CAITLIN HERLIHY LECK
I grew up in Quincy, Massachusetts; though my family did not engage in overt activism, my parents embodied and instilled progressive values every day. After graduating from Wesleyan University, I spent five months at the Findhorn Ecovillage in Scotland, where I first learned about permaculture design.
This initial exposure to permaculture, the study of designing beneficial relationships, opened up a whole new way of viewing the world. I made my way west and while living in Portland, OR, I took a Permaculture Design Course where I learned about the Bullocks’ Homestead. I came up to Orcas for a visit and was instantly hooked!
After 4 years at the Bullocks’, I started an edible landscaping company and helped to found the Orcas Community Participatory Agriculture project. As a greaser of wheels and fighter of entropy, I am happy as a clam to be a member of the OWC Steering Committee and PACE Action Team.
When not creating the conditions for vegetables to happen, I love to row our umiak, hike, hunt for mushrooms, read sci-fi and make dinner with friends. I live in Eastsound with my husband, Zackarya, and am very proud to have joined my step-daughter, Zora, in the Women’s March on Seattle in January.