Paul Schultz Interview

Where do you think your love of the outdoors started?

The first picture that I remember is a picture of myself with a stick in a victory garden. I was often at my grandmothers house growing
up on the South Side of Chicago, and my grandmothers gardener often showed me aspects of the garden that I was not familiar with.
Can you talk about your life growing up?
I grew up in working class neighborhood in Chicago. I never once saw my parents fight growing up. I attended catholic schools all my
life. When I was a kid, we knew everyone on the block. There was no television or air conditioning. Everyone had a bench on their front
porch, so they knew everyone who walked by. I guess you could say that those front porch benches were the 1960s form of social
media.
Did you go to college?
I went to high school, and one of my best friends was killed in a car crash. This caused me to re-evaluate my life. I realized that I had a
deeper calling, so I entered Mundelein Seminary. While I was there, I took part in a lot of fishing and hiking. The seminary itself was
surrounded by golf courses and nature areas.
While at the seminary, everything was taught in Latin. It was a rather dull environment at times. There was no televisionor anything
of that sort. I remember one time, a group of guys and I went to the rector and asked for a pop machine. The rector responded, Why
you need pop machine? You have pine trees Although this was not the response we were hoping for, years later I completely
understand what he was saying. The seminary was a time of contemplation, not consumption.

Soyou became a priest?

Wellthree months before I was ordained, the cardinal in Chicago took seven million dollars from the Church to build a new
marble cathedral. This was ridiculous, considering the old cathedral was beautiful. A group of us believed that this money
should be spent on the homeless, so we stood on the steps of the Cathedral on Christmas Eve protesting this. It was at that
point that I realized the priesthood was not my calling. I instead became a deacon. Deacon literally means steward of the
community which really spoke to me.
What did you do after you dropped out of the seminary?
I did a lot of things. I taught theology for some years. I moved to Michigan where I started a Catholic Worker farm, and did a
lot with farming. I planted trees and was very into organic farming. In 1971 I married the love of my life, Mary, who is an
OB/GYN nurse practitioner. The gay liberation flag was displayed at my wedding, not because I was gay, but because I had
many gay friends. I farmed for 18 years, I then worked for a group of nuns for a while. Eventually, we moved to Dubuque
and I established the recycling center for Dubuque. Today, I am a member of Green Dubuque where I work as a built
ecologist. I specialize in seeing how we can make the environment healthy in a thriving community such as Dubuque.

You mentioned in your introduction to the class that you traveled to Alaska?
Yes, well, Alaska was the last state that I had not been to. My wife and I wanted to make it there before my kids, so we decided to go in
2010. I am deeply rooted in my Catholic faith, but I wanted to what God expected of me in the last years of my life. I went to Alaska to
discover myself, the tundra, the animalsWhen I was there, I noticed that the animals were not afraid of people because the animals
had never been threatened by people before. This was such an interesting concept to me. It shows how much damage we have truly
done to the environmental community around us. When I was there, I saw a lynx and it was magicalno one ever sees Lynxes. They
are extremely shy. As an organic farmer, I was also very interested in the size of the vegetables. Because Alaska is exposed to
sunlight all year long, the vegetables were so healthy. Alaska added to my desire to live seasonally. Overall, I saw my trip to Alaska
as a Revision quest. It was my way of knowing what I needed to be passionate about in the next chapter of my life.
Are your children involved in ecology?
My children were homeschooled growing up. They were very smart but were not fully challenged. My son went to Grinnell College. My
daughter went Oberlin College, but while she was there she was date-raped, which caused her great stress and anxiety. She dropped
out of Oberlin and went to work for AmeriCorps. After she finished AmeriCorps, she then went back and finished her bachelors degree
in environmental science, and then went on to Ohio State in order to get her doctorate. Today, she and her husband are wetland
specialists in Wisconsin. My son works for the National Forestry service. They each have one child.

Where is your favorite place to go in nature?

I would say Apple river canyon. I believe that a lot of places have special influences. I am very interested in astrology. For example, I
have been to Grand Teton National Park four times because the stars have lead me back. I believe that creation is the primary
revelation, and we recognize that there is truth in spirituality in nature. Everyone should become a bit of a mystic. Thats what I liked
about the My Space activity. That activity can create awareness, as well as help you realize your own awareness. It is important to
center our lives. When we wake up we should say a general prayer, such as the prayer of St Francis. If you center your life all kind of
things can happen
Any advice for someone interested in ecology and conservation?
Make sure that you are doing the little things. Do things during summer and make sure it is real, ground yourself, grow a garden, buy
an animal, it needs to be real so it is an ethic, who you are in reference to the larger world, and we are in it, not on top of it.
Conservation is not just about preservation, sense the dynamic, try to preserve the best but be open to the flow. I would also say, dont
be afraid to ask bigger questions. As a woman in science, you have so much potential. Dont be afraid to try hard things. Be curious
and compassionate. Whether you go into education or science, capture your own sense of who you are and grow them, have a deeper
trust for yourself. Having ethics arent always safe or accepted. It is what is being spoken. Lastly, develop relationships with others who
make you a better person, find mentors, and be honest. Expect a lot from yourself because to whom much is given, much is expected.