Upper school librarian Lauri Vaughan accepted the Margaret A. Edwards Award for the nation’s best reading program for teens at the American Library Association conference in Chicago on June 26. ReCreate Reading, Harker’s summer reading program, celebrates reading for pleasure and offers students in grades 10-12 a choice of about 70 titles sponsored by as many teachers. Teachers declare and students select their titles each spring and then meet to discuss the books in August.
Since the program’s inception in 2009, numerous book discussions have featured author participants, including luminaries Matt Richtel, David Quammen, Andrew Smith, Mariko Tamaki and Dave Cullen, among others. ReCreate Reading 2017 features 69 distinct titles, including the novels “The Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead, “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Black Panther” trilogy and the Agatha Christie classic “Murder on the Orient Express.” Nonfiction is also represented, including Michael Lewis’ “The Undoing Project” and Ashlee Vance’s eponymous biography of Elon Musk.
A highlight of this summer’s program is a discussion with Jeff Chang about his latest title, “We Gon’ Be Alright.” Chang, executive director of Stanford’s Institute of Diversity in the Arts, is most famous for his groundbreaking history of hip-hop, “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop.” After joining about 40 students for a book discussion, Chang will visit art classes and offer a lunchtime presentation open to all students and faculty on ReCreate Reading discussion day, Aug. 31.
Former Harker student Andrew Shvarts will join performing arts teacher Brian Larsen’s group to discuss his debut fantasy novel “Royal Bastards.” Authors participating via Skype include Robert Moor, author of “On Trails,” Romina Russell, author of “Zodiac,” and James Renner, author of “True Crime Addict.”
Harker students had great success at the national TEAMS (Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science) finals in Orlando, Fla., in late June, where they won the grades 9-10 division first-place trophy in problem-solving, and placed in the top 10 for both prepared presentation and best in nation. The team finished fourth overall nationally. The team members, who took second in the state finals, are all rising sophomores: Jackie Yang (team captain), Eileen Li, Sachin Shah, Emily Liu, Allison Jia, Cynthia Chen and Vani Mohindra. Kyle Li did not travel to Orlando, but was part of the team that took second in the state.
“Once again the top qualifying team from Harker has represented the school with honor,” said the team’s coach, Tony Silk, upper school mathematics department chair. “The students worked very hard and had a wonderful experience. I can only imagine how they’ll do in their second year! A special thanks to Harker parent Roxana Yang, who traveled with the students to Orlando, helping to make the trip, and the students’ success, possible.”
The theme for 2017, “Engineering the Environment,” included scenarios on energy efficiency, open-source geothermal heat pumps and wastewater treatment. The TEAMS competition helps to develop “STEM-capable” students in an engaging way by showing them how math and science, with an engineering focus, are used to make tangible differences in the world.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2017 Harker Magazine.
The annual alumni tour of Butch Keller, upper school division head, and his wife, Jane, upper school math teacher, began in March with a trip to Southern California to watch Izzy Connell ’13 in her final track meet as a Pepperdine student and have dinner with the rest of the Harker alumni at Pepperdine.
Josh Tien ’13 and Alisa Wakita ’16 joined the Kellers and Connell for dinner the next evening where the group celebrated Connell’s engagement to Ryan Mui ’13, who had proposed that day. Mui is currently at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. “It’s a great opportunity to get to know Mr. and Mrs. Keller on a more personal level,” said Connell.
The East Coast leg of the Keller Tour started with several fun-filled days in New York City. At their next stop, New Haven, Conn., the Kellers met up with Alyssa Amick ’15 for lunch and a tour of the Yale campus. They then had dinner with other Yale students at Elm City Social.
In Ann Arbor, Mich., the Kellers toured the University of Michigan campus with Sheridan Tobin ’15, followed by lunch with Tobin and Arjun Ashok ’15 at the famous Zingerman’s Delicatessen. Dinner that night with other Harker alumni attending Michigan brought many smiles and plenty of laughter. “The sense of community at Harker has always been so special,” said Tobin, “and the Keller Tour was the perfect reminder of that.”
The final stop brought the Kellers to the University of Washington. Sean Pan ’14 met the Kellers for lunch and a tour of the UW campus. “I was very glad to have gotten dinner on the Keller Tour at least once during my four years in college!” said Pan.
Though it was a rainy trip, noted Jane Keller, “the weather could not dampen the joy in seeing our alums fulfilling their dreams in the next phase of their education.”
Search for “Keller Tour” in Harker News for more details on this annual journey!
Congratulations to Izzy Connell ’13 on being named a CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) third team Academic All-American this week. Connell graduated from Pepperdine University this spring as a psychology major with a 3.96 GPA. She also was the school’s top female sprinter in the program’s history, holding nine school records, and was named Pepperdine’s Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2016-17 season. Check out the full story here:
This story originally appeared in the winter 2016 Harker Magazine.
By Jared Scott Tesler
Since he was a little boy, Colin Dickey MS ’91 had always dreamed of becoming an architect. But while at Harker’s middle school – inspired by highly respected and beloved English teachers, including the late Sylvia Harp – he had a change of heart.
“Harker nurtured a kind of creative rigor that I appreciate – not just memorizing and repeating information but getting us to think critically and to go beyond received truths,” Dickey said. “At some point, I realized that one could easier build things out of words than out of bricks and wood.”
And so, at 12 years old, while most boys his age were playing sports or video games, he spent his after-school hours reading books and writing stories on his mother’s word processor. With the nearby labyrinth-like Winchester Mystery House – designed and built by Sarah Winchester, widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester, and said to be haunted by ghosts – serving as his muse, his early interest in architecture would creep its way into his latest and greatest passion.
Fast-forward 25 years. Dickey holds a Master of Fine Arts in critical studies, as well as a doctorate in comparative literature, and is an associate professor of creative writing at National University. He is the co-editor of “The Morbid Anatomy Anthology” and author of three supernatural nonfiction books, including his most recent, “Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places,” which The New York Times Book Review called “a lively assemblage and smart analysis of dozens of haunting stories … absorbing … [and] intellectually intriguing.” The book also was lauded by the Los Angeles Times, Men’s Journal, Publishers Weekly, The Seattle Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Dickey also has received positive feedback from readers.
“Some random person on the Internet told me the other day that my latest book was helping her get through a difficult time, and I was honored and humbled to have had that kind of impact,” he said.
In writing “Ghostland,” which is “not overtly pro or anti any belief in the supernatural,” Dickey said his focus was on uncovering the answers to a series of questions: “Why do certain buildings come to be seen as haunted? Is there something architecturally about these spaces that may lend them an aura of the ghostly? Why do we tell some ghost stories and not others? Is there something to be learned about the way we tell ghost stories, something that reflects deeper anxieties, hopes and fears?” While some may be skeptical or even afraid of this particular genre, the author hopes everyone will be a part of the conversation.
Between books, Dickey carves out time as a guest speaker, and is a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Review of Books and Lapham’s Quarterly. In his post at National University, he is primarily tasked with “sculpting and guiding a new generation of voices” – a privilege and a duty he takes very seriously.
“Most of my students come to me with a great deal of raw talent. My job is to act as a sounding board, giving them the space to adapt and refine those voices,” Dickey said. “One of the main pieces of advice I find myself giving is to simply write – and read. Students, even writers, don’t read as much or as widely as they should.”
For information on Dickey’s books, upcoming appearances and more, visit colindickey. com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @colindickey.
This story originally appeared in the Winter 2016 Harker Magazine.
“Whenever there are extended periods of time when I am not dancing, I feel incomplete,” remarked Jacqui Villarreal ’15, who danced during her entire K-12 career at Harker and now performs with the Santa Clara University Dance Team. “As dramatic as that sounds, it’s true.” Her fervor does not appear to be uncommon. Every year, hundreds of students perform in Harker’s four major dance shows. Last year’s upper school dance production featured a cast of 140 students. That number could very well be eclipsed with this year’s show come January.
This past fall semester, “we had the most students audition for the upper school dance show that we ever had,” noted Laura Lang-Ree, Harker’s K-12 performing arts chair. “We’ve done nothing different. No new publicity, no emails.”
Harker students have been dancing for a very long time. Dance instruction was offered to students at Miss Harker’s School as early as 1903, and was introduced into the regular curriculum by the 1920s. In subsequent decades, dance instruction expanded to include Miss Harker’s kindergartners and became part of the summer programs after the school’s merger with the Palo Alto Military Academy.
Dance teacher Laura Rae further developed the dance program at Harker Academy after joining the school in the 1980s, directing routines for the spring musical and leading the after-school dance program, which started in 1983.
“[Howard and Diana] Nichols were … very passionate about performing arts overall, and Diana had a special love for dance,” said Lang-Ree, who joined Harker in 1995. The addition of the upper school brought further growth to the dance program, including some academic dance courses. Now, students K-12 can learn a wide range of styles, from ballet to jazz to hip-hop. Currently, the program boasts six audition-only dance groups across grades 4-12, each of which attracts dozens of students to auditions every year. Students dance for live audiences as early as kindergarten, and dance is one of six disciplines of focus included in the upper school Conservatory’s certificate program.
A familiar refrain among dance students and alumni is how dance classes initially just seemed like a fun activity to do with their friends. “I was new to the school in fifth grade,” recalled senior Tamlyn Doll. “I asked [my friends], ‘What are you doing after school?’ and they said, ‘Oh, I have dance.’” She opted to try it herself and “fell in love with it pretty fast,” she said.
“It seemed like a fun after-school activity and a lot of my friends were doing it,” added Villarreal. “Over the years, some people trickled out of the program, but I stayed because of how amazing the teachers are and how passionate everyone is about dancing.”
This social element has not gone unnoticed by dance faculty. “I think it’s very rewarding for them to be with their friends,” said K-8 dance teacher Gail Palmer. “They really support each other.”
Many students also discovered that dance offers a unique form of expression through movement. “I love expression in the form of physicality,” said Emre Ezer, grade 12, a performer in Harker dance shows since seventh grade. “I love pretty much every form of expression, but it’s especially fun using your own body.”
Junior Liana Wang, a member of the upper school’s Varsity Dance Troupe, said that dance is “my freedom and my expression of the soul. I find that the freedom of being able to express anything motivates me to continue the art form. I feel less restricted and bound to the expectations of the world.”
Those expectations can often be a source of stress, something students have found can be alleviated through dance. “It’s an emotional outlet,” said Hazal Gurcan, grade 12. “I feel like when I dance, my brain is kind of able to figure out what’s stressing me out.”
“Dance is the way I relieve any sort of stress, so being in college, it is a must for me to continue with it!” exclaimed Noel Banerjee ’15, a dance minor at Loyola Marymount University, where she is also a member of the dance team.
Apart from the uniquely fun and expressive nature of the art form, Harker’s support of the dance program and its faculty have played a large part in keeping students interested. Wang, who has performed with several companies and studios outside Harker, said that the Harker program’s distinct lack of competitiveness has enabled her and many other students to discover dance without feeling the pressure to impress. “From the teachers to the students, all strongly believe in helping one another for the benefit of the whole rather than for personal interests,” she said. “This has made my experience in dance much better and allowed myself to open up to the people around me.”
“One of my goals has always been to keep dance a fun and enjoyable aspect of [the students’] Harker careers,” said Karl Kuehn, upper school dance teacher. “I want dance to be a kind of creative outlet for them.”
For Doll, the nurturing and communal aspect of Harker’s dance program made all the difference. “I don’t think I would have danced at all if I hadn’t come to Harker,” she said. Having tried and disliked ballet at a very young age, she recalled doubting she would ever try dancing again. “But then when I tried it again at Harker, something about the teachers and the environment made it a lot of fun, and it’s definitely not just like any dance class.”
Other students and alumni agree. “Harker was extremely supportive with me pursuing dance in middle school, but also with my time in high school while I was in the certificate program,” said Helena Dworak ’16, now a student at Northeastern University, where she dances with the university’s audition group. “I had wonderful mentors, Karl Kuehn and [upper school dance teacher] Rachelle Haun, who completely shaped my experience in the upper school dance program.”
Another key to making Harker’s dance program welcoming is the relatively low level of commitment required. Students can commit to dancing as little as once a week and still be able to participate in a show. “It’s fun because it’s a high production value, but not necessarily a high-level commitment,” said Lang-Ree. “You can dance once a week, and fully commit to that once a week and be a part of something special as a dance show family member. And I think that’s really appealing to some kids.”
“You can just try it without having to necessarily be fully committed to it,” said Gurcan, who plans to double major in dance and psychology in college. “If the elementary school dance show had been [audition-based] then I would never have started dancing.”
The dance program also teaches its students how to make a good impression at auditions. “I think in general what we hear from our students who’ve left the Conservatory but who got their start in kindergarten, is that they know what to do when they walk into any room,” said Lang-Ree. “So they know how to handle themselves at auditions, they know how to behave in rehearsal, they know what the protocol is for being a team member in a way that not all high school students do know.”
Although technique is important, Lang-Ree stressed that how one carries oneself also gets noticed. “You want to be the nicest person in the room, who happens to be talented,” she said. “And I think that’s something that they bring to the table because they hear it from all of us from a very young age, and in the Conservatory program they hear it constantly.”
Students have noticed other benefits as well. For Wang, dance has been a way to unlock her self-confidence. “When I was younger, I use to be afraid of sharing my ideas and presenting myself in front of others since I felt like I would disappoint them and make mistakes,” she said. But through dancing and meeting choreographers and other dancers, “I was able to gain more confidence.”
Like Wang, many Harker dancers say the program gave them skills that they use in other areas of their lives.
“I have grown so much from leadership opportunities that I was given within the dance department at Harker,” said Villarreal, “and being involved in so much dance made me really good at time management.”
“It’s taught me focus, perseverance, the importance of health and wellness, and self-awareness,” said Dworak. “I am grateful that I received the support to pursue dance, as I never would have been the same person without it.”
This story originally appeared in the winter 2016 Harker Magazine.
When Maheen Kaleem ’03 went to Harker’s head of school to advocate on behalf of a fellow student who was in trouble, she didn’t have any idea that her life’s work would be standing up for people who need a voice.
Her road from Harker, where she started in kindergarten, to staff attorney at Rights4Girls makes sense in retrospect, but she didn’t have a clear vision at every step of the journey.
“I loved my time at Harker,” said Kaleem, from her Washington, D.C., office. “It was an excellent education, but you also felt cared for by your teachers who created a sense of family.”
“Maheen Kaleem is an extraordinary person,” said Diana Nichols, a Harker teacher during Kaleem’s time and now chair of Harker’s board of trustees. “While at Harker, she displayed that very special combination of talent in both academic areas and extracurriculars. Maheen has always had a strong sense of responsibility and was always willing to go the extra mile to make positive changes in the school.”
Kaleem was focused on school but also engaged in performing arts and debate. She grappled with which career path to take: the arts or human rights and social justice.
It was a pivotal moment when Harker’s college counselor suggested she look at Georgetown University (see college counseling article on page 10). Kaleem fell in love with the university on paper and when she walked on campus, she just knew that it was the right school for her. At the time, she knew she was passionate about human rights, although she didn’t know exactly where that passion would lead.
During her undergraduate years at Georgetown, Kaleem was a policy intern at Campaign for Youth Justice. “As an intern, I learned how to bring global human rights issues to kids locally and got very involved in the conversation,” she said. “Harker gave me the confidence to try new things and the initiative to take advantage of every opportunity.”
That confidence and initiative has carried her a long way. After graduating from Georgetown with a B.S. in international politics and human rights, Kaleem was at a turning point. She considered joining the Peace Corps, working abroad or heading back to the Bay Area.
Kaleem became an advocate for the Sexually Abused and Commercially Exploited Youth/Safe Place
Alternative in Oakland. This job opened her eyes in an astonishing way and she said she connected with the children on a very real level.
“You see a kid who is system-involved and you see all these issues, and it feels hard right away,” she remembered. “But at the end of the day, children are children, and you’re just talking to another person. It’s important to remember your responsibility as a human and always have respect.”
Institutional lack of respect for those she was helping and frustration with the legal system would launch Kaleem toward law school. While working in Oakland at a lengthy restitution hearing, she raised her hand and said, “Your Honor, this just feels wrong. This feels unjust.” He looked at her and said, “Well that’s not the law. If you have a problem with it, go to law school,” she recalled. “I said, fine. I’m going to law school then,” she said. Soon, she was back at Georgetown – in law school.
After gaining her legal degree, Kaleem became a Stoneleigh Foundation Emerging Leader Fellow with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, where she worked to address the needs of greater Philadelphia’s most vulnerable youth through policy analysis, research and advocacy.
After Stoneleigh, she went to work for Rights4Girls, a human rights organization working to end sex trafficking and gender-based violence in the United States.
She also co-founded Pennsylvania Lawyers for Youth, a nonprofit that works to effect meaningful, community-responsive changes in the Pennsylvania juvenile justice system through direct service and policy initiatives.
Kaleem is young, passionate and working to the change the world, but she also shows wisdom beyond her years. “If I’ve learned anything, it’s always to stand in your truth,” she said.
“Maheen has been an inspiration in her passionate pursuit of justice for young women,” said Chris Nikoloff, head of school. “She’s making a difference in the world, and we couldn’t be more proud of her.”
Performing Arts Director Cast in Local Production of ‘The Music Man’
In mid-October, K-12 director of performing arts Laura Lang-Ree was a cast member in Lyric Theatre’s production of “The Music Man.” She played Alma Hix, one of the four gossipy Pick-a-Little Ladies. “I have been missing creating a character from scratch,” said Lang-Ree, who spent several years as a singer with the Los Gatos/Saratoga Big Band. “It was time to go back to my musical theater roots.”
Sports Coaches Lend Expertise to Goals for Girls
This summer Theresa Smith, lower and middle school athletic director, and Brighid Wood, assistant to the athletic directors, helped host the Goals for Girls soccer clinic at Santa Clara University. Smith and Wood were joined by former U.S. Women’s National Team players Cindy Parlow Cone and Brandi Chastain, as well as Rebecca Crabb, a two-time national champion at the University of North Carolina. In 2007, Cone started Goals for Girls, which “connects girls from different countries and backgrounds with their peers around the world in a forum that addresses social and health challenges through cultural exchange and soccer,” stated Wood.
Upper School LID Director Named to CUE Board of Directors
This summer Diane Main, upper school director of learning, innovation and design, was named to the board of directors of Computer Using Educators. Founded in 1978, CUE is a nonprofit organization that seeks to inspire students via the use of technology in the classroom. The organization holds conferences each year where teachers can attend a wide variety of workshops designed to help them develop innovative teaching methods.
Science Department Chair Speaks at Anatomage Conference
In July Anita Chetty, upper school science chair, spoke at a users group meeting hosted by Anatomage, a 3-D medical imaging technology company. Its products include the Anatomage Table, which is currently being used by Harker science students.
Science Teacher Named to Woods Hole President’s Council
In late October, upper school science teacher Kate Schafer was invited to be a member of the President’s Council at the Woods Hole Research Center. The center, which helps develop policies to combat climate change, formed the council to advise its president and staff on strategy and management.
Upper School Head and Journalism Teacher Honored
Butch Keller, upper school division head, and Ellen Austin, upper school journalism teacher, were both honored at the Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Indianapolis on Nov. 12. Keller was selected by The Journalism Education Association as its administrator of the year, an honor presented annually to school administrators who demonstrate outstanding support of school journalism programs. Austin was named one of this year’s Pioneer Award winners by the National Scholastic Press Association. Considered the NSPA’s highest honor awarded to journalism educators, the Pioneer Award recognizes “individuals who make substantial contributions to high school publications and journalism programs outside of their primary employment,” according to the NSPA website. To read more, search “journalism” at news.harker.org.
This story originally appeared in the winter 2016 Harker Magazine.
The 2018-19 school year will mark the 125th anniversary of Harker’s founding, and we’re so excited to look back at our history. It seems appropriate to start at the beginning; enjoy this primer of Harker’s roots!
The union of two schools, the Palo Alto Military Academy and The Harker Day School, formed what is today The Harker School. Although these schools began independently, David Starr Jordan, the first president of Stanford University, inspired both.
In 1893 President Jordan, concerned for the university’s need for superior incoming students, encouraged Frank Cramer, a pioneer educator and civic leader, to begin Manzanita Hall, a college preparatory school for boys. The program was dedicated to the premise that the successful future citizen and student of higher education is one who has a broad foundation not only in his classroom pursuits, but also in nonacademic areas. The development of high moral character and leadership qualities was emphasized.
Catherine Harker, a Vassar graduate and a professor of Greek and Latin at Mills College, recognized the need for a girls’ preparatory school near Stanford and founded Miss Harker’s School in 1902, which also emphasized superior scholarship, character and leadership.
In 1919 Cramer’s original school, Manzanita Hall, became Palo Alto Military Academy (PAMA), a school for boys of elementary age under the direction of Richard P. Kelly. In 1955 Miss Harker’s School was reorganized to become a coeducational day school and brochures indicate that the name of the school was changed to The Harker Day School during the reorganization. Donald L. Nichols assumed leadership of PAMA in 1950 and The Harker Day School in 1959, merged the two schools under the name Harker Academy and moved to the present location at 500 Saratoga Ave. in San Jose in 1972. Howard E. Nichols assumed leadership of the school in 1973, dropping the military program and expanding academics and other program offerings.
In 1992, the school name was changed to The Harker School to more clearly reflect the character and diversity of the school. Howard Nichols was named president and Diana Nichols was named head of school. To fill the growing need for exceptional non-religious high school education in the Bay Area, Howard and Diana Nichols planned and implemented the founding of the upper school and Harker expanded in 1998 to begin including grades 9-12. Fully enrolled since its inception, the upper school quickly earned a reputation for excellence. In 2002, Harker graduated the first class of seniors, and graduates continue matriculating to prestigious universities throughout the world. Christopher Nikoloff assumed leadership of the school in 2005 following Nichols’ retirement at the end of the 2004-05 school year.
Today The Harker School still retains the consistent core philosophy of the original schools, and has become a world-renowned academic institution that is eager to continue making a difference in the world.
Update: Aug. 25, 2017
Great article by participant Edwin Su, grade 11, on what he gleaned from this great program:
http://inianislandsinstitute.org/2017/08/04/harker-school-to-inian-islands-institute/
Update July 13, 2017
While in Alaska, the Human Ecology class members continued to explore the issues they had been learning about in California, with an Alaskan focus. “We learned about fisheries and energy issues and had lots of opportunities to connect with nature,” noted Kate Schafer, who, with fellow upper school science teacher Chris Spenner, is leading the class.
Highlights included a hike to the outflow of the Mendenhall Glacier, a morning spent with a Tlingit tribal elder at the Alaska State Museum and a day spent on Glacier Bay with ample wildlife sightings including grizzly bears, mountain goats, whales, Steller sea lions, puffins, marbled murrelets and many other species of birds, and spectacular views of the Margerie Glacier.
“Students really appreciated the friendliness and freedom they experienced during their time spent in the small town of Gustavus,” said Schafer. “While there, we met with the author of a book we read about John Muir, did some trail maintenance with some local high school students and visited the hydropower plant that provides electricity for the town.”
The course culminated in four nights out at the Hobbit Hole on the Inian Islands, where the group, isolated from the internet and outside world, really got to connect with nature. Students gave up their phones during the time at the Hobbit Hole as a way to be better present in the moment and appreciate the experience of being at such an isolated place.
“Overall, the course was an amazing experience for all,” said Schafer. “Students will be sharing their final projects at an event in October and some will also be traveling to New Orleans in December to share what they’ve learned with a wider audience at the American Geophysical Union conference.” Go Nature Eagles!
June 27, 2017
Harker’s Human Ecology students sojourned last week to Bodega Bay for a stay at the UC Davis Bodega Marine Lab to learn about marine science, especially in the context of fisheries and the impact of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems. The group, led by Harker upper school science teachers Kate Schafer and Chris Spenner, conducted research on conditions in the tide pools and presented results to a group of students visiting from the Lawrence Hall of Science.
Students in the Human Ecology: Our Place in Nature class spend 10 days in California exploring our place in nature, not just as scientists, but as policymakers, journalists, artists and concerned citizens. They then spend 10 days in southeast Alaska, in and around Glacier Bay, exploring the same themes in a different place and culture, among different people.
After Bodega Bay, the group headed to the Pescadero area, where they camped under the redwoods at Butano State Park and continued their exploration of nature and human impact. While there, in addition to experiencing the beauty of the place, the group learned about the complex issues of land use and farming in areas with vital habitat for salmon and other endangered species.
They studied the issue of sustainable farming, both from the perspective of sustaining the land and providing sustainable conditions for people working on the land. The group also visited Pie Ranch and baked some delicious strawberry rhubarb pies with ingredients harvested from the farm, then met with Ben Ranz from an organization in Pescadero called Puente. This group is dedicated to providing support to the San Mateo coastal community members, many of whom are immigrant farm workers from Mexico. The group is now in Alaska.
“The trip was amazing and we are heading off on our first full day in Juneau,” said Schafer. We’ll be updating this story as the reports come in!