Katherine Quinn
Family: Husband Wesley, and two young boys
Education: B.A. in Environmental Studies with a concentration in sustainable agriculture
In the Country: Katherine and her husband bought a 40-acre farm about a year ago near Yellville, Ark., and were able to move onto it last winter. This spring they raised an organic garden. Their specialty is shiitake mushrooms. They have just contracted to put up a high tunnel, low tech greenhouse. Primarily it’s for season extension – they can grow produce all winter. Katherine said, “We’d like to produce as much food for ourselves as we need, and the excess will go to the community.” They raise free-range chickens and would like to raise hogs and dairy goats in the future. The goats would be both for fresh consumption and for cheese.
In Town: Katherine is the newly selected garden program specialist for the Delta Garden Study at Yellville-Summit Middle School. A hoop house has been erected where the sixth to eighth graders will be working in and eating out of the garden. They will learn to raise produce and learn the value of the produce. The students will work in the green house two times weekly. It will be a hands-on science class integrating physical education into the mix. The curriculum, which is state mandated, will include rainwater collection, worm composting, building and using an actual compost bin and a chicken coop. The goal of the program is to de-stigmatize the idea that vegetables are “yucky,” and will include learning about how to prevent childhood obesity.
Katherine’s goal is to have one acre in production. She will be assisted by an AmeriCorps volunteer.
Katherine said, “The connection between what I do at home and in town is the Yellville Farmer’s Market, where I am the manager. It’s mid-ground to bringing the country to town.”
Story and Photo by Jack and Pam Fortner
