Marilene Richardson’s passion for permaculture and bringing sustainable living information and community-building skills to people of all ages prompted her to create the Foundation for Sustainable Community and SongCroft School. Marilene received her Permaculture Design Certificate after studying on Orcas Island at the Bullock Brothers Farm. Joel Salatin, Susun Weed, Toby Hemenway and Jude Hobbs are among some of her many instructors. As a child, Marilene developed a deep reverence for the natural world, while running free in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Marilene has worked extensively on building intentional community and has assisted or taught classes on topics ranging from waste-oil biodiesel production to gardening and food preservation. Her six years as a volunteer at The Root Connection Farm grounded her belief in the importance of local, healthy food. Her desire to make organic meals more readily available, while supporting local CSA farms, led her to found and direct an organic catering business. Marilene enjoys raising chickens and keeping bees as well as growing and preserving much of her family’s food. Marilene is a Master Gardener and soon to be a certified WSU Livestock Advisor. She has taught classes for WSU Extension and she also served as Secretary for the Snohomish Parks Foundation and is the happy owner of SongCroft Garden Design. Currently, Marilene is directing SongCroft Self-Sufficiency Skills School.

You can see what else she is up to at www.songcroft.com