioterre. I was also drawn to Biblioterre’s aim to find alternatives to capitalism and to people in Biblioterre who have amazing combinations of skills and life experiences.

    I work at a union in human rights with a focus on disability rights/justice and anti-racism. My background is in political economy and social justice including water justice. I am also a biodynamic craniosacral therapist. My interest is in burnout, intergenerational trauma and healing and how system oppression sits in our bodies and impact individual and collective health. 

    I am a parent and partner and love spending time with my family. I am also a gardener and someone who loves books and biking. I am passionate about food, and believe that food and herbs are medicine.

  • Hi. My ancestry is mostly Western European — Scottish on my dad’s side and Spanish on my mom’s. I was born in Haida Gwaii and moved to Portland, Oregon when I was six, to the traditional lands of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, and Molalla peoples.

    I moved to Ottawa (unceded and unsurrendered Algonquin territory) at 23, where I met my partner, Pam. We now live nearby with our two kids, who love to run and play at Biblioterre and have built strong relationships with many members of the community.

    I’m passionate about plants and growing food, and I’m currently studying herbal medicine. I care deeply about mutual aid and community care, and I’m part of a local mutual aid network that organizes climate resilience workshops.

    Most of my work has been rooted in anti-violence, harm reduction, disability justice, and resisting carceral systems — primarily through activism and somatic counselling. In recent years, I’ve shifted into education, and I now teach in a college program focused on prison abolition and community-based support.

    At Biblioterre, I’ve been involved in the community-building side of things and am currently helping coordinate our Fundraising and Membership work.

  • Hello! My ancestors are of European descent. Scotland, Ireland, England, Belgium. The came to this continent around 8 generations ago. I grew up in Ottawa with my connection to the natural world happening here in these hills. I moved up this way in my early 20’s and soon after began working with children in various different programs and camps. I now work from my home in Rupert ,where I live with my 2 kiddos, and run a home daycare which is supported by the forest and creek we live beside.

    I am connected to Biblioterre through the time I spend on the land, sitting, walking, exploring gardening, organising and supporting events and fundraising as much as I can.

    When I catch a little extra time for myself these days I will usually head into the woods often in search of water or a view. I enjoy crafting, drawing and creating. I love cooking yummy food, dancing, stretching, reading.

    I was inspired to join Biblioterre as a way of protecting land from more harm and being part  of a community that may be able to function and thrive outside of the systems that are currently dominant,  unsustainable and putting all life at risk.