North Bay Woman

34 NORTH BAY WOMAN S P R I N G | S U M M E R 2 0 2 2 farming industry, she said. As Kuhn explained it, "He became one of the first million- aires in California, along with the more famous robber barons. But he was a very humble man and would give a lot of gifts back to the community." Asked what it feels like to have this unusual personal history along with the good fortune that came with it (Kuhn lives in the vintage house with a panoramic view that she inherited from her grandmother), she said that it is, quite simply, "Amazing. It has taught me a deep respect for land, for people. That I need to do something good. There is an endless need for me to keep on doing the work we are doing." Roots of Peace's global efforts have garnered substantial recognition. In 2021, Kuhn was honored by Forbes magazine as one of 49 other high-achieving Ameri- can women over 50 years of age who have helped spark major social and environmen- tal change. Her first book, which came out in 2020, is both a memoir and call to action called "Breaking Ground: From Landmines to Grape- vines." Written in collaboration with minefield survivor and social psychologist Dr. Ken Rutherford, Kuhn's story inspired Queen Noor of Jordan to write a glowing forward for it. In March and April of this year, Kuhn traveled to the UK where Prince Harry honored her for her efforts in continuing his mother's work. (She said she and her family have met both of Princess Diana's sons on several occasions.) Edinburgh's Asia Scot- land Institute also hosted Roots of Peace to coincide with UN Landmine Awareness Day. The city of Old Kilpatrick, Dunbar- tonshire, celebrated Kuhn's McNear "roots" by inviting her to plant a tree in Edinburgh's Royal Botanical Gardens. Both Roots of Peace and her Scottish McNear heritage will be honored with the establishment of a special Roots of Peace garden area within the larger botanical park. Kuhn has been invited to speak in a number of countries and regularly tours the world as Roots of Peace's founder at de-mining ceremonies, dressed in full body Kevlar-style protective gear. She called these experiences both inspiring and terrifying thanks to the omnipresent dangers of unexploded ordnance. She has met with various heads of state around the world, including nine audiences with the Pope. In March of 2022, Princess Angelika Jaroslawska of Poland teamed with Kuhn to announce a partnership to take action in the wake of troubling land mine related news out of the Ukraine. The duo will partner first in a de-min- ing initiative in Karabakh, Azerbaijan. Once this area was considered some of the finest grape-growing earth in the world, Kuhn said. Today it is a "black garden" of land mines. So far, Roots of Peace has been able to de-mine more than 100,000 land mines in 10 countries. But there are an estimated 60 million active land mines still triggered and waiting, like hidden monsters, in 60 coun- tries, she said, a note of despair at the back of her voice. Heidi Kuhn's devotion to doing Roots of Peace's work extends to her family. She said she couldn't have accom- plished any of what she did without the total support of her husband. All four children became service professionals; three of them have also gotten involved in the nonprofit, in particular her daughter Kyleigh Kuhn. Kyleigh Kuhn, 34, lives in a semi-rural neighborhood of the World Heritage city of Antigua, Guatemala, with her husband and 6-month-old son. She works with Roots of Peace as a consultant and also handles much of the graphics and computer work for the nonprofit, which in myriad ways has Heidi Kuhn in Mir Batcha Kot, Afghanistan in 2015 training women farmers. – Photo courtesy of Heidi Kuhn Heidi Kuhn with Pope Francis in 2019 at The Vatican. – Photo courtesy of Heidi Kuhn

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