Permaculture teacher, and colleague Sandy Cruz passed away last week, August 20th, 2021. A foundational leader in the permaculture community in Colorado and North America, Sandy founded High Altitude Permaculture Institute, helped found the Permaculture Institute of North America, and taught thousands of students over many decades. She held an honorary Permaculture Diploma from the Permaculture Institute, Inc. and was cherished by many.
Sandy was the lead organizer of a Permaculture Teacher Training course that I took in the 2000’s in Colorado. We became close colleagues and friends almost immediately and went on to teach many permaculture design courses together. Sandy took me under her wing in a lot of ways in my early teaching career, and I credit her with giving me the first opportunities I had as a teacher. I found my footing next to her. We shared the view that permaculture is so much more than land restoration, that it also harkens to a spiritual way of being with the Earth, and that we’d be kidding ourselves to think anything less when we fully encounter the entirety of permaculture.
“She exposed many hundreds of students to high altitude ecosystems in her courses, and she showed the way of being a member of the ecological community. She was a respectful, reciprocal, sensitive community member.”
Sandy was immensely touched by the beauty of the Colorado wilderness, and I will venture to say she found her greatest connections with life through those wildlands NOT her astounding gardens above 9,000 feet elevation. She was a protector of the mountains through her professional design and teaching work, advising the US Forest Service on recreational area design. She exposed many hundreds of students to high altitude ecosystems in her courses, and she showed the way of being a member of the ecological community. She was a respectful, reciprocal, sensitive community member.
Sandy and I spent many days walking trails through wildflower meadows and tundra, teaching each other about the ecological connections of the places along our way, sharing stories of our lives, and challenging each other to grow stronger like the plants under the intense sun, wind, and cold above 10,000 feet. Though Sandy was my elder in age and practice by many decades, we were always on equal ground when together. I know she loved me, and I know I loved her. I know she wanted me to continue to evolve understandings of permaculture in the world, and I am.
We had lost touch as her health declined these last few years and I now regret that, though I get to hold in my mind/heart the image of Sandy at her strongest. I do hope to make it back to the alpine lake called “Brainard” in Boulder County, Colorado and give a more official show of gratitude. Sandy’s spirit truly rests there, the place she loved more than anywhere.