Meet Andrew Tuttle and Mary Marshall

 

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andrew Tuttle and Mary Marshall a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mary & Andrew, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

For us, purpose has always been deeply tied to the Japanese concept of ikigai, the idea of having a reason for being, something that gives life meaning. We both discovered our ikigai long ago when we left the paths we were previously on and began searching for solutions to the immense environmental challenges we saw in the world.

We found ourselves at a pivotal moment, compelled to change how we move through life entirely. Andrew’s journey began after leaving the military, where he witnessed excessive waste and pollution, which left him deeply troubled about our impact on the planet. For Mary, the sudden loss of multiple family members reshaped her perspective, making environmental restoration not just a passion but a responsibility. In her grief, she found clarity in seeing the restoration of the land not only as a path to healing but as a responsibility. Determined to find solutions, we sought ways to help the global transition towards regeneration.

That search led us to permaculture and regenerative farming, where we saw an incredible opportunity to transform food systems into thriving ecosystems that support both human and environmental health. Over a decade ago, we immersed ourselves in agriculture and quickly became passionate about sharing what we were learning with others. Our work became focused on accelerating the development of regenerative farm systems, ending species extinction, mitigating climate change, and ultimately healing the planet.

In 2020, while teaching at Edmonds College, we both recognized a major barrier: there wasn’t enough high-quality, accessible curriculum, especially for visual learners like ourselves. That realization expanded our ikigai from just regenerative agriculture into education and curriculum development. Ever since, we’ve poured our hearts and souls into developing innovative, accessible ways to teach regenerative farming. Looking back, our path unfolded by simply following what felt right, leading us to the work we do today.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

We co-run Edge Perma, a small but powerful company consisting of just the two of us. One of the unique things about our business is our relationship. We were married for a decade before realizing that our sexualities weren’t compatible. Rather than let that divide us, we worked through the challenges of our separation and emerged with an even stronger friendship. Today, we co-run Edge Perma and Redtail Edge Design, and we co-steward Pragtree Farm, a land trust-owned farm and historic education center near Seattle.

We also teach courses at Edmonds College, including Restorative Design Solutions and Intro to Permaculture Design, and we plan to expand our teaching there in the future. What makes our work unique is the way we combine our skills in design, education, video production, and virtual tour development to create an entirely new approach to teaching regenerative farming.

We’ve developed a cutting-edge educational model integrating aerial drone maps, photos, and farmer interviews explaining farm design and management into an interactive 3d model and 360° virtual walkthrough. This approach allows students, farmers, and researchers to experience and learn from regenerative farms virtually, breaking down geographic and financial barriers to education.

As for upcoming projects, we’re thrilled to announce our first major partnership with Washington State University and Tilth Alliance. This USDA-funded project through the Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) features a virtual tour of Viva Farms, an influential farm education center and incubator near Seattle. The project will go live on our website in March 2025, and we can’t wait to share it with the world.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The first is finding the best mentors possible. We were fortunate to learn from some of the greatest minds in design, sustainable farming, and education. Their guidance shaped our entire journey. Some of the key mentors who influenced us include Tom and Sheryl Thornton at Cloud Mountain Farm Center, the Bullock family at Bullock’s Permaculture Homestead, Brian Kerkvliet and Alexandra King at Inspiration Farm, and Dave Boehnlein, a legendary permaculture teacher and someone who changed the trajectory of our lives.

The second is finding your ikigai. Whatever it takes, find your deep purpose and passion. Once you do, ride that energy wave. It will guide you toward achieving things beyond your wildest dreams.

The third is staying curious and taking risks. When we realized there was a vast gap in regenerative farm education, we had zero tech experience. Instead of backing down, we taught ourselves virtual tour development, video production, drone mapping, and everything else we needed to bring this vision to life. It was scary and financially challenging at times, but believing in ourselves and taking that leap has led to incredible opportunities like teaching at a college, stewarding land, and building incredible partnerships with other change-makers.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

Absolutely. We are actively seeking university partners, nonprofits, and organizations in agricultural education who want to collaborate on curriculum development, virtual farm tours, and outreach programs.

We’re also looking for farms interested in marketing and storytelling as we create virtual tours that help farms connect with a broader audience. Another area we are exploring is book projects that combine the style of a conventional textbook with interactive, highly visual virtual learning to make education more accessible, and we welcome interest from publishers.

Anyone passionate about accessible education, regenerative farming, or virtual learning can connect with us at EdgePerma.com or on social media @EdgePerma. We’d love to hear from you and explore ways to collaborate.

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