Conservation practices reduce spirituality center’s carbon footprint

With a federal stimulus grant of more than $72,000 awarded from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and distributed by the Iowa Office of Energy Independence, Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center in Hiawatha, Iowa, added 60 new solar panels to its property this spring. “We now have 100 modules that are estimated to generate 22,500 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year—the average amount of electricity consumed by two homes annually,” says Prairiewoods Director Sister Helen Elsbernd. “We anticipate that 40 to 45 percent of the electricity used in the main building and 20-room guest house will then come from the sun!”

The application process for securing the grant, which Sister Helen learned of through her position as a board member of the Linn County Nonprofit Resource Center, began in August 2009 and since then has required a significant amount of research and documentation. “Sister Nancy Hoffman has been helpful, accompanying me to a workshop for regulations on federal funds,” she says. “I’ve learned a lot!”

This exertion of time and energy has not only provided power to run lights, computers and all things electronic for both buildings, but is also aiding in the reduction of harmful emissions. Sister Helen gives this example: On a recent sunny day the Prairiewoods panels produced over 100 kilowatt-hours of energy. It would take burning 100 pounds of coal to generate the energy equivalent. “The day we harnessed 100 kilowatt-hours, 100 pounds of coal were not burned. If we meet our projection and generate 22,500 kilowatt-hours from the solar panels in one year,” says Sister Helen, “11 tons of coal will not be burned and will not emit 14.5 tons of carbon dioxide into the air.”

Prairiewoods’ utility bill will also be cut substantially each year, and excess energy earned (as above) provides additional financial credit to the center as well. The kilowatt-hours produced by the panels are used on demand, and the surplus is routed “back into the grid system for other people to utilize,” says Sister Helen. “We are credited for what we contribute,” and neighboring consumers will also reap the benefits of our solar energy source.”

Technology may be the means to the end in converting the sun’s rays into power for Prairiewoods, lowering emissions and conserving energy as well, but the Franciscan tradition of care for creation is the beginning. For Sister Helen, “using renewable energy is giving thanks for the gifts of creation, making us better stewards of the earth. It’s caring for creation as Francis did,” she says, “but in a modern way.”

For Mary Ellen Dunford, a massage therapist at the center, both affiliation and Franciscanism are the roots of these conservation causes. “As an affiliate I strongly value FSPA’s commitment to care for the earth. Affiliation and Prairiewoods deepen my convictions and my understanding of other Franciscan values, give me the opportunity to share and network with people of similar values and lifestyles and teach me how to experience ecology and spirituality.”

For other staff members of Prairiewoods, “The whole concept of sustainability and caring for the Earth permeates the culture in its entirety,” says Sister Helen. Communally, employees of the center have reduced electricity consumption by 10 percent over the past two years. “It’s cheaper to reduce consumption than to install solar panels,” she says. Personally, Mary Ellen and her husband incorporate short commutes to work and the use of energy-efficient appliances into their day-to-day lives.

For the community, Prairiewoods is an impressionable advocate of ecological conservation. Sister Helen reports that people have driven by the property, noticed the panels and stopped in to take a look. “They see first hand that solar energy is viable.” Mary Ellen deems the center’s green practices as models for “businesses and individuals to use for safe and cost-effective renewable energy.”

For the future, Prairiewoods has ongoing plans. Sister Helen reports that the center is about to submit a request (for the main building) for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, “which signifies that a building meets standards for sustainability set by the U.S. Green Building Council. We anticipate that Prairiewoods will be the first existing structure to become LEED certified in Iowa.” Additional grants have funded both the promotion of reusable bags and local food initiatives. “Both practices are in keeping with the FSPA’s commitment to sustain Mother Earth.”

For all of this, Sister Helen, Mary Ellen and everyone at Prairiewoods are excited to step back from these projects and take in the whole picture. “The outcomes of every conservation practice we make, no matter how small, are important to us,” says Sister Helen, “are important to plants, to animals, to all creation.”