This summer, Audrey Lockett ’24 is learning about the importance of respecting all sorts of labor – from academic research and reading to physical tasks such as turning weedy beds into productive gardens or cleaning toilets. As a human biology health and society major, she’s also learning how connecting to the environment and spirituality can benefit overall wellness.

McKenna Norton ’25 is becoming a pro on hügelkultur, a centuries-old way of building a garden bed from rotten logs and plant debris. She’s also acquiring public speaking and teaching skills and exploring her interests in religion and philosophy.

Norton and Lockett are two of the five students working this summer with Professor Jane-Marie Law of the College of Arts & Sciences at Law’s Fallen Tree Sustainability Center in Ithaca. Norton and fellow student Joaquin Smith ’24 received funding from the Nexus Scholars Program for their summer work. Law is an associate professor of religious studies and Asian studies.

Read the full story about their summer work on the College of Arts & Sciences website.