JT Beggs

What do you do here? I am an intern and apprentice.

What are you passionate about? I am passionate about having an intimate relationship and connection with all of life that exists around me. I am also passionate about rebuilding land-based culture while preserving and learning from existing ones. I have a love for pieces of culture that retain their connection to nature, which has drawn me deeply into old time dance music, ethnobotany, hunting, and animal processing.

Do you have any goals? I’m striving to finish the Kamana naturalist training program, while becoming a useful part of the Quail Springs farm team. I want to  grow piles of delicious chilies, learn more about sustainable human settlements, and wheeze and whistle Irish tunes from my concertina.

Why permaculture?  In 2008 I first took a permaculture course  on a bit of a whim, from Larry Santoyo. At that time I felt that humanity was so deeply hollow in its ability to connect, relate to and appreciate the rest of life on earth. When Larry told his first story I felt like I began to see a little piece of our collective niche in the web of life and I began to understand how we are a part of nature and not separate from it. A short time later, I checked out a book on ecology from the public library and serendipitously stumbled upon Fundamentals of Ecology by Eugene and Howard Odum. I was hooked. Ecology, Permaculture, Agroecology, Pattern Literacy, Cultural Geography… I love reading about them all and  working towards creating healthy connections  between nature and culture.

What drew you to Southern California? I took a group of people on a natural history trip to the Carrizo Plain, which was quite a learning experience for me.  I believe that was about 2010. When we got down there all we could see were wildflowers, Leopard Lizards, Prairie Falcons and Kit fox tracks in every direction (that is a mild exaggeration). I remember my friend Lilliane walking through a field of Goldfields and Purple Owls Clover and emerging with her black shoes and socks dyed completely yellow from pollen. Since that moment I can think of  no more fitting place to live than  California.