It's been a couple of weeks since I learned of Marshall's passing. It's still hard to find the words to express all he meant to me, and my gratitude for all he brought to the world. From 2001-13, Marshall was a phenomenal co-worker, mentor and visionary leader. It felt like we were also kindred spirits, which is a gift I think he shared with many others, no matter how brief their encounter. We seemed to share an irrepressible drive to "make the world the way the world is made", as Edith Cobb writes in the Ecology of Childhood. That's a bit of a pretzel for one's mind. But it means, for instance, that it made total and perfect sense that our summer camp program use composting toilets as soon as remotely feasible. Why not start with a 5 gallon bucket? Marshall was the guy who volunteered to regularly pick up this vessel of "deposits" and transport it in the back of his truck to a main sewer cover in front of the Farm Barn. I joined him for moral support, having made my own deposits in the project. You might ask - weren't there more important projects (and perfectly good working flush toilets to use)? No and not ideal - because we really wanted to be in relationship to the place, at a level of belonging that even meant that one's own waste belonged and was to be celebrated here. Other times we simply egged each other on from the sanctuary of his tower office in the Farm Barn. Marshall always with a glint in his eye. Could we fell a tree with kids? Absolutely. Could we get a tour of the solar panels? Of course! He also had bigger fish to fry: like how to get compost toilets into the plan for the Residential Learning Center at the old dairy barn on southern acres. On that count he followed through for school and summer programs with three beautiful compost toilet installations made by Yestermorrow, each in a key location around the property. We also installed a biochar kitchen in one of them.

But in between the grandiose and dirty jobs, he was also just as decent and generous a person as I know. He many times accepted an invitation to hang out with 10-12 year old campers who were staying overnight on the property and regale them with stories. He taught them roof ball at the Coach Barn. How to play stick ball at the old farm dump, now the stick ball field. And how to appreciate character wood and the humming life of a well-traveled and well-loved forest. In 2014 I left SF to work for the Renaissance School in the Farm Barn. Marshall remained a perfect ally and "agent in the field" - opening up trees for tapping that these year-round students could monitor separately than the public program. In later years he helped me document the learning classroom structures on the property to use at other organizations. Some ideas came to fruition and others didn't. It was always about the striving. In 2019 I invited Marshall for a visit to North Country School in Lake Placid NY where I was living and working. We bonded over a vision for a school program that combined the latest science on drawing down carbon - "Project Drawdown" - with the latest science for behavioral change and positive cultural evolution - "Prosocial". And of course to see the human urine compost program in development. We missed each other on subsequent visits to Shelburne Farms (the pandemic of course slowing things down). But one such visitor was a public high school senior from Lake Placid who wanted to see our "Drawdown School" come to life, and who fell instantly in love with the vision and feel of Shelburne Farms. Less than 12 months later she pitched a proposal to the board of a large land-based foundation in her hometown to create their own version. The board said yes.

Marshall renounced his life as a prince in my book when he and his siblings asked for the non-profit to inherit the Farm instead of themselves. In doing so, they have created a cultural inheritance system for us all. I can think of no greater tribute to Marshall's life than to keep on making and striving and passing it on.