Ecology Retreat Centre — Mono, Canada
A forest retreat centre on 200 acres in Ontario's Hockley Valley, in Mono
The land in Hockley Valley was a summer camp and outdoor education centre, mostly serving the Toronto school board, for some 18 years before it became a retreat centre. Frank Saul, a Toronto school principal, ran it that way. He sold the property just before a one-year sabbatical at the Institute for Creation Spirituality in California, and it was there that the dream of a retreat centre came to him. When he returned, the new owner, whose circumstances had changed, agreed to sell it back. They reversed the paperwork, and a year later, in the early 1990s, the centre was born.
The name is meant broadly. The centre defines ecology as "beings supporting beings for life" and aims to attract people doing good for other people, the environment, or both. Food carries the same thinking. After a brush with cancer in mid-life, Frank changed his relationship to eating, and the kitchen still aims at healthy, home-cooked meals. The standard fare is vegetarian.
The centre was hard to run as a side pursuit alongside a principal's job, so partners came and went. One, Russell S., ran it for 12 years. In 2007 one of Frank's sons took over. Another son, Stephan, who grew up on the land, has managed it for close to 12 years. Some customers have been returning for more than 25 years.
Today the centre is open year round for groups of up to 45. The Lodge has 15 rooms, the Bunkhouse sits by the stream, and a Leader's Cabin serves facilitators. The Creekside Room, a light-filled hall with a wood floor, a wood-burning fireplace and a deck over the creek, holds yoga, meditation, and meetings. Trails join the Bruce Trail, and in winter the grounds offer snowshoeing, tobogganing and skating on the pond. The separate Cedarvale Cabin is occasionally rented on its own.
Traditions: Yoga, Meditation, Creation Spirituality, Healing and Wellness Work
Programs: Group Weekend Retreat Packages, Mid-Week Retreat Packages, Meeting Space Day Rentals, Winter Retreats, Soulful Radiance Retreat, Yoga Retreats, Cedarvale Cabin Stays, Snowshoeing and Trail Hiking