ST. FRANCIS — My story today started in a pretty unique way. I hopped in a four-wheeler. Destination: the forest.
“Alright, let’s hit it, Sisters," I said.
I went off-roading with two of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi.
“We’re going to start at our urban forest," Sister Helene Mertes, who has lived at the St. Francis convent for 70 years, said.
We braved the rugged road to get to the urban forest. Okay, well, maybe not that rugged of a road. But it was a dirt path. The Sisters were showing me the convent grounds, which they have turned into a natural oasis.
“Well, we are Franciscans and we want to help Mother Nature," Sister Helene said.
She has led much of the charge to beautify the grounds. The Sisters of St. Francis have been located at their convent along Lake Michigan, on the border of Milwaukee and St. Francis, since 1849. They are the first foundation of vowed Franciscan women in the United States.
In 2013, the urban forest was just an unused athletic field. It was nothing more than grass. Over the past decade, they turned it into a mini forest with more than 250 trees and shrubs.
Watch the story to see what the urban forest and the gardens look like...
“People walk through there, and they just come here and sit on the benches, and they say this is so nice just to be in nature," Sister Helene said.
As we continued to explore the convent, it was clear just how much the Sisters have done and how much they care about nature. Back in the late 1800s, some of the Sisters planted an orchard. Those same trees don't exist anymore, but the orchard is still used. Currently, they grow apples, pears, peaches, and cherry trees.
“Oh, they’re real good tasting," Sister Helene said.
So too are the veggies. They have multiple gardens and grow more than 30 types of vegetables.
They harvest thousands of pounds of food from those gardens. From apples to zucchinis and everything in between, the sisters have put their land to good use. The food feeds the convent and the senior living home on the grounds,
“To come to harvest time is so exciting to be able to know that the ground, the Earth, can push out such productivity. It’s just wonderful," Sister Margaret Kruse, who runs the gardens, said.
There are even beehives to help with pollination. Behind the hives, bees are busy patrolling a wetland area. Around 2010, the sisters cleared out much of the invasive species and replaced it with native plants. They were able to do that thanks to a grant from the Department of Natural Resources.
“Because native plantings are the best for taking care of all the bees and the birds and the critters that we need," Sister Helene said.
To top it all off, there is even a walkway covered by grapevines that dates back to 1912. During the Great Depression, the sisters used to give free meals to those in need under the grapes to escape the summer heat.
It all goes to show how the Sisters of St. Francis embody the spirit of St. Francis, who was the patron saint of the environment and animals. They have become true stewards of the land, making sure it thrives for generations to come.
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