Island Farm Studio | A place of healing
Just recently Tina, Sarah and I went out to Sauvie Island to volunteer, (and shoot some of our spring collection), at Island Farm Studio. It didn’t take long for us to fall in love: with the kick-ass team we knelt down in the dirt with, with the warm sun and the vibey playlist, with the cake Christine, (founder of IFS), made for us all, and with the passion embodied by each volunteer and rooted deep down in this farm's earth.
If you’re local to Portland, it is absolutely a bucket list item to visit Island Farm Studio for a volunteer day. Read on to learn more about this radically warm and nurturing farm and all Christine has planted within our community.
Christine grew up in the northernmost wilds of Idaho, running through horse pastures, dipping and ducking under barbed wire fences, tossing buttercup bouquets into creeks, and singing to herself up in the horse tack- scented barn loft on the farmland of her childhood home. Little did she realize at the time how much this solitude shaped and soothed her, how much the realities of growing up low income, rural, and with mental illness in the family created new lenses behind the way she saw the world. How much Mary Oliver’s quote “ Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. ’’ would be embodied in earnest.
Now, a decade into her farming adventure, and with 15 years of creative leadership under her belt, Christine is bringing to life The Community Ecology Center. A larger vision for her work has always been at play, woven into the infrastructure of the farm. It is immediately apparent that Christine has always cultivated a fiercely loving and inclusive environment at the farm, The Center will make this uplifting work possible at a larger scale.
The Community Ecology Center will offer farm-based programs that will serve as a sanctuary for survivors of domestic violence + sexual assault, and for queer and trans young adults. The powerful vision is to provide a safe space to access healing through connection to community, through connection the earth, and through connection to the self. The Center aims to foster self-efficacy, Earth connection, community building and sustainable paths to self-healing led by experts in the company of a cohort of their peers.
Through hands-on experience in growing food, flowers, creating art, and learning practical skills, individuals will develop tools for long-term healing and self-sufficiency. The approach combines the calming effect of agricultural work with skill-building workshops, mentorship opportunities, all while producing sustainable products like honey, tea, and flowers that support the mission.
Each program element is designed to build confidence, foster community, and help participants access additional resources when they’re ready to.
The passion behind the birth of The Community Ecology Center is palpable when you’re on the farm and especially when you’re in the presence of Christine. We feel so grateful to be able to uplift Island Farm Studio and spread the word about this emerging community resource.
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How can you support this project?
Subscribe to the 2025 Summer Flower Share
Purchase an Island Farm Studio Gift Card
Book a Mother/Child/Maternity portrait session at the farm
Follow @thecommunityecologycenter
Thank you, Christine for all you do! We cannot wait to get back out to the farm for another volunteer day. We feel so blessed to have intersected with this outrageously wonderful community and our hearts have been bursting with gratitude ever since.
We can attest: a day in the dirt provides powerful healing.
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