Grand River Gardens is updating our offerings to you!
We are located on a family farm that hosts a diversity of activities including a dairy goat operation, a farm store and a pasture-raised pig and chicken operation as well as our naturally-grown vegetable and herb production.
In 2022 we will be offering guided plant walks, to share the medicinal qualities of various wild plants and herbs. We will also be offering yoga and meditation practices on the farm! We look forward to sharing more and inviting you to the farm very soon!
Who we are
Elaine has a deep reverence for the Earth. As a child she would wander out into the countryside in Ireland, where she grew up, hide in nooks created by shrubs and hedges, and spend hours creating imaginative scenes and communing with the plants. Never did she think these childhood wanderings would have such a profound impact on her choices later in life.
Despite her early career in architecture and sustainability providing a platform for a positive impact on the built and natural environment, Elaine found herself longing for a deeper, more tangible connection with the Earth on a daily basis. Inspired by Gandhi's "be the change you wish to see in the world" her search for something deeper led her to spending time with natural building and permaculture communities across Europe. In doing this, she realised that there are other ways to live life, that are not based on profit or accolades, but on deep connection to nature, each other and self.
Like all our journeys, this one is not linear. As a way to cope with a world that seemed disconnected from the importance of sustaining ecosystems and the planet upon which our survival relies, Elaine immersed herself in the healing arts. Over the past 10+ years she has become a teacher of Kundalini Yoga, Reiki, Mindfulness and Meditation as well as a practitioner of Plant Spirit Medicine and Folk Herbalism. Her passion for plants overflows into the veggie garden, growing healthy fresh food for her family and community.
Armed with many tools that she slowly integrated into daily life, she not only felt capable of sustaining herself but discovered a new (to her) sense of joy and bliss on a moment-to-moment basis. Life had meaning and purpose again. The deeper her healing on a mental, emotional and physical level, the more she wishes to share these tools and teachings to inspire and support others.
Elaine in her happy place amongst sugar snap peas!
