ANNUAL REPORT 2018 QUAIL SPRINGS permaculture OUR MISSION To empower students of all ages and backgrounds with knowledge, skills and inspiration essential to cultivating ecological and social health. OUR VISION We envision an equitable global community that shares the bounty of this living planet and the responsibility to tend to its health. We believe the most effective way to foster positive change is through our relationships, both with one another and our ecologies. 2018 at a glance Programs: Students: Visitors: 25 711 350+ People Inspired by Permaculture Solutions: 1,000+ 2018 programs & key partners OUR 2018 PROGRAMS PROGRAMS WE HOSTED Art of Blacksmithing Cal Poly Applied Ecology Cuyama Youth Program Crossroads School Farm Immersion Highland Hall Waldorf School Hide Tanning Manzanita School Holiday Handcrafting Meghan Walla Murphy Intro to Natural Building Tracking Natural Building Workshop San Marcos High School Permaculture Design Course Santa Barbara City College Permaculture for International Sequoyah School Development St. Thomas University Seeds of Sustainable Vocations (VISION) Tracker Certification OUR KEY PARTNERS Westmont High School Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Wild Belonging Cuyama Lamb LLC Wilderness Awareness School Cuyama Valley Family Women’s Reclamation & Resource Center Renewal Wilderness Youth Project PROGRAMS Permaculture Design Course “Quail Springs gave me the confidence to integrate permaculture into all aspects of my life—not just in my backyard garden, but also in my social interaction and community engagement.” PDC participant In the Permaculture Design Course we teach participants to design and apply natural principles to create stable and resilient systems that provide food, water, shelter and energy needs while regenerating ecology, community and economy. PROGRAMS Natural Building “The most valuable lesson I learned was that heart and relationships are equally important to learning skills and techniques for regenerative and more sustainable systems like natural building.” Natural Building participant For more than ten years Quail Springs has been teaching cob building (a natural building technique using sand, clay and straw) to people of all ages, empowering them to build affordable, environmentally friendly homes with locally sourced materials. PROGRAMS Seeds of sustainable vocations “I know I will go away from here and change the world.” SEEDS participant Seeds of Sustainable Vocations is our ten-day intensive for youth ages 16-20 years old. This program centers on ecology, justice, community and personal expression. Seeds includes hands-on skills, small group mentorship and an integrated project where students share what they’ve learned. PROGRAMS Farm Immersion “Not only have I learned practical and applicable knowledge about farming, raising animals and living in community, but I have experienced so much personal growth and have gained so much inner wisdom and clarity." Farm Immersion participant We invite aspiring farmers out to Quail Springs for a 3-6 month residency grounded in community living and applying permaculture techniques to support our farm and holistic food systems. PARTNERS CUYAMA LAMB LLC In 2018 Quail Springs Rangelands Managers Jack Thrift and Jenya Schneider launched Cuyama Lamb LLC, a sheep outfit committed to the regeneration of native California grasslands and the production of affordable, ethical food and fiber. Jack, Jenya and the sheep spend part of the year at Quail Springs and the rest of the year in the hills above Santa Barbara. Cuyama Lamb LLC is run with support from the Patagonia Food & Fiber Program. Learn more at www. cuyamalamb.com. PARTNERS Cuyama valley family resource center With support from The FUND for Santa Barbara, Quail Springs has been inspiring Cuyama youth through experiential learning with natural building, desert ecology and agriculture. 2018 projects included painting murals, planting trees and tracking wildlife. Our next project with the Cuyama Valley FRC will be a hands-on learning garden for families, including earthen playground structures and bilingual signage. PARTNERS Cal poly sAN LUIS OBISPO This year we collaborated with Cal Poly SLO Civil Engineering Department and ecological design consultant Art Ludwig to perform earthquake testing on cob walls at Quail Springs. Results of this test (stay tuned!) will be crucial in moving forward with our mission of working with local government to make natural building more accessible in California. When we acquired the Quail Springs land in 2004, this beautiful high desert canyon had been degraded by years of overgrazing, and the spring that provided water to the farm had dwindled to a flow of 2 gallons per minute. PROJECTS Ecological restoration Since then, our land stewards have devoted themselves to carefully tending the watershed, restoring the spring and riparian zone, and supporting the regrowth of habitat for native animal and plant species. The spring now typically runs an average of 60 gallons per minute during the day, even in drought years. The farm at Quail Springs is a vital part of the community's relationship with the land and provides 100% of our dairy, eggs, meat, garlic and greens, as well as a context for hands-on learning for our farming internships, general programs and K-12 offerings. PROJECTS Regenerative farming In return, the Quail Springs farm team regenerates the land by building rich soil, selecting and saving seeds, and using mindful grazing strategies that encourage the re-growth of native plants. FINANCIAL Snapshot 2018 INCOME & EXPENSES 2014-2018 NOTE: Extra income from Capital Campaign 2016-2018 went toward purchasing the Quail Springs land INCOME 2018 EXPENSES 2018 WHAT’S NEXT Forming a Coalition for Natural Building In response to the regional need for fire-safe, affordable housing, Quail Springs is forming a coalition of building officials, engineers, architects, builders and activists to advance building codes for monolithic adobe structures (also known as “cob”). The time is right for cob to become more widely used in Southern California. This is a huge undertaking that will rely upon the assistance of all who are able. “Quail Springs is demonstrating the ability to build quality affordable housing that uses far less energy and water. Their efforts should be celebrated by this community and its government. In order to live in a better world, we need more people to embrace sustainability like the community at Quail Springs has.” Das Williams, Santa Barbara County Supervisor Thank you, supporters! FOUNDATIONS Ariana Katovich Christopher & Amy Mason Ford Foundation Arlen Westbrook Christopher Cox The FUND for Santa Barbara Ashley Ritzel Clare Rutz Haskell Family Foundation Avery Hardy Coenraad Rogmans Hutton Parker Foundation Barbara Flanigan Corigan Kushma The Laurence W Levine Foundation Barbara Wishingrad Craig Chisholm Nonprofit Megaphone LLC Bea Calo Daiva Trudeau Santa Barbara Foundation Betsy Spaulding Dan & Sarah Raite Santa Barbara Pistachio Company Bettina Barrett Dan Fontaine Tomchin Family Foundation Bijan Movassaghi Daniel Aaron Francis William & Charlene Glikbarg Blythe Reis Daniel Ramos Foundation Brady Czekanski-Moir Dave Thomason Brady Karlin David Arkin INDIVIDUAL DONORS Brenton Kelly & Jan Smith David Belden Afrose Ahmed Brett Levin David Listenberger Alex Cole Bruce Bebe Debbie Rodriquez Alex Lobba & Mary Jackson Candice Etz Dee Downing Alex Vincent Carl Palmer & Carrie Kappel Deirdre H. F. Arntz & William H. Alice Bradley Cean Okada Arntz Amy Lewis Reisch Celia & Dennis Hardy Dylan Boeken Andrew Clinard Charles H. Anderson & Joyce Thrift Emily Baum Anita Dharod Charlotte Schell Erika Lindemann Anne Kelly Chris McClellan F. Paul Chounet Annie Notthoff & Dwight Holing Chris Meador Fran Lewbel April Ancel Christine Bentz Heidi & Guner Tautrim Christiane Schlumberger Christine Grace Helena Cuconati Deep gratitude for all of our donors Ian Lodge Kevin Repp Sarah Rebstock Jack Anderson Kolmi Majumdar & Paul Swenson Sasha Rabin Jacques Trudeau LeeAnne French Shari Brookler Jae Scott Linda Seeley Shelley Powsner James Fricker II Lindsay Allen Shilpa Tilwalli James Thomson Lindsay Kolasa Stephanie DiMarco Janice Setser Lisa Van de Water Stephen Gliessman & Robbie Jaffe Jason Robins Marie Rains Steve Pearson Jean Gaillard & Meg Brown Marie-Laure Grimaldi-Marvel Sue Blackshear Jeanne & Robert Bartlett Mark & Sharon Tollefson Sue Nakao & Ray Ward Jeff Reidl Marsha & Charlie Clinard Suzanne Rebstock Jem & Meredith Klein Martha Kazlo T Christopher & Barbara Bradley Jen Schlaich Mary Beth Trautwein Ted Baumgart Jennifer Thongdy Mary Helen Cline & Kenyon Kelly Thomas Hawkins Jenya Schneider Maya Avina Throop Unitarian Universalist Church Jeremiah Holder Michael & Felicia Kelley congregants Jeremiah Kidd Michael Muller Tim Gutierrez Jerod Parrent Michelle Howard Tosha Button Hoyt Jesse Gibson Mike Gonella Trudy Frohlich Jesse Smith & Ana Brush Mike Greenberg Ty Teissere Jessenia Eisenman Mike Rogers Van Jones & Jana Carter Jill Giegerich Molly Ancel William Deane Jim Brady Murphy Family Zack Schlesinger Joe Sevilla Nancy Roe Zeya Schindler Joel Arant Natalie Buckley-Medrano John & Sharon Broberg Nataly Marchuk John Henry & Joan Terlisner Nicole Stevenson John McDevitt & Barbara Herzberg Nyakio Kaniu-Lake John Orcutt Patricia Krout John Snowball Patty Thompson Jorge Montezuma Paula & Stephen Clinard Judith Brabazon Preston Galusky Judith Irene Knudtson Rachel Cernick Julie GaNung Robert Dautch Juna Muller Robert Joe & Teresa Ross Karen Day Roger Horton