About us
About the Tree of Life
The Tree of Life Eco-Retreat Centre Inc. (TOL) became a registered not-for-profit social enterprise in 2013. TOL is an eco-lodge and retreat centre located on a 5-acer parcel of land located on a terrace of the Salmonier River Valley at the head of St. Mary’s Bay, on the Island of Newfoundland, Canada.
We provide very affordable off-the-grid facilities for small-scale retreats, and host work-away and local work-barter programs for those who want to deepen and learn natural building techniques and self-sufficiency. The TOL is designed to help connect people with nature, spiritual practice, creativity, and alternative living.
Who we are
Ian Goudie
A native son of Newfoundland, Ian Goudie brings a lifetime of ecological wisdom and spiritual exploration to The Tree Of Life. His profound connection to the land, expertise in the province’s geography and ecology, and passion for music and eastern spirituality craft the retreat’s unique blend of natural harmony and spiritual journeying.
Meranda Squires
After seventeen years of deep spiritual study in India, Meranda Squires returned to her Newfoundland roots to share her knowledge and practices. As a certified teacher of Yoga Sciences, Vedanta Philosophy, and healing arts, Meranda’s expertise shapes some of our retreat’s offerings, from meditation and yoga to holistic wellness.
Johanne Robitaille
Johanne brings to the Tree Of Life many years of experience in mediation, counselling and sacred communication with a strong passion for gardening and cooking. She shares her knowledge in humanistic mediation and Non-Violent Communication in workshops and couple counselling.
Lynne Loveys
Lynne has been a change agent in healthcare for over forty years and she has always been an artist. Having apprenticed with some of the best-known artists in Atlantic Canada, she has been drawing, painting, and exhibiting her work since the age of 18. A trip to India in 2014 provided the impetus for a reorganization of personal priorities. She completed yoga teacher training with Meranda Squires in 2019 then moved to the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia where she currently studies and practices Somatics, Iyengar Yoga, and meditation. The Tree of Life is a very special place for Lynne, and she returns regularly. Her current project is collaborating to build an off-grid Artist’s Studio at the “Tree”.
Where we are
Nestled in the ‘Fog Forest’ of Salmonier, at the head of St. Mary’s Bay in southeastern Newfoundland, we are forty minutes away from St-Vincent’s spectacular beach where you can see whales and seabirds in profusion. We are one hour drive from Mistaken point, Unesco ecological reserve where you can see some of the oldest fossils in the world and an hour away from Cape St-Mary’s seabird sanctuary. The Tree Of Life is one hour away from St-John’s international airport (YYT). The Tree of Life Eco-Retreat Centre overlooks the primeval forests of the Salmonier River Valley.
The ‘Fog Forest’ derives its name from the wet boreal rainforests of the central Avalon Peninsula that hosts some of the world’s critically endangered and ultra-rare lichens. Our ‘Fog Forest Trail’ leads you through the moss-rich balsam fir forests where majestic yellow birch trees live for centuries and host a diversity of lichen species. The adjacent beautiful river and cascading waterfalls are often the highlights of guests during their stay.
The project began in 2004, following a vision quest with Sagamaw Misel Joe in southern Newfoundland. After building an access to the site located on a river valley terrace, set back about 500 m from the main road, a central building designed in the geometric form of the Kabbalah (colloquially called Tree Of Life) became a labour of love for the next 6 years. As the project unfolded, other buildings were completed, notably a meditation hut, a bunkhouse, a yoga studio, a cedar lodge, and various tool and storage sheds. Currently an artist studio featuring the sacred geometric form of the ‘Breath of the Compassionate’ is underway. In order to build and own the facilities, we sourced recycled lumber & building supplies, we reprocessed timbers, and purchased a bandsaw to mill our local logs, and generate our own lumber. The facility is testament to natural building techniques and do-it-yourself projects.
We honour the ancestral grounds of Newfoundland and Labrador – home to the Beothuk, Mi’kmaq, Inuit, and Innu peoples. In the spirit of truth and reconciliation, we commit to being stewards of this land, respecting the cultures and traditions that flourish here. Together, we cherish the past, embrace the present, and cultivate a future for all generations to come.
