A working farm, a quarterly newsletter, a school of self-sufficiency…and one family’s journey towards practical, sustainable living.
Songcroft empowers our community by providing learning opportunities through our subscription newsletter and the Songcroft School. Wherever you are, geographically or on your journey towards sustainable living, you will benefit from what Songcroft has to offer.
Brian and Marilene Richardson
Marilene Richardson’s passion for bringing sustainable living information and community-building skills to people of all ages prompted her to create the Foundation for Sustainable Community. Marilene received her Permaculture Design Certificate after living and studying on Orcas Island at the Bullock Brothers Permaculture Farm. Joel Salatin, KP Khalsa, 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 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 WSU Master Gardener as well as a WSU Livestock Advisor. She has teaches classes for WSU Extension and Mother Earth News Fair. Marilene is a Professional Herbalist who has studies with Kp Khalsa, on staff for Bastyr University, and is the happy owner of SongCroft Naturals.
Brian Richardson is a long-time Washington resident who, like his wife Marilene, grew up spending a lot of time in local forests backpacking, biking or just exploring. Brian is a certified electrical administrator and journeyman electrician. As an electrician, he has specialized in industrial and commercial work, though he is also well versed in residential applications. Brian has a strong background in residential construction, loves carpentry and has an immense appreciation for custom woodwork. Recently, he has been branching out into alternative energy, including residential solar. He has experience in biodiesel and straight vegetable-oil conversions on diesel vehicles. All of these passions and skills mesh with Brian’s desire to work with local industry and community members as they continue to move towards more sustainable models of building and living.
Together, Marilene and Brian are raising and homeschooling two energetic children in Snohomish, Washington. As a long-held family dream, they are building a modest-sized, passive-solar home. Its features include solar-assist hot-water heating, super-insulation and a composting toilet, as well as other systems focused on energy efficiency. They have designed a wonderful example of permaculture land use. Brian and Marilene also participated in converting three diesel vehicles to run on waste vegetable oil at the Bio Fuel Seminar hosted by the Bullock Brothers Permaculture Farm on Orcas Island. As they continue to enjoy exploring more sustainable ways of life, they are grateful to be able to use their home and land as practical examples for community education – to offer classes and workshops as well as to provide a community meeting space.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
marilene@songcroft.com
P.O. Box 1137
Monroe, WA 98290
425-770-1700