|
|
Environmental restoration
| In 1953, Benedictine Women of Madison set down
roots on a hill overlooking Lake Mendota and the skyline of Madison, Wisconsin.
The original 40 acres consisted of farmland cleared in the early 1900s.
Today, Holy Wisdom Monastery (formerly Saint Benedict Center) covers 130 acres and includes a 10,000-year-old
glacial lake, wooded nature trails, restored prairie, gardens and a newly-created
wetland. |
|
Reverence for creation is a deeply-held Benedictine value. The sisters,
in partnership with staff, hundreds of volunteers, agencies and organizations,
do their part to create an oasis of quiet beauty where all can
come and experience God's presence.
|
Some of their projects
include:
 restoration
of Lost Lake
restoration
of the upland prairie creation
of a wetland preserve.
|
|
Lost Lake
Lost Lake lies at the far western boundary of
Holy Wisdom Monastery. Originally more than nine acres in surface area,
the basin had been reduced to less than two acres due to sedimentation from
surrounding farming practices and residential development. Eighty-five thousand
cubic yards of accumulated silt have been removed from the lake.
|
|
| Now restored to its original depth, the lake again acts as
a natural sponge that detains and filters water that would otherwise wash
downstream to neighboring properties and Lake Mendota. Over 200 acres of
land drain into Lost Lake. This restoration was designated a demonstration
project of the Lake Mendota Priority Watershed in 1996. The project received
a Yahara Lakes Association Certificate of Appreciation in 1997. |
 |
Upland Prairie
When settlers arrived in Wisconsin in the 1840s, prairie covered more
than two million acres of the state. Today, fewer than 3,500 acres of
prairie remain. Benedictine Women of Madison is returning much of their
land to pre-settlement conditions. The sisters believe this land is a
gift of natural beauty to be shared with all who come to Holy Wisdom Monastery.
|
Prairie restoration activities began in 1996 and continue
each year. To date, 95 acres of cropland have been restored to upland prairie
with donated seed or seed collected by volunteers and college interns. Each
year 10 to 20 acres are hand sown with a large variety of native Wisconsin
prairie flowers and grasses. These plants have long, deep root systems which
prevent soil erosion. This project received the Wisconsin Business Friend
of the Environment Award in 1998.
|
 |
Wetland Preserve
A wetland preserve was created on the prairie
by building a soil berm below a natural grass waterway. Naturally occurring
run-off sustains wetland plant species and waterfowl and provides ideal
nesting areas for birds and other prairie life. |
| The structure can hold, purify and slowly release 10.5 acre-feet
of water. This provides a key part of the environmental protection of the
north side of Lake Mendota. In recognition of these environmental efforts,
this wetland preserve was made a Lake Mendota Priority Watershed Demonstration
Project. |
| You can help restore and preserve this gift of creation with
your contribution to our environmental endowment. |
|
Send your questions or comments about our land restoration to nsmith@benedictinewomen.org.
|
|
