Photo Gallery » Quail Springs Permaculture

A wise friend recently said, “money can’t buy

A wise friend recently said, “money can’t buy you happiness, but money can buy you goats and goats bring happiness.” Money aside, we adore our goat herd and experience endless entertainment from loving on them, talking about them, touching them and dressing them up 🧣

An often overlooked permaculture ethic is people c

An often overlooked permaculture ethic is people care. We can't separate the way we treat the land, soil, four leggeds or winged ones with the way we treat our fellow humans. Today we are grateful for the the accountability that has been brought, while also looking ahead to the work there is to do: the massive, systemic change that is needed so that all lives are valued equally. And amidst our gratitude, we continue to grieve the loss of black and brown lives that cant be brought back.
We often ask the question of what we can do, and at times feel hopeless. We can continue listening, learning, praying, paying attention, practicing fair share, and deepening our understanding of our own role and accountability around these systemic issues.

Wednesday, April 21!!!! 11:40-1:40pm, SBEE’s Mon

Wednesday, April 21!!!! 11:40-1:40pm, SBEE’s Monarchs & Native Pollinators: Explore ecology.org/sbee-garden-project/ #pollinators #pollinators🐝 #ecology #permaculture #foodliteracy

We’re now on to plastering the #earthbag wall th

We’re now on to plastering the #earthbag wall that we built last week. Such an empowering process! #naturalbuilding #plaster #earthenbuilding

If the online #PDC is not for you, we wanted to sh

If the online #PDC is not for you, we wanted to share another opportunity to take a #permaculturedesigncourse with @warrenbrush . There are still a few spaces left. This is an in person course in Joshua Tree. May 15-28th, 2021. Brenton Kelly and Sasha Rabin @earthenshelter will also be guest teaching. www.louharrisonhouse.com for more information. @lou_harrison_house #permaculture #joshuatree

Land stewardship also involves tending to the conn

Land stewardship also involves tending to the connections and challenges of what came before us. Here at Quail Springs one of those earlier iterations on this land was cattle grazing. We’ve done significant cleanups over the years to remove metal and old fencing, and yet the humbling legacy of barbed wire continues. Last week, Walnut, our first doe to give birth this kidding season, scraped her teat on a goat walk on what was likely an old piece of barbed wire. She had a one inch laceration on her right teat: a painful challenge for any animal, and especially a nursing momma. She’s been healing up very quickly and we’ve had to take special precautions to keep her babies from nursing that teat so she can properly heal. Most everything is glorious in goat land, yet at times there are unforeseen challenges that re-open our eyes to putting even greater intention and care into continued land cleanup to keep our herd extra healthy.
Pictured here: Walnut on the right and her ever-attentive mother, Teasel on the left.

Its Asparagus season! These little plants are part

Its Asparagus season! These little plants are part of plant guild made up of Elderberry, Lavender, and Asparagus, and get watered from an outdoor shower. We planted the Asparagus about three years ago, and there is still not enough ready at any one time to feed several people, but plenty for a few. And, its is the most delicious asparagus ever, not sure if that is the variety, or if it is because its so fresh when we cook it. The stocks shoot up so fast you can easily miss the window to harvest them. We planted it from starts, and didn't harvest much the first few years to let them get established. #quailspringspermaculture #permaculture #plantguilds #knowyourfood

URGENT! An open space at the base of the Santa Yne

URGENT! An open space at the base of the Santa Ynez Mountains overlooking the Pacific ocean, the San Marcos Foothills West Mesa is the last wild grasslands in Santa Barbara, CA. Pictured is an old oak, one of the many species inhabiting this place. This land is home to hawks, kites, owls, kestrels, songbirds, coyotes, bobcats, deer, and medicinal plants, and is deeply cherished by local and indigenous Chumash communities. The privately owned 101-acre property, located beside the County-owned San Marcos Foothills Preserve 200-acre nature preserve, is in danger of development for 8 multi-million dollar homes.
Foothills Forever is a Santa Barbara organization that has made an agreement with the owner to raise money to purchase the property for $20 million to protect it forever. As of today, $6,189,426 has been raised! Today marks the second goal benchmark to raise funding by June 2.
As residents and staff at Quail Springs, we support the efforts to keep this land as a grassland in perpetuity. As a staff, we are committing to researching this more deeply, spreading the word, and donating. What can you do? Visit and spend time with the land. Reach out to neighbors and community members. If you are able, donate, or make your own creations or offerings to raise money to donate. It is critical that the animals, plants, ecology, and access to this special land are preserved at the San Marcos Foothills.
Visit https://www.foothillsforever.org/ for ways to donate and volunteer, upcoming earth day events, and other avenues of support and information.
Thank you for supporting in all the ways you do.

Many hands made light work. Okay, maybe not light,

Many hands made light work. Okay, maybe not light, but at least more fun and possible!💫We are rebuilding a small retaining wall with #earthbag #earthenbuilding #earthbagbuilding #superadobe #teamwork #naturalbuilding

Little One under the Elm tree talking 🌱🎶

Little One under the Elm tree talking 🌱🎶

In just about a month our Natural Building team wi

In just about a month our Natural Building team will be building a cob wall at a lab in Texas to get an ASTM E119 fire rating. When bridging the worlds of earthen building and modern testing, there is so much to think about and figure out how to make this very natural material fit into this system of regulation that was not created for systems like this! We are currently trying to determine what density to make the cob for our test wall, (meaning exactly how much straw we will add to the mix). Thanks to our collaborators at Cal Poly for doing last minute compression test for us!
One of the things we are learning in the process is a lot about how to test these materials. Its a whole world unto itself. We are in deep gratitude for all the people who are putting so much time and energy into thinking about all the details we did not even know existed. #earthenbuilding #cobbuilding #cobfiretest #fireresistantbuildingmaterial #buildingscience #climateresilience #sustainablebuilding #cob

We couldn't be more excited for our PDC that is st

We couldn't be more excited for our PDC that is starting Monday! 🌟It is officially full, but we have a wait list if your wanting to join but haven't done so yet. 🐐🐑🐝 We cant wait to meet you all. We are feeling very grateful for the immense amount of energy, work, and learning new skills that has happened to make this workshop happen! #onlinepermaculturecourse #permaculture #onlineeducation #tryingnewthings

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