La Clairière launches crowdfunding campaign to update buildings and build a teahouse
Friday will be the first official day of the La Clairière crowdfunding campaign. The Horizons d’içi fund has approved a grant of $45,000 for the sugar bush. But there’s one condition: La Clairière must also raise $90,000.
Peter Landecker and Lucie Lortie bought the property in 1995. The land has been used as a sugar bush for at least 100 years, the couple says. Now, they’re hoping to make the 40-acre forest open to the public.
In order to do this, they’re hoping to renovate the old stable building into a multi-use reception hall. Some updates they need to do are insulate and build bathrooms.
“We start with toilets,” Landecker says. “People need toilets so we start with a septic tank. The building already has electricity and water, but the next big step is insulation. We want to finish it so that it’s clean and beautiful.”
Once the building is renovated, Landecker says that he wants the space to be a meeting spot and entertainment place for the community. They hope that the building will be able to be a maple sugar cabin in the spring, but also an event space for groups, businesses, companies, organizations and individuals. They imagine events, meetings, conferences and receptions in the new space.
At the moment, the property operates as a traditional maple farm. Landecker hopes that this investment will make it possible for people to experience the land all year long.
“We’d like to expand the access to the forest beyond just the spring,” says Landecker. “We want to have workshops and events and make is accessible for people to use for their own events.”
There’s also a clearing on the property near an existing pond. Lortie envisioned building a teahouse, inspired by Japanese architecture, to be a place for reflection. She even painted her vision for the area. She hopes that the nature and the structure will provide a peaceful space.
They hope that the building will be able to be a maple sugar cabin in the spring, but also an event space for groups, businesses, companies, organizations
and individuals. “As you enter the space, you’re pretty much in the middle of the forest,” Lortie says. “From there, people can walk around sit in the teahouse where the walls will open up to the outside.”
“As you enter the space, you’re pretty much in the middle of the forest,” Lortie says. “From there, people can walk around sit in the teahouse where the walls will open up to the outside.”
The teahouse will be inspired by Japanese architecture and feature sliding doors to make different sized rooms and have low level seating inside and out. Lortie wants people to experience the nature on their property.
“There’s so much to learn about nature,” says Lortie. “So why not? We already have the space for it.”
The owners have launched a crowdfunding site through Laruche to raise the $90,000 in order to get the grant money. Horizons d’içi is a program that provides funding for projects that work with community partnerships.
La Clairière has already received letters of support from Tourism Eastern Townships, MRC Memphrèmagog, The Firecircle and Bishop’s University. They’re hoping that individuals and groups will contribute to the project.
On the Laruche site, people can
donate specific amounts or amounts that pertain to events that the facility hopes to run. Proposed donations range from $150 to $9,999 and include naming trails, entry passes for a year, a stay at their Airbnb and a garden tea party. But the owners stress that any donation brings them closer to their goal.
Another way people can donate is by purchasing a plaque on one of the benches that will be the future seating at the events. The owners want this to be a way for people to commemorate loved ones and show their organization’s support for nature.
Landecker says that they hope that some of these events will be possible in 2024 but that they’re planning to make it all happen for those who donate in 2025.
He hopes that people will be able to use the space to connect to nature.
“I think one thing we all have in
Landecker says that they hope that some of these events will be possible in 2024 but that they’re planning to make it all happen for those who
donate in 2025.
common is stress,” Landecker says. “And I get a lot of personal enjoyment from seeing people come to our forests and enjoy the nature and relax.”
Lortie says that they know what it’s like not to be able to access nature easily and they want to be able to bring nature to everyone.
“We realized that when we lived in Montreal that you have to go find nature,” Lortie says. “Nature is not that accessible when you don’t own the land yourself.”