Bill Duesing Award

Dina Brewster

The 9th recipient of the Bill Duesing Organic Living on the Earth Award

Photo courtesy of Eastern Connecticut State University.

After graduating from college and teaching in New York City, Dina Brewster returned to her family farm, The Hickories, a 250-year-old farm in Ridgefield, to feed her passion for all things organic. She and her fellow farmers provide nutritious organic vegetables and respectfully raised meats. Dina is known for saying, “our animals have only one bad day.” 

 She is a former Executive Director of CT NOFA, whose guidance enriched the value of the organization enormously for farmers and land care folks, alike. She is a mother, wife, and farmer, a member of the Fairfield County Farm Bureau, a businesswoman, activist, and writer. She introduced a multi-farm no-till initiative for soil conservation and reducing farming’s carbon footprint.

Not one to rest on past accomplishments, Dina is a humble thought and action leader. In addition to managing The Hickories, she is also a co-founder of Eco59. The mission of this organization is to provide authentic, local genotypic seeds of native flowers and grasses for the home gardener and landscape trade. These seeds are grown by seed farmers on organic farms in Connecticut and Massachusetts and are indigenous to Ecoregion 59, where we live, farm, and landscape. By seeding our state’s farms and wild pasturelands with native flowering plants, Eco59 offers native pollinating species a foothold in an increasingly barren environment, bereft of the food sources they need to feed and migrate. Through this effort, Eco59 supports the work of the Pollinator Pathway Project. But the genius behind Dina’s new seed business are the tendrils that grow forth from these seeds: enhanced pollination of crops, another form of income for farmers, raising awareness of the pollinator crisis, providing a high-quality food source for native insects and birds that have evolved with these precise species of plants, and the community that the project fosters between seeds and people.  

 Dina’s background as a tireless advocate for organic and ethical farming practices, as well as her long-standing dedication to environmental stewardship, makes her a worthy recipient of the 6th annual Bill Duesing Organic Living on the Earth award.

Michael Nadeau

The 8th recipient of the Bill Duesing Organic Living on the Earth Award

Michael Nadeau is one of the leading authorities in the field of sustainable organic and ethical land care strategies in the United States. He is sought after for creating attractive sustainable and restorative environments using organic practices that respect the ecology of the property and reflect the philosophy of the client. Michael’s organic and sustainable holistic land care approach carefully maximizes wildlife habitat with specific plantings and techniques, improving the overall health of land, water, and wildlife.

He is a co-founder of CT NOFA’s Organic Land Care program, which has educated and accredited nearly 4,000 land care professionals since its inception in 2001. In 1999, Michael helped write the NOFA Standards for Organic Land Care to address a national problem: while the  term “organic” is clearly defined in terms of food and agriculture, land care and landscaping — an industry with wide-reaching impact on the health of our environment — had no such national definition for the term. The goal was to define what “organic” would mean in the context of professional land care, and to formalize the practice of organic land care so that the public could reliably choose practitioners who meet organic standards. Ultimately, these standards were the basis upon which the coursework for the CT NOFA Organic Land Care Program was developed. He also co-authored the NOFA Organic Lawn and Turf Course Manual, the only 100% organic handbook for the care of athletic fields and home lawns.

To this day, Michael continues to teach courses within the program, lecture throughout the northeast region about organic land care and restorative practices, and offer a variety of organic land care and environmental restoration consulting services.

Michael Nadeau has previously been the recipient of the 2009 CT Award for Conservation Excellence, the 2009 Environmental Service Award, the 2010 Hummingbird Environmental Stewardship Award, and the 2018 NOFA Person of the Year Award. Involved in the landscape and tree business since 1968, Michael has continued to remain a pupil of Nature and is a published writer on subjects including ecological, sustainable, and organic land-care topics.

John Pittari Jr.

The 7th recipient of the Bill Duesing Organic Living on the Earth Award

Selecting John Pittari as the recipient of the Bill Duesing Living on the Earth Award exemplifies the spirit and substance of the award itself. Before he died four years ago, Bill expressed his fervent wish that the movement to which he dedicated his adult life be carried on by his colleagues. John fulfills that mandate every day!

John and Bill go way back to the origins of the organic movement locally, statewide, and even nationally! He and Bill were truly pioneers in promoting healthier living through sustainably grown foods. John worked at New Morning in Hotchkiss Ville for several years, and in 1981 he bought it, lock stock and bulk barrels and have owned it ever since. It was a wonderful place to shop. He was always present in the store to answer his patrons’ questions and promote local, organic agriculture. John and his family have advanced the economic, social, and ecological durability of organic farms in Connecticut by providing a friendly, humane, respectful, and mutually beneficial working partnership between farmers and their markets. New Morning Market provides the public with organic food and other products from organic farms, many of them local, and has done so for more than half a century! This fulfills one of Bill’s major goals for the movement.

John has deservedly received many awards over the years for his contributions to the growth of an organic lifestyle. He has been a generous contributor to CT NOFA and currently serves as the Board’s Co-Vice President. New Morning Market’s mission statement clearly describes John’s commitment to the continuation of Bill’s life work. He is the perfect recipient for this award!

Dr. Kimberly Stoner

The 6th recipient of the Bill Duesing Organic Living on the Earth Award

Kim is one of the early board members of CT-NOFA and was Chairperson and Board President (years unknown). Kim single-handedly founded the Organic Land Care Program – an arm of CT-NOFA that deals with the well-being of our landscapes and its inhabitants. She was the first Chairperson of the Committee. It was her vision that shaped the direction and depth of the program, which has helped to educate and empower thousands of persons in the land care profession. She worked closely with Bill to advocate for an Organic Connecticut and beyond.

Her work as an organic vegetable entomologist continues to inform organic farmers and gardeners. Her work with bees and pollinators: to understand their challenges and inform farmers and land care persons how to nurture these essential allies, is a keystone of her life’s work.

She is first a scientist, but with the uncanny ability to recognize and embrace the metaphysical aspects of science. Kim is a devout Quaker, tirelessly advocating for peace in the world, between people and all the living organisms on the planet.

Dr. Stoner’s Research:

Dr. Stoner has expertise in developing alternatives to insecticides for managing vegetable insects, working with organic farmers and land care professionals on pest management, and studying the exposure of pollinators to pesticides in pollen and nectar.

Education:

• B.S. in Zoology, Duke University 1979
• Ph.D. in Entomology, Cornell University 1987

Station career:

• Assistant Scientist 1987-2001
• Associate Agricultural Scientist 2001-2019
• Agricultural Scientist 2019-Current

Past research:

Dr. Stoner’s research has identified a variety of possible alternatives to insecticides for managing insects in several different vegetable crops. One alternative is to grow varieties with resistance to insects, such as brassicas (cabbage, broccoli and related crops) that resist caterpillars due to differences in the waxes on their leaves. Another is the use of cultural methods, such as use of straw mulch on potatoes and eggplants, which increases the effectiveness of predators against the Colorado potato beetle. Another method she has studied is biological control of the Mexican bean beetle, using the parasitoid wasp Pediobius foreolatus. She has also participated as a member of the Northeast Organic Network in an intensive case study of organic vegetable and cash grain farms in the Northeast.

Current research:

Dr. Stoner’s research focuses on several aspects of bees and pollination:

1. Exposure of bees to pesticides in pollen and nectar, in collaboration with Dr. Brian Eitzer of the Analytical Chemistry Department
2. Attractiveness of ornamental plants to honey bees and native bees
3. Pollinator habitat on Connecticut farms and practices to create or improve habitat
4. Pollination of pumpkins and winter squash

Dick & Dot Wingate

The 4th and 5th recipients of the Bill Duesing Organic Living on the Earth Award

FARMER/FARM CATEGORY

Wayne Hansen

The 1st recipient of the Bill Duesing Organic Living on the Earth Award

Wayne Hansen is a legendary figure in Connecticut’s organic agriculture movement. In 1989, Wayne’s Organic Garden became the first certified-organic farm in eastern Connecticut and the second in the entire state. He supplied highly varied, nutritious, and delicious organic produce to his customers for more than 30 years. Wayne passed away earlier this year, only shortly after becoming an award recipient.

Wayne was an early pioneer in year-round production, growing under row cover, in hoop houses, and in greenhouses. Perhaps even more importantly, Wayne served as a mentor and inspiration to other farmers, as well as his customers. He shared his knowledge and skills at countless on-farm workshops, CT NOFA events, at farmers markets, and more. Wayne regarded other organic growers as collaborators rather than competitors, and in the case of new farmers, as mentees. Thanks to his example, Wayne has also inspired conventional growers to adopt more sustainable practices. As a founder of the organic movement in Connecticut, Wayne will be sorely missed and, undoubtedly, remembered both for his contributions and for a phrase that became his signature slogan, “organic…we’re in it for life.”

ORGANIZATION CATEGORY

Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center’s Giving Garden at Coogan Farm, received by Craig Floyd

The 2nd recipient of the Bill Duesing Organic Living on the Earth Award

The Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, founded in 1946, is a 300-acre nature sanctuary in Mystic. It is dedicated to educating children, young and old, about nature. The 45-acre Coogan Farm, also in Mystic, was added to the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in 2013. Maggie Jones, Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center’s keeper for 25 years, had a vision of creating a greenway to connect the nature center and the farm. She saw the farm as an intact historic landscape worth saving and knew that protecting the farm from development would safeguard the surrounding environment and keep the 370-year old culturally significant farm intact.

Craig Floyd is the farm manager for the Nature Center’s Giving Garden at Coogan Farm and a 10th-generation farmer from Stonington, where his family has been farming since 1712. He is renowned for his bottomless knowledge of how plants grow and an uncanny ability to genuinely connect with people. The Giving Garden at Coogan Farm is a no-till, no-spray farm on which Craig manages hundreds of volunteers, all pitching in to grow highly nutritious food under his tutelage. In keeping with the name, Giving Garden, all produce grown is donated. It has donated over 43,000 pounds of bio-nutrient-rich produce, which translates to 93,172 meals, through the Gemma E. Moran Food Bank. In 2018 alone, 10,000 pounds fed 23,000 food-insecure people in southeastern Connecticut.

ORGANIC LAND CARE PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY

Nancy DuBrule-Clemente

The 3rd recipient of the Bill Duesing Organic Living on the Earth Award

Nancy DuBrule-Clemente is the founder of Natureworks, an organic garden center and landscape design consultation, installation, and maintenance service in Northford. Nancy has set the standard for organic land care and horticultural practice for more than 30 years, not only in Connecticut but in the entire northeast. The Natureworks crew and retail store has used organic fertilizers and pest control products since its inception in 1983.

During her career, education has been a primary focus for Nancy. With newsletters, handouts, emails, website offerings, social media posts and web videos, articles for local newspapers and magazines, and lectures and radio interviews, Nancy has passionately and tirelessly spread the word about organic land care and sustainable practices and changed innumerable landscapes in ways that reflect her principles. She has authored two published books and is a past president of CT NOFA. Although she has a thorough knowledge of the full spectrum of plants, her favorites are Connecticut’s native species and those that attract beneficial insects and butterflies, especially the monarchs. Both her home garden in Middletown and the Natureworks demonstration garden serve as examples of landscaping that is both beautiful to the eye and in harmony with the natural cycles of our ecosystem