Ecospirituality Committee works to bring land conservation projects to fruition

Consciously and intentionally, FSPA honors its commitment to Mother Earth. At the urging of the Ecospirituality Committee and others in recent years, attention and energy have been funneled into long-term care for FSPA land on St. Joseph’s Ridge. Special projects underway include the organic garden, the windbreak/grove and the natural cemetery—designed as a prairie area to enrich the diversity of habitats on the property.

These projects have grown in phases. First, the committee formed the organic garden. A partnership with the Mississippi Valley Conservancy was then established to assess the property and develop a long-range sustainability plan for the bluff land. The windbreak/grove on the north side of the Villa, planted in the spring of 2009, was the committee’s third undertaking. With the approval from all required agencies granted last fall, the natural cemetery endeavor was next to move forward. Now, committee members are preparing for the fifth stage of FSPA’s land sustainability development, scheduled to begin this spring—planting the cemetery area on St. Joseph’s Ridge with prairie grass and flowers.

Sisters Sharon Berger and Lucy Slinger have been tending to these projects, and provide an update here.
  
Presence: What is the status of FSPA’s partnership with the Mississippi Valley Conservancy (MVC), and how does it continue to serve the community?  

Sisters Sharon and Lucy: We support the work of MVC as a partner in their land preservation efforts. They’ve provided expert assistance in developing a long-term land management plan for FSPA’s farm and woodlands. In the future, they will continue to guide us in the implementation of this plan, educate and dialogue with us about best conservation practices and assist with volunteer work days to rehabilitate and restore the land.
 
Presence: The garden and windbreak on St. Joseph’s Ridge are flourishing. How have these projects grown and subsequently impacted FSPA’s commitment to Franciscan ecology?

Sisters Sharon and Lucy: The garden has been transformed from a very weedy patch of vegetables first planted five years ago to a compost enriched, raised-bed agriculture system that incorporates companion planting and permaculture techniques. The one-acre garden has become a model for small farm vegetable production. The produce harvested in 2009 provided just over 3.5 tons of small fruits, herbs and vegetables to the Villa and St. Rose kitchens, and was shared with garden volunteers as well.
The windbreak consists of six rows of trees and bushes strategically planted on the north side of the Villa St. Joseph buildings. As the trees and bushes grow, they will help to stop snow build up there in the winter and begin to provide spring blossoms and summer fruits for the sisters to enjoy.
 
Presence: What does the new FSPA project, prairie and land preservation, entail?  

Sisters Sharon and Lucy: The land management plan calls to re-establish a few small areas of prairie to complement the two existing bluff-top prairie areas—land that needs rehabilitation by prescribed burns and invasive species removal. The first area of prairie to restore is the land west of the Quonset buildings on the north side of the Villa property, designed as the natural cemetery. Our plan is to propagate a high population of flowering plants as well as the usual prairie grasses so that in about three years, we will have a “sea of wildflowers” throughout the summer and into the fall. Prairie landscapes are slow to develop; some seeds take two to three years to germinate.

Patience with this process will be rewarded with the beauty of a prairie that, as it matures, will bring new species of birds and small animals to inhabit the area. Eventually, we hope to add bur oak trees to restore this prairie to savanna as it was before the land was cleared and farmed. We will also save plant seeds to scatter on the graves of sisters who choose to have a natural burial. Slowly but surely, prairie restoration will increase the diversity of the wildlife species there, especially the birds that cohabitate with the Villa sisters.

Presence: How does FSPA’s commitment to these projects support its mission to care for God’s creation?

Sisters Sharon and Lucy: God has gifted us with land, and it is our responsibility to care for it. The Ecospirituality Committee and many other concerned community members continue to advocate for long-lasting conservation for all FSPA land. It is imperative that we, as Franciscans, model for others what it means to live in right relationships with all of creation. How we care for and manage our land clearly demonstrates our commitment to honor and care for God’s creation.

As Vatican City strives to become the first carbon neutral state, FSPA’s ecological land management is a discernible response to Pope Benedict’s 2010 message for peace: “If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation.” That is our shared vision and mission as Franciscan women committed to bringing forth the kingdom of God today. 

Editor’s note: The FSPA is preparing to implement plans for the natural cemetery and a burial protocol. Look for more information in the Spring 2010 issue of Perspectives.