Inspiration and adventure
My work is shaped by my love for learning from people whose backgrounds and cultures are different from my own, but who share my passion for exploring ideas about science, nature, community, and democracy, and for hard work.
My work is inspired by the encounters I have had with people from all over the world, and by trying to interpret what I observe and hear.
Photo gallery
In the late 1990's, I visited my first community garden
in the Lower East Side of New York City. The garden was situated
between a middle school and a building used by Bangledeshi
immigrants as a mosque. 
In the garden-the space in between the
school and mosque-the work of these two worlds, and of the larger
community, came together. As part of a program conducted by Open Road,
the youth had built a greenhouse using heat generated by a compost
pile, which in turn was created from vegetable scraps from a nearby
juice bar. The Bangledeshi men were using raised beds to recreate a
mixed cropping system-pigeon peas as food and a source of nitrogen,
amaranth as a grain and green, flowering coriander to attract beneficial
insects, and marigold to repel nematodes. This visit was the inspiration
for much of my current work, which addresses the question: How can such
biologically and culturally rich urban settings be used to promote science
understanding, civic participation, and community among youth and adults?
When I first visited South Africa in 2004, I was struck by how
much we have to learn from how the "new South Africa" is dealing
with recovery from a history of racism and discrimination.
My former PhD student Seng Ly Kong showed me this dike that he
helped build during his years in a Pol Pot labor camp. Seng Ly
conducted his PhD research on fisheries extension programs in
the Tonle Sap Basin of Cambodia.
Some adventures
Rappelling into a crevasse a few years back
Canoeing with my daughter in the Adirondacks
Visiting Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, with fellow adventurer Keith Tidball
Enjoying early morning in the Sahara Desert with my sons
My family
