Prairie dock growing at Holy Wisdom Monastery We had a spring with lots of moisture. The good news is that all the plants are growing vigorously, providing cover and lots of food for all the critters that live at Holy Wisdom Monastery. The bad news is that the weeds, those non-native invaders of the prairie, savanna and woods, are also growing vigorously. So Paul Boutwell, many volunteers and I have been busy trying to rid the natural lands of these weeds. Garlic mustard in the shady places and reed canary grass in the open areas, are a couple of examples. …
Holy Wisdom Monastery’s new solar panels to boost solar energy production to 40-50%
We wanted to provide this update to all Sunday Assembly members, Oblate community members, and donors to the LEED-certified platinum building campaign at Holy Wisdom Monastery. You may notice work being done on the roofs of the monastery and retreat and guest house at Holy Wisdom Monastery. Several new photovoltaic solar panels are being installed that will increase the solar energy production for the LEED-certified platinum monastery building from about 10% to an estimated 40-50%. The sisters had an opportunity recently to work with a private investor group who will purchase the new photovoltaic panels and receive the tax incentives. The only new cost to the sisters will …
Volunteering in the Garden
Early last summer we were out of town for over a week and returned to find pumpkin vines proliferating in our garden. I had not planted any pumpkin seeds—or so I thought! When I traced the giant vines back to their source I found one, single volunteer—a plant that grew from the seeds of last year’s Halloween pumpkin casually tossed into the garden as compost. Such garden volunteers can be a wonderful surprise! Equally surprising might be the benefits of volunteering in the garden, orchards and prairie at Holy Wisdom Monastery. Gardening is a life-giving pursuit in so many ways. Selecting …
Wisdom Prairie Project Continues to Build Momentum
Preparing the new land for prairie restoration, April 2014. The Wisdom Prairie Project, our current $1.9 million campaign to acquire and restore an additional 53 acres to native prairie and oak savanna, has experienced some great momentum in the past couple months. We have now raised $1,640,000 and have $260,000 to go. A member of our oblate community donated $25,000 to the project in honor of her late mother and step-father. Her mother used to enjoy walking on the grounds here. We also received a generous grant of $30,000 from the Madison Community Foundation, which encourages, facilitat es and manages long-term …
Friends of Wisdom Prairie
Educating Community Workday volunteers about the birds at Holy Wisdom Monastery on an early morning bird watching hike. Care for the earth is an important part of the mission at Holy Wisdom Monastery. This reverence for creation is a Benedictine tradition. Our efforts and the commitment of all those who help us preserve, maintain and restore this place go beyond green trends. For us, it is a way of life. We strive to use only what we need so that resources can be preserved for others. The sister’s recently embraced the idea of forming a Friends of Wisdom Prairie support organization to facilitate …
Holy Wisdom Trees Profess Rootedness
Estate “The Tree Care Specialists” maintains the trees high above the hermitages and throughout the grounds. Trees By Joyce Kilmer I think that I shall never see A poem as lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the sweet earth’s flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree. There …
The Prairie Has Much to Teach Us
The prairie teaches us to take time to slow down, develop and nurture deep roots. The prairie has much to teach us. During the winter months prairie plants experience an important period of dormancy. With spring will come a rush of new growth, but first the prairie rests, gathering strength, while nature lies in a deep freeze. What a privilege to be surrounded by the restored Wisdom Prairie lands here at Holy Wisdom Monastery. Restoration of native species provides spaces with unique beauty, a balm for souls and healing and care for the natural environment, especially our precious lakes. Prairie …
Community Workdays Provide Opportunities to Help
Help spring clean the prairie at an upcoming Community Workday. (Photo by Brit Cerdena) One Saturday per month, Paul Boutwell, groundskeeper and restoration ecologist at Holy Wisdom, holds a workday so that volunteers who enjoy helping on the prairie and grounds or with cleaning tasks can provide help. Held April through November, the day starts out at 8:30 am when participants meet in the monastery gathering area. Introductions and a synopsis of the tasks to be accomplished are shared. If participants wish, they can start the day with community prayer at 8:00 am on the lower level of the monastery building. Paul …
Update on Wisdom Prairie Project
Prairie land and oak savannas greatly reduce phosphorous runoff into our lakes, as compared to agricultural land. The newly acquired land (above) is currently planted with corn. It’s seemingly a quiet time of the year on the prairie. The phone call and email inquiries about the parcel the sisters purchased in September 2012 have gone the way of the birds for the winter. However, the Wisdom Prairie Project fundraising efforts continue, despite the long winter months. As of this issue of Benedictine Bridge, we have raised over $1.5 million on our way to the $1.9 million goal to help cover both the acquisition and restoration costs of …
Update on the Wisdom Prairie Project
The restored prairies at Holy Wisdom Monastery are blanketed with snow, but progress on the Wisdom Prairie Project continues even during the winter. Back in October, we introduced the Wisdom Prairie Project in Benedictine Bridge, detailing the unique opportunity the sisters had to acquire and restore an additional 53 acres of farmland to prairie. A five-minute video introduction to the project is also available here. I wanted to give an update on the project. I am pleased to report that we have broken the $1.4 million mark on our way to the $1.9 million fundraising goal! Recent donations have come in from a …