Reagan Wtysalucy

Reagan took her determination to revive the peaches all the way through a master's degree in plant sciences at Utah State University. Okay, so you set out into the Navajo reservation with your father and two Utah State University professors to track down, record, and collect seeds from the ancestral peach trees in the area.

Reagan took her determination to revive the peaches all the way through a master's degree in plant sciences at Utah State University. Okay, so you set out into the Navajo reservation with your father and two Utah State University professors to track down, record, and collect seeds from the ancestral peach trees in the area.

And it was based on, like, your dad's memories of where he saw them growing as a child in

And it was based on, like, your dad's memories of where he saw them growing as a child in

And it was based on, like, your dad's memories of where he saw them growing as a child in

It took months, but finally, Reagan found seeds from an 85-year-old elder in northwest Arizona.

It took months, but finally, Reagan found seeds from an 85-year-old elder in northwest Arizona.

It took months, but finally, Reagan found seeds from an 85-year-old elder in northwest Arizona.

Reagan started going door to door throughout the Four Corners area, and in the last few years has gathered seeds from over half a dozen locations.

Reagan started going door to door throughout the Four Corners area, and in the last few years has gathered seeds from over half a dozen locations.

Reagan started going door to door throughout the Four Corners area, and in the last few years has gathered seeds from over half a dozen locations.

She wants to sample the genetics of as many regionally adapted peaches as possible. She estimates her team has grown nearly 300 trees from these heirloom seeds. But it's taken over a decade to get to this point. And, she told me, learning whole new ways of thinking that she just didn't learn in school.

She wants to sample the genetics of as many regionally adapted peaches as possible. She estimates her team has grown nearly 300 trees from these heirloom seeds. But it's taken over a decade to get to this point. And, she told me, learning whole new ways of thinking that she just didn't learn in school.

She wants to sample the genetics of as many regionally adapted peaches as possible. She estimates her team has grown nearly 300 trees from these heirloom seeds. But it's taken over a decade to get to this point. And, she told me, learning whole new ways of thinking that she just didn't learn in school.

Wow. So you kind of had to unlearn some of the things you were learning in

Wow. So you kind of had to unlearn some of the things you were learning in

Wow. So you kind of had to unlearn some of the things you were learning in

Practices based often in observation, in changes that people have witnessed with their own eyes, and practices that have been passed down through speech.

Practices based often in observation, in changes that people have witnessed with their own eyes, and practices that have been passed down through speech.

Practices based often in observation, in changes that people have witnessed with their own eyes, and practices that have been passed down through speech.