As a young adult in central California, Patrick worked on his family’s farm using conventional agricultural practices. After realizing that this type of agriculture was having adverse effects on the web of life, he began to discover new approaches to growing food and medicine. He completed a six-month course at the California School of Herbal Studies in 1982; topics covered included cultivation, wildcrafting, and medicinal uses of herbs. From 1983-88, he was involved in developing housing, gardens, and infrastructure on an eighty-acre piece of forested land in southern Oregon. Since 1989, Patrick has been the owner/operator of Good Earth Works, an Orcas-based landscaping company that installs home food gardens and edible landscapes. He is contributing to a resilient local food production system by bringing people together to create gardens and plant food-bearing landscapes.