Inside a B.C. ‘dementia village' that researchers hope could reshape long-term care

Doreen Freeland used to be what's known as a “land girl” in Britain during the Second World War. She was one of thousands of women recruited to work in orchards and on farms to help keep food production going while men went off to fight.

“It was fun sometimes, but it was a bit hard other times when everything's frosty and you got to pick those sprouts,” she says.

Now 94, Freeland is rekindling some of that connection to the outdoors at The Village Langley, a care facility southeast of Vancouver that caters to people with dementia.

But instead of a hospital setting, the five acre facility is designed to look and feel like a community, complete with a store, a hair salon, a local café, a woodworking shop and a barn with animals.

Freeland was diagnosed with dementia about five years ago and now lives with her daughter, Gail Deyle, who brings her to The Village’s adult day program once every week.

“If we miss a Thursday, I'm in trouble,” Deyle says jokingly.

She says her mother gets “perky” every time she visits.

Freeland, with a shovel in hand, works the soil in raised garden beds, feeds chickens and hangs around with her friends and the goats at The Village.

“The goats are quite something,” she says. “I prefer animals to people if it comes to that."

After Freeland’s diagnosis, she moved from Nova Scotia to B.C. to be with Deyle, who quit work to become her full-time caregiver.

“She's also legally blind but she doesn't stop,” Deyle says.

“She told me once that if she can't play in the dirt, she doesn't want to be around."

An occupational therapist recommended The Village, says Deyle, and the activities and social interactions there have made her mother more engaged.

“It's definitely a different concept and I'd like to see a lot more of them around,” Deyle says.

‘We all want to live out best lives’

Opened in 2019, about 75 residents live full time at The Village Langley in its six cottage-style homes.

Elroy Jespersen, its co-founder, says most of the residents are in the mid-to-late stages of dementia, while others have cognitive limitations, brain injuries or conditions such as Parkinson’s disease.

He says the concept grew out of what he observed in his three decades of working at seniors' homes.

“I noticed this one group of people who struggled no matter what we did and it was people who were living with dementia,” he says. “Typically, what people would do to try to keep them safe is lock them inside a unit floor or something.”

“I thought that's not a good way to live.”

Jespersen soon learned about dementia villages and "green care farms" in Europe, where long-term care is combined with activities like gardening and animal care.

“No matter what limitations we have or what cognitive or physical disabilities we have, we all want to live our own best life,” he says. “Sometimes there is dignity in risk."

Jesperson says the Langley facility is the first of its kind to open in Canada and there’s a similar facility in Comox, B.C.

Researchers testing the model

The Village is now part of a new research project led by Simon Fraser University (SFU) in B.C. and McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., which aims to understand what this kind of setting actually does for people with dementia and find ways to replicate some of its elements across the country.

The concept of engaging people with dementia in horticulture, animal care and outdoor activity on farm-like settings first started in the Netherlands decades ago, says SFU professor Habib Chaudhury, who is one of the research leads.

“Quality of life that includes greater mobility, reduced number of falls, resulted in better sleep, lower depression,” he says.

In Canada, Chaudhury says, most long-term care still looks and feels institutional.

“Long corridor, rooms on both sides,” he says. “Very few have outdoor spaces that people can actually go and spend time in.

"Quite often, we sacrifice quality of life for the sake of safety."

Beginning in spring 2026, the researchers will interview residents, families, staff and management at The Village Langley to observe how people use outdoor areas and animals and to track things like depression and sleep quality.

“The research team’s goal is to provide evidence that can inform future policy to promote and implement innovative approaches in long-term care that will create a normalized and naturally rich, supportive care community,” Chaudhury says.

Cost and access remain big questions

Living at The Village Langley is out of reach for many families. Jespersen says it can cost anywhere between $10,000 to $13,000 a month for a full-time spot.

“Right now this is all done privately; there is no government money going into supporting people living here.”

Jesperson says he hopes the research will help quantify the benefits of the model and eventually lead to government funding and affordable care for more people.

Some experts stress that farm-style care is not a cure for dementia.

“It's not going to prevent them from getting worse,” says Dr. Howard Chertkow, a cognitive neurologist at Baycrest Health Sciences in Toronto.

He says places like The Village bring together many things known to help like regular social contact, physical activity and time outdoors.

However, the government will need strong data before committing public money, the neurologist says.

“We’re really going to need evidence, good evidence of what is effective,” he says. “We don’t want just wishful thinking that a program is going to help.”

Prevention, he adds, remains the most cost-effective strategy.

“With exercise, with social stimulation, with better control of blood pressure … are a number of things that can probably prevent up to half of the cases of dementia.”

Stigma still isolates people with dementia

According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, more than 770,000 Canadians are living with dementia. By 2030, that number could reach nearly one million, and by 2050, it could hit more than 1.7 million, the society says.

It says dementia doesn't refer to one specific disease but rather is an overall term for a set of symptoms that are caused by disorders affecting the brain.

Dave Spedding, CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Toronto, says there's still a lot of stigma surrounding dementia. He says people often stop inviting those with dementia to social events or involving them in outdoor activities, thinking they’re better off staying safe at home.

“If you're not being invited to things, you're not being out there,” he says. “Isolation is really the enemy of the dementia journey.”

Spedding says approaches that reduce isolation can ease stress for both patients and caregivers.

For Deyle, The Village has helped her mother maintain that sense of connection.

Freeland says she enjoys the company and the rhythm of the weekly visits.

“They seem to cater to just about everything that I like,” she says.

And she knows the program gives her daughter a break too.

“Gail is quite pleased to leave me here and have a breather every now and again,” she says.