Our Story
We teach, advocate, grow, build and nurture food security and a local, resilient, and sustainable food system here on the Sunshine Coast.
The Beginnings
It started with a Zucchini Toss and a plant sale out of the back of a pick-up truck.
One Straw Society was founded in 1995 by Robin Wheeler, a leader, author, activist, teacher, and homesteader. Robin used a grassroots approach to growing and sharing seeds, plants and food; and teaching and connecting people. Meetings were often potlucks, complete with kids and dogs.
The focus on food, sustainability, community, education, and resiliency remained the focus for the seventeen years that Robin led the way. Projects and events blossomed: Seedy Saturday, the Edible Garden Tour, Roberts Creek Farmers’ Market, Fruit Tree Project, Fall Faire, and many more community-led projects and learning opportunities. Many of these initiatives and events have become a part of the Sunshine Coast culture.
Within a few years, membership grew to over 200. Hundreds of volunteers, organizers, creators, and teachers flowed through over the years, and it maintained its casual, grass-roots, small-town vibe. Robin remained the visionary behind One Straw until her passing in 2012.
The loss of a founder who had devoted her life and time to the mission was a crippling challenge for the Society to overcome, and four years later, the Society was facing dissolution.
Rebirth
In 2016, the Board recognized the need for rebirth and a plan for long-term sustainability, and so began the journey of the “new” One Straw.
With the leadership of Casandra Fletcher, a consultant in Organizational Capacity Building, a grant from Vancouver Coastal Health, and a very small team of volunteers, solid frameworks were built in governance, strategy, inclusion, and administration.
Support grew from community members that were deeply connected to the organization’s legacy and interested in its potential revival. By 2018, membership had doubled.
In 2020, 3/4 acres of land was “gifted” by the O’Byrne family by way of a zero dollar long-term lease, and One Tiny Farm began growing food in response to the risk of a food crisis at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, One Straw Society became a registered Canadian Charity (with the help of Paul Myers), and accredited in the United States as an international charity-equivalent. By 2024, membership was almost 800.
Today
Today, One Straw Society focuses on resiliency, and impact through dozens of on-the-ground projects, programs, and events… hands-on education, community gardens, tool libraries, children’s programs, seed-saving initiatives, indigenous education, farm and food events, subsidized foodbox programs, support for farms, research, and many other initiatives.
Collaboration is the key to almost all of these projects and programs, as we all thrive when working together, sharing resources and people, growing impact and reach.
We like to be a “think tank” for out-of-the-box and inclusive ways of thinking about healthy communities, caring for our earth, and feeding our people. All of One Straw Society’s initiatives are spawned and led by the people for whom they are built. Got ideas? info@onestraw.ca
The term “One Straw” was inspired by The One Straw Revolution, by Masanobu Fukuoka who believed in the power of a single straw to start a revolution.
Our Vision
To see the Sunshine Coast participating in and becoming a role model for a diverse, connected, thriving and sovereign local food system.
Our Mission
One Straw Society’s mission is to provide education, advocacy and community connections, empowering people to access and engage in a local, resilient, and sustainable food system.
Our Values
As an organization we believe in caring for the earth, caring for people, caring for the future, positive transition and a right to livelihood.
