In Memory of Dr. Thomas Ruehr
Thomas A. Ruehr, 65, died on January 7, 2009, at his home in Los Osos, California. He was born in Ravenna, Ohio, in 1943. Tom earned his bachelor’s degree in agronomy at The Ohio State University in 1966, his master’s degree in agronomy and soil science at Iowa State University in 1970, and his Ph.D. in agronomy and soil science at Colorado State University in 1976. He began teaching at California Polytechnic State University in the Soil Science Department in 1974. Tom taught a variety of courses, mostly related to plant nutrition, soil chemistry, soil microbiology, and bioremediation. He also team-taught courses in global food systems, human values and ethics in agriculture, world food politics, and the global environment. This variety of courses reflected his many interests and areas of expertise. Tom conducted research in many aspects of agriculture, food systems, and bioremediation, and has many grants, publications, and presentations. He reviewed many articles and books for the profession, and worked in curriculum development. He conducted educational and training sessions for fertilizer companies, and participated extensively in consulting. His commitment to education led him to direct any gain from consulting to an annual scholarship for soil science juniors at Cal Poly. Tom was very active in his community, including serving as a technical advisor for the Los Osos wastewater treatment facility. He was very active in the First Presbyterian Church in San Luis Obispo. Tom received many recognitions, including the Petoseed Agriculture Faculty Award in 1996, a Teaching Award of Merit from the NACTA in 1994, and Cal Poly’s Distinguished Teacher Award in 1980. He was a dedicated teacher, always challenging his students, and keeping students’ attention with his passion and charisma. Tom is survived by his wife, Evelyn Burky Ruehr, two children, Denise Kaub and Brent Ruehr, and two granddaughters, Sierra and Paige.
In remembrance of him, please consider supporting the Thomas Ruehr Honorary Scholarship Fund by sending a donation in his scholarship name to: Ms. Lisa Wallravin, Earth & Soil Sciences Dept., Cal Poly State University, CA 93407.
Pejuta Wakan Oju - “Planting Sacred Medicines”
A joint summer study project initiated by Dr. Kate Martin, Ethnic Studies Department at Cal Poly, and Dr. Jim Garrett, Cankdeska Cikana Community College, Fort Totten, North Dakota, culminated in the construction and planting of a native plants garden on the grounds of the community college. Earth and Soil Science Department members Craig Stubler, Lynn Moody, and graduate student Jessi Ghezzi accompanied Dr. Martin, a graduate student from UC Santa Barbara, and several Cal Poly undergraduate students to North Dakota, in June 2008.
The Cal Poly group teamed with five of Dr. Garrett’s students for a week spent landscaping and planting native prairie species with medicinal and spiritual value to the indigenous Dakota people.
The project stressed an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the natural sciences and incorporated soil science, botany, ecology, and environmental ethics, incorporating principles from Dakota traditional narratives as well as from western science. Dr. Garrett’s students chose the plants raised in the community college greenhouse, with guidance from Dr. Garrett and Jeff Mortenson, a Dakota native plants expert. Dr. Garrett’s students chose the name of the garden to be Pejuta Wakan Oju (Planting Sacred Medicines), to reflect the physical and spiritual healing and educational function the garden is intended to promote.
Rocks from the local area, deposited thousands of years earlier by glaciers, were carefully placed, to outline the garden and the pathways within it. The rock walls were topped with flat stones to serve as benches, to allow visitors to sit and contemplate. Rich black prairie soil was also brought in from a local source to provide the substrate for the plants. The garden took the shape of a medicine wheel with spokes toward the four cardinal directions.
What did we learn? Other than the soils, geology, plants, and wildlife of the prairies, we learned the importance of collaborative work. We learned that there is value in the Native American traditions that can help us on our way toward sustainable systems. We learned that cooperation gets the job done, and we learned the importance of courtesy on a l-o-o-o-o-n-g drive with ten people in a van.
A Visit to Templeton
In October 2008, Terry Smith, Craig Stubler, Melissa Beck (ERSC junior), and Chip Appel had the opportunity to visit Diane Sibbach's 6th grade science class at Templeton Middle School.
The folks from Cal Poly conducted a workshop on plant essential nutrients at the school's experimental garden. The middle schoolers were all given soil test kits to analyze their individual vegetable garden planter boxes for pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Dr. Smith talked about the implications of soil test results and explained the importance and necessity of nutrients and soil fertility for the existence of life on the earth.
The workshop was a big success and the earth and soil scientists were asked to return next year.