Garrick Beck grew up in a pioneering Off-Broadway theatrical family. He attended Reed College and lived for a dozen years on an organic community farm in the Coast Range of Western Oregon. He was instrumental in the founding of the Rainbow Gatherings and the creation of a children's gardening program in New York City. He co-authored Plant and Grow! a teachers' curriculum guide for that program. He has been in the forefront of the sustainable forestry movement and has worked with numerous children's outdoor education activities. Beck owns a gem and mineral business, has three children and lives with his wife, Jenny, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.