Karen Bussolini Shares her Voyage of Discovery And Brings Joy Back into People’s Gardens

Growing up in Canton Center, Conn., Karen Bussolini remembers racing with her father to be the first to grab Organic Gardening magazine from the mailbox. Her father, the son of Italian immigrants, was amused that there was a name for the kind of gardening his family had done for generations.

“To him, that was just good gardening,” she said.

Understanding the interconnectedness of the web of life came naturally to both father and daughter, who planted gardens everywhere she lived as a young adult - even tucking beet plants between the foundation shrubs in her apartment complex while studying art at the University of Connecticut at Storrs.

Bussolini, accredited since 2010, is a renowned author, photographer, educator and eco-garden coach who considers her lifelong love-turned-career of nature and gardening a “voyage of discovery.”

Peter Hinrichs Connects Youths with the Organic Environment OLC Apprentice Program Going Strong in Massachusetts

by Kathy Litchfield as part of our "Out and About with AOLCPs" series.

Transplanting seedlings, selling organic plants to customers and maintaining school grounds organically is all in a day’s work for the 75 students engaged in Peter Hinrichs’ curriculum at The Learning Prep School in West Newton, Mass.

Hinrichs, accredited since 2009 (Newburyport, MA course) works as the horticultural specialist,  reenhouse manager and curriculum developer for the alternative school’s landscape program. To his new position (he started in February 2013) he brings five years experience working with inner-city youths aged 16-22 at YouthBuild Boston. Hinrichs sees parallels amongst these young populations.

“All of these students are highly functional and have an interest in working with the landscape. They all need skills to move forward and earn credentials they can take with them upon high school graduation,” he said. “Basically I’ve found that most of the kids I worked with in an urban environment have the same disadvantages and developmental obstacles as the kids I’m working with here at the Learning Prep School. We offer hands on learning and alternatives to the traditional school model including life skills to help them be independent adults and see education from a different perspective.” Hinrichs’ present students are 16-18 years old and have varied developmental learning disabilities. However, when they’re in the greenhouse, Hinrichs says the learning field is leveled.

“In the horticultural environment, they all come together to do hands-on work that is new to all of them. The work that happens here is something everybody can grasp and understand. Everyone’s learning the same thing and everyone is treated the same way,” he explained.

"Teaching students how to start seeds, grow plants, control pests organically with beneficial insects and organically maintain school grounds are skills the students can use in everyday life as well as for a potential career," he said.

“There are so many teachable moments, in horticulture, organic landscape development, sustainability and customer service,” he said. “We teach them processes here in the greenhouse that they can compare to what happens naturally outside the greenhouse in the natural environment. It’s important to get them to understand things that affect them and help them make connections to the natural environment.”