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An organisation built around teaching, not preaching.
Ofor is a Canadian non-profit dedicated to environmental education. We help people understand the everyday choices that shape their environmental footprint, and we do it through patient, practical, community-rooted teaching.
Our history
From a classroom idea to a community organisation
Ofor was established in 2019 by a small group of teachers and community organisers who kept noticing the same problem. People wanted to live more sustainably, but the guidance they encountered was either too vague to act on or too demanding to sustain. The gap was not motivation; it was practical, trustworthy education.
We began with a handful of free workshops in Vancouver community centres. Word spread, schools asked for classroom visits, and libraries offered us space for public sessions. What started as a volunteer project grew, year by year, into a registered non-profit with a full programme of workshops, published resources, and community events.
Today our materials are used by households and educators well beyond our home province, though our in-person work remains rooted in the communities of British Columbia where it began.
Our mission
To make practical environmental knowledge accessible to every household, school, and community in Canada, so that sustainable living becomes an ordinary part of everyday life rather than a specialist pursuit.
Our vision
A society where caring for the environment is understood as achievable and normal, where good information is freely available, and where communities support one another in living well within their means and their surroundings.
What guides us
Our educational principles
Four commitments shape every workshop we run and every resource we publish.
Accuracy before persuasion
We would rather be measured and correct than dramatic and misleading. Our materials cite current evidence and are updated when understanding changes.
Accessible to everyone
Cost, reading level, language, and physical access should never be barriers to environmental learning. We design for the widest possible audience.
Practical over aspirational
We focus on changes people can actually make in their own homes and routines, not idealised lifestyles that few can sustain.
Respect for community knowledge
People understand their own lives best. We teach reasoning and options, then trust individuals to choose what fits.
The people behind Ofor
Meet the team
A small, dedicated staff supported by a large network of trained volunteers.
Mareille Chen
A former secondary-school science teacher, Mareille founded Ofor to make environmental learning practical rather than theoretical.
David Okonkwo
David designs our curriculum and workshop materials, drawing on more than a decade of adult and community education.
Priya Raman
Priya coordinates our events, school visits, and volunteer network across British Columbia.
Léa Tremblay
Léa keeps our guides accurate and current, reviewing published research and translating it into plain language.
Samuel Wright
Samuel runs volunteer training and supports the hundreds of people who help deliver our events each year.
Aisha Bello
Aisha builds the relationships with schools, libraries, and local organisations that make our work possible.
Working together
Community partnerships
Our reach depends on trusted local institutions who open their doors and share our commitment to public education.
Municipal libraries
We host free public sessions in library branches, reaching residents who may never seek out an environmental program on their own.
Public and independent schools
Our classroom presentations and teacher resources support existing curricula on ecology, waste, and stewardship.
Community centres
Neighbourhood centres give us a trusted, familiar space to run workshops close to where people live.
Local environmental groups
We share knowledge and volunteers with grassroots organisations working on habitat, waterways, and urban greening.