Briarcliff Teacher Illustrates the ABCs of Sustainability with New Book

The following is from the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District:

Dr. Jean Linville, a high school visual arts teacher in the Briarcliff Manor School District, has taken her eye for the lens and her creative vision to a new level. In conjunction with Dina Brewster, a former schoolteacher and current Connecticut farmer, Dr. Linville has published a new hardcover book of full-color photography titled “Now I Know: ABCs at The Hickories.”

Presently available for purchase at The Hickories farm store, their website www.thehickories.organd a link on Dr. Linville’s own website at https://sites.google.com/site/treeofferings/, “Now I Know: ABCs at The Hickories” is a book for all ages that pairs images taken by Dr. Linville at The Hickories farm in Ridegfield, Conn. with impactful words (presented in alphabetical order) designed to encourage conversation and spark renewal for the appreciation of farming in a simplistic but artful manner. Whether it’s the word “bliss” paired with an image of a pig basking in the mud, “providing” printed with the image of a baby goat being hand-fed milk from a bottle, or “yielding” depicting plowed soil yielding the bounty of nourishment, Dr. Linville shows the power of observation and humanism through the farmer’s labor with crops and livestock. The book also demonstrates how, as stewards of the planet, our respect for its strength and fragility can deepen at a closer look.

Dr. Linville, who often focuses her creative work on the environment, also runs workshops from The Hickories farm and even works in the fields at times. Ms. Brewster, the farm’s owner, works closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to organize farm-to-community education initiatives conducted on her land.

“Dina and I wanted to reach a broader audience in a slightly different and unique way,” said Dr. Linville who wanted to expand appreciation for life on the farm beyond those who work and visit there regularly. “We also wanted to make the book more about just the farm, and get people thinking about quality of life, sustainability and to pause and enjoy the wonderful things that are available to us every day…things that we may otherwise take for granted.”