The bluebirds have returned for the season! Robins, the harbinger of spring have also arrived. The jonquils and daffodils are blooming, the trees are budding and the sisters have started working in the vegetable garden. Spring has arrived at Holy Wisdom Monastery and on what is now known as Wisdom Prairie. “In the spring, we orient ourselves toward God’s creation – the sunlight, warmth and rain – after being inside all winter. A new season bursts forth,” said Paul Boutwell, groundskeeper and restoration ecologist. Sandhill cranes strolling up to the Mendota Prairie overlook. In addition to the welcome sight of …
Volunteer Spotlight: David Fisher
David Fisher enjoys removing invasive plants at Holy Wisdom Monastery to keep the native landscape thriving. Photo by Kent Sweitzer. David Fisher has been instrumental in removing woody invasive species in the prairie for the past two years. His largest project includes removal of a 20 foot high x 40 foot long hedge comprised of honeysuckle and buckthorn, two woody invasive species which take over if left to grow. David has made this his mission and volunteered in weather extremes ranging from 5 to 100 degrees. “He works no matter what the weather is in removing invasive species,” Sister Mary David Walgenbach …
Nature Notes – Autumn 2012
After coming through one of the worst droughts since the dust bowl years of the 1930s, we have finally gotten some rain. Clearly it is still inadequate to compensate for the precipitation deficit, but plants and I’m sure many animals are benefiting from the rare moisture. One of the interesting things that you might note from looking at the prairies at Holy Wisdom Monastery is that most of the plants have survived and look much better than the corn and soybeans in the fields of Dane County. Prairie plants have “learned” through evolution that drought conditions happen now and …
Benedictine Life in the 21st Century
Young adult volunteers at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Wisconsin connect with God through nature and community by Elizabeth A. Elliott Originally published May 8, 2012 at www.BustedHalo.com, reprinted with permission Connection. It is something everyone desires and in today’s world it seems to happen 24/7 through the Internet and social media. But there are people who yearn for a different, deeper connection — with God, with nature, and with each other. Sara Jo Emmerich, a 30-year-old who lives in Washington, D.C., found that connection at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton, Wisconsin. It was there, as part of the Volunteer in …
Take A Stake in the Lakes Days
Holy Wisdom Monastery is pleased to participate in Take a Stake in the Lakes Days, an event of the Dane County Lakes and Watershed Commission, in partnership with Clean Lakes Alliance. We are hosting a group of employees from Lands’ End on June 1, 2012 in our 100 acres of restored prairie so that we can continue to do our part to reduce run-off into the Lake Mendota watershed. One of the things that the Lands’ End group will be helping with is removing invasive species (such as garlic mustard and honeysuckle) from our naturally restored prairie. Restoring land, that used …
Thank You, College of St. Scholastica Volunteers!
We were blessed to have a large student volunteer group from the College of St Scholastica this past Friday night and Saturday. The students who are on a spring break service trip arrived by bus at 11:00 pm on Friday night—straight from Duluth, Minnesota. After a brief welcome and orientation, the students settled in with their sleeping bags and gear—all over the Gathering Area. Although they knew that breakfast was served starting at 7:00 am the next morning, I understand that many were up until 3:00 or 4:00 am (Youth!). Many attended Morning Prayer on Saturday after which Sisters Mary David, …
The Value of Volunteers at Holy Wisdom Monastery
The contribution of the many volunteers at Holy Wisdom Monastery on a daily basis helps make the Monastery function. There is so much life that goes beyond the work of the monastic community and co-workers. Volunteering at Holy Wisdom Monastery fits in well with the core Benedictine values that the sisters profess to live, especially building community. On a typical day this spring, you will find volunteers cleaning the new bamboo floors, conducting a prairie burn to help restore it to pre-settlement conditions and planting the vegetable garden. The volunteers are a vital part of everyday life at the monastery. In 2001, the Conference …
Care for the Earth: A Longstanding Monastery Tradition
Care of the earth is nothing new at Holy Wisdom Monastery. As the story goes, three sisters went into the countryside outside of Madison in the early 1950s looking for a site suitable for a new Benedictine monastery. They had come from Sioux City, Iowa at the invitation of the first Bishop of the Madison diocese. What they found was a hilltop in the country with an unparalleled vista of the Madison skyline. After saying a few prayers and burying medals of St. Benedict, they set out to acquire the land. Once they tracked down the current owner, they negotiated for the 42.5 acres …