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my twin sons, who will be
countless hours running in the park, feeding the deer, touring the castle, or having coffee with the Baroness. Yes, a real baroness lived there,” says Kautz. The experience made an indelible impression. “I made incredible lifelong friendships and I learned far more than I taught. I learned about myself and about my capabilities. I gained an appreciation for history. I learned that when you are uncomfortable, you are truly growing,” writes Kautz. For the past eight years, he has lived in Maine where he works as a math and finance teacher at the Waynflete School, a private day school in Portland. He is also the varsity baseball coach.
master’s degree in public health from the University of Connecticut Health Center. He is currently a program manager, overseeing a communitybased health access program at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center in Albuquerque.
feature book and one of the New York Times Top Ten Books of the Year for children. She has authored more than a dozen books, most recently, “Beatrice’s Dream.” (Karen spent two weeks with the 13-year-old orphan who was growing up in a slum in Kibera, Kenya.) The Williams family — which grew to include four children — also continued to travel. They lived in Haiti for two periods, and since September 2010, Karen and Steven have lived on the Navajo Nation in Chinle, Ariz., where Steven works for the Indian Health Service. Karen teaches graduate level writing courses and continues work on several writing projects. Meanwhile, her son, Christopher, who was born in Malawi while his parents served in the Peace Corps, has come full circle. In September, he and his wife, Laurie, became Peace Corps volunteers in Mozambique. For more information, see www.karenlynnwilliams.com.
the Science Education and Environmental Studies Department. “We’d like to be a unifying force for faculty, staff, and students,” she says. True to the initiative’s name, Plant it Forward also will support those beyond campus. Plans include reaching out to the community-at-large to teach and encourage local residents to grow their own food. Heidkamp comments, “Ideally, we will eventually be able to do summer institutes to share knowledge about growing things in an urban environment. Our focus is on producing a lot of food in small spaces.” The Connecticut Northeast Organic Farming Association included Southern in its annual city farm and garden tour in August. Efforts are underway to find external funding to help develop community and educational outreach activities. “I think it’s the right time to do this,” Cusato says. “The whole discussion
about food in this country has changed. A movement to support local growers by buying locally produced food has gained popularity and momentum. Gardening or growing fruit trees make home a more enjoyable place to stay, and people also get some benefit from it.” She adds that due to numerous highly publicized food recalls over the past years, people want to know where their food comes from. Heidkamp is hoping for the sustained involvement of the local community. “The intention is to empower and educate people,” he says. Meanwhile, the students involved in the project have reaped their own rewards. “I feel a very strong personal connection to the orchard,” says Hawkins. “I am currently living in my family’s home . . . an old farmhouse. To have worked on the orchard at this point of my life, is a dream come true.” n
9 years old, and my Peruvian husband to Paraguay for their first time to celebrate.” Plans include visiting the Asuaga family, who took Lott into their oneroom home for three months while she was serving in the Peace Corps until accommodations were built for her. Peace Owls, Harper continued from page 15
Namibia’s government colleges. “Most rewarding was attending the graduations of my 90 students each year, knowing that if each one taught 40 students for 30 years, my efforts could/would contribute to the development of the country,” she says. Though officially retired, Harper continues to work parttime in education. She is a classroom assistant for an autistic elementary school student.
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The Good Earth continued from page 19 expected to soar to 70 percent by 2050. Urban agriculture could become increasingly important to this growing population segment. It provides a cost-effective source of nutritious food — a tremendous benefit in areas where the community does not have easy access to fresh produce. Organic urban gardening also diverts nutrient-rich waste from landfills. Other benefits include encouraging the production of rare varieties of fruits and vegetables, beautifying urban areas, and reducing the carbon footprint associated with growing produce since it does not need to be transported from rural areas. There are academic advantages as well. Students from various programs will be able to use the orchard trees, garden, and eventually the greenhouse to extend the classroom experience to real-life applications. Cusato says the project is completely interdisciplinary, not just limited to
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