Treehouse Village Ecohousing
Treehouse Village Ecohousing was launched in the fall of 2018. Construction was substantially completed in December 2023 and we were registered as Lunenburg County Condominium Corporation No. 37 in January 2024.
We are excited to bring the first cohousing development to Atlantic Canada! Our community includes households from Bridgewater and elsewhere in Nova Scotia, from across Canada, and from around the world – thanks to the scenic beauty and relaxed lifestyle of Nova Scotia’s spectacular South Shore.
Cohousing
Cohousing is a unique kind of housing – planned and financed by the future residents. Privacy is balanced with community involvement as households keep their independence, living in their own homes while also co-owning valuable indoor and outdoor shared amenities.
Typical Cohousing Characteristics
- A number of fully-equipped, privately owned homes designed using a participatory process with the future homeowners
- A site planned and arranged in a way that encourages interaction and community-oriented living, with gardens, walkways and play areas
- Shared amenities, usually in a Common House, such as a large kitchen, a dining room, fitness room, library, and guest suites
Treehouse Village Ecohousing is proud to offer all this and more in beautiful Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. Our community was designed with passion, based on research around best practices in other cohousing communities.
Sustainability
At Treehouse Village Ecohousing, our commitment to the planet goes far beyond building energy efficiency into our homes. We believe in protecting our planet and we are building every aspect of our community around that belief. Building a sustainable community is part of our core vision, and one of the key drivers of decisions we make as community members.
Here’s what you can expect from Treehouse Village Ecohousing:
Low-Impact Development
We are committed to low-impact development at every stage, from land development to lifestyle.
- Passive House design standard for all our private homes, and a highly efficient building envelope with minimal energy needs
- Solar photovoltaic panels on all roofs, and 11 electric vehicle charging stations
- A reduced physical footprint, disturbing only a fraction of our property to preserve the old-growth forest
- Multiple units per building, with stacked units and shared walls to reduce building materials and heating demand
- Low-impact stormwater management through use of bioswales and water-retaining landscape features
- Careful consideration of building materials with a focus on low toxicity, low carbon footprint, and low embodied carbon
- Wherever possible, the sourcing of local building materials and local contractors to reduce transportation distance
- Intentional project management with consideration around reducing construction waste and the volume of earth trucked off our site
- Shared community amenities, such as meeting spaces, guest rooms and a fitness studio to reduce the size of our homes
Environmentally Friendly Practices
Research shows that living in an intentional community and having good relationships with your neighbours significantly benefits your mental health. Our design supports and encourages residents to engage in environmentally friendly practices in some of the following ways:
- Shared tools, appliances, yard and gardening equipment, as well as outdoor and recreation equipment, help community members reduce their costs and the space to keep their own, while also drastically reducing landfill waste.
- Each household can have their own washer and dryer, but shared laundry facilities give members the option to save the space in their home – and the cost of purchasing and maintaining their own washer/dryer.
- We are incorporating space for gardening and food forests into the landscape design, increasing our access to healthy food with a low-carbon footprint.
- With our property located in the heart of Bridgewater and bordering the Centennial Trail, residents are able to walk, cycle or bus to complete many of their errands.
- By working together to grow some of our own food, and buying food in bulk, we reduce food waste and packaging.
- With the bonus of a large kitchen and dining room in the Common House, members have opportunities to prepare and share meals together as they wish.
- With a workshop on site and a community of skilled residents, there’s bound to be someone to help you fix that wobbly chair or broken toaster.
- We have implemented an electic vehicle car sharing service.
- Our community promotes healthy lifestyles through on-site access to both outdoor and indoor leisure opportunities.
- Our buildings were designed with health in mind, prioritizing good indoor air quality and use of construction materials with low toxicity.
Recognition of Our Past, Commitment to Our Future
Treehouse Village Ecohousing is built on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq peoples. We are grateful to be building on this land. We will live in peace and seek means of reconciliation. Read our full Land Acknowledgment.
Part of our commitment as stewards of this land is engaging in a process of continual learning and self-reflection as we explore how to live out our values of being kind to ourselves, our neighbours, and our planet.
Sin So’sepe’katik is the traditional Mi’kmaq name for Bridgewater and Pijinuiskaq is the name for the LaHave River, meaning “river of long joints/river branches.” (Source: Pjila’si Mi’kma’ki: Mi’kmaw Place Names Digital Atlas.)