"Everything I do out here is to just either pass my knowledge onto the next generation or encourage people to develop a real, sincere care and respect for nature."
So says Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Lucy Slinger, recently named Hometown Hero by WKBT News 8 Now, the local CBS affiliate in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Sister Lucy's ministry is caring for all creation at FSPA Land - St. Joseph Ridge in La Crosse, feeding the FSPA community with produce from the organic garden and Lady Jacoba's Greenhouse and teaching the future stewards of the earth — local students — to nurture and harvest the goodness that is grown there.
Aquinas Catholic School students were on hand, helping tend to the garden on Sept. 11, when WKBT presented Sister Lucy with her award. "These kids have picked ... 90-something pounds of tomatoes," she announced.
"... everybody is born with this amount of energy, given to them from God to do work, to do good work. I couldn't be happier spending mine on sharing what I know with others."
Visit news8000.com to watch the full story of Hometown Hero, Sister Lucy, and learn more about FSPA's ministry of integral ecology at fspa.org.