Gerhard E. Dekker
Regenerative Education Center
Honouring Children's Natural Love of Learning Through Nature and Community Centered Education
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Donate
We welcome donations in support of our free community programming! Your donations support accessible nature-focused experiences, and supportive social experiences for kids and adults in our region.
If you would like to become a sponsor of our organization through your business or as an individual donor, please get in touch via info@gerhardcenter.org
If you would like to become a sponsor of our organization through your business or as an individual donor, please get in touch via info@gerhardcenter.org
C$ 50
About Us
The Gerhard E. Dekker Regenerative Education Center (GED-REC) is a non-profit organization offering nature based programming and holistic learning opportunities for children, families and people of all ages living in South-Eastern Manitoba, Treaty 1 territory, in the homeland of the Métis, Anishnaabe, Nêhiyaw and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ people.
We incorporate elements of forest school and multidisciplinary learning in fun and dynamic programming, creating inspiring educational environments where individuals are supported as they learn and explore the many facets and possibilities of our amazing world.
Our events are inclusive and accessible, often free to attend and subsidized by grants and fundraising. Many of GED-REC's program participants have noted that there is a lack of nature focused programming in their communities, and we are happy to be meeting this need! We believe that when we learn about and engage with nature in positive ways, we also learn to care for the land, ourselves and one another.
At the core of our values is a deep respect for the natural world and an understanding that we are part of the Earth. Spending time outdoors, learning from Indigenous knowledge keepers, and developing programs which cultivate resilience, wisdom and compassion, and honour and support life on Earth, are integrally important to us.
We welcome new volunteers and participants! Join us as our journey unfolds!
We incorporate elements of forest school and multidisciplinary learning in fun and dynamic programming, creating inspiring educational environments where individuals are supported as they learn and explore the many facets and possibilities of our amazing world.
Our events are inclusive and accessible, often free to attend and subsidized by grants and fundraising. Many of GED-REC's program participants have noted that there is a lack of nature focused programming in their communities, and we are happy to be meeting this need! We believe that when we learn about and engage with nature in positive ways, we also learn to care for the land, ourselves and one another.
At the core of our values is a deep respect for the natural world and an understanding that we are part of the Earth. Spending time outdoors, learning from Indigenous knowledge keepers, and developing programs which cultivate resilience, wisdom and compassion, and honour and support life on Earth, are integrally important to us.
We welcome new volunteers and participants! Join us as our journey unfolds!
Contact Us
- Kleefeld, MB, Canada
We'd love to hear from you! Whether you'd like to participate in our programming, have any questions, or would like to explore volunteer opportunities and share your ideas and skills, we're all ears!
Team
Resources and articles
In spring of 2023 we invited Audrey Logan to share her incredible knowledge of Indigenous Gardening techniques with us in an online workshop. Here we present a recording of these precious and valuable teachings.
Read MoreWalks in the Woods- Cedar Bog Trail
Families on the Farm
Climate Quest Field Trip
Northern Sun Farm Tour
Fire Safety Day!
Halloween Party
Pictures from our Hallowe'en Party!
Our Namesake, Gerhard E. Dekker
Our namesake, Gerhard E. Dekker, was a dear friend, lover of nature, and founding member of the Northern Sun Co-op, est. 1984, the first Ecovillage of its kind in Manitoba, which is still a thriving community today.
Born in the Netherlands in 1947, Gerhard traveled the world and put roots down in Manitoba in 1978. He was an innovative designer of new models of harnessing and utilizing energy from the Sun and wind, re-purposing materials from other machines, such as windshield wipers, to design and build hand-dug well pumps, windmills, lighting systems and other unique gadgets, like a box to keep food cool underground with an electric pulley system.
Gerhard was also a natural architect with a focus on conserving energy and creating beautiful, functional spaces, such as the Co-op's community center, several homes including a straw bale/passive solar house, a root cellar made from a shipping container with a gravity fed water tower on top, cold rooms, and greenhouses.
Gerhard was fiercely independent and committed to his values, whilst also being truly devoted to community, and taking everybody's perspectives and needs deeply into consideration.
He lived his beliefs: a minimalistic approach to personal possessions which allowed for freedom and joy. He was a lover of nature and a life-long learner who shared his vast stores of knowledge freely. He was very aware of the many issues with our current operating systems, and the ways humans have harmed our planet, and truly lived the solutions, supporting, learning from and walking with Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island.
Gerhard's legacy lives on in GEDREC's founders' hearts, and in the philosophies that inspire us to remain committed to our communities, taking care of each other and living in harmony with the Earth as much as possible.
Gerhard had a uniquely soothing effect on his friends, helping them to feel accepted for who they were, flaws and all, and always seemed to have a philosophical and/or practical solution to offer for life's many conundrums. Nobody is perfect, and part of his legacy is also in understanding this, embracing who we are holistically, learning from our flaws, and growing together as people.
"Love each other. Take care of each other."
"Onward through the fog!"
- Gerhard Dekker
Born in the Netherlands in 1947, Gerhard traveled the world and put roots down in Manitoba in 1978. He was an innovative designer of new models of harnessing and utilizing energy from the Sun and wind, re-purposing materials from other machines, such as windshield wipers, to design and build hand-dug well pumps, windmills, lighting systems and other unique gadgets, like a box to keep food cool underground with an electric pulley system.
Gerhard was also a natural architect with a focus on conserving energy and creating beautiful, functional spaces, such as the Co-op's community center, several homes including a straw bale/passive solar house, a root cellar made from a shipping container with a gravity fed water tower on top, cold rooms, and greenhouses.
Gerhard was fiercely independent and committed to his values, whilst also being truly devoted to community, and taking everybody's perspectives and needs deeply into consideration.
He lived his beliefs: a minimalistic approach to personal possessions which allowed for freedom and joy. He was a lover of nature and a life-long learner who shared his vast stores of knowledge freely. He was very aware of the many issues with our current operating systems, and the ways humans have harmed our planet, and truly lived the solutions, supporting, learning from and walking with Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island.
Gerhard's legacy lives on in GEDREC's founders' hearts, and in the philosophies that inspire us to remain committed to our communities, taking care of each other and living in harmony with the Earth as much as possible.
Gerhard had a uniquely soothing effect on his friends, helping them to feel accepted for who they were, flaws and all, and always seemed to have a philosophical and/or practical solution to offer for life's many conundrums. Nobody is perfect, and part of his legacy is also in understanding this, embracing who we are holistically, learning from our flaws, and growing together as people.
"Love each other. Take care of each other."
"Onward through the fog!"
- Gerhard Dekker
