Brandy Gallagher

“You may say we are dreamers….but we are not the only ones!”

Brandy Gallagher (BSW, MA) is one of the original founders and developers of O.U.R. Ecovillage, Shawnigan Lake (Vancouver Island) BC. As a designer and educator she worked with local to international community builders to create this 25 acre Sustainable Living Demonstration Site and Education Centre (1999). She has served as the Executive Director of O.U.R. Community Association a non-profit society dedicated to educational outreach projects, and worked with legal and research teams in order to design a series of precedent setting regulatory processes. From ‘Comprehensive Development’ land use re-zoning to incorporation of holistic new ownership structures, from governance to building codes, from wastewater to closed loop systems approval – her commitment has been to Lawful Permaculture within the Ecovillage movement. Born and raised in community her life work has been focused around the development of ‘Sustained Community’.

She is also the developer of TOPIA: The Sustainable Learning Community School which operates onsite at O.U.R. Ecovillage. With a deep compassion for people and place Brandy works with other communities/projects to find their way through regulatory and legal processes which challenge the development of legitimate models of land use, alternative building, ownership and governance. The intention to have individuals & communities step aside from their rank & roles to enter into a more connected sense of community building is at the heart of her work. She provides these services through her business “Sustainable Community Solutions Consulting – SC2”.

Her published work is a documentary titled “Creating TOPIA: The Journey of Developing a School of Sustainable Community Building.” She is also featured in the movie “Escape From Suburbia” and the documentaries “Peak Moments: Creating the Impossible”,”Awaken the Village Heart and Mind”, “Green Burial” and “Re-Becoming Villagers; Urban & Rural”.

Facilitation