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Over 2 years ago, some members of the SCL Care of Creation committee attended a Sierra Club event on monarch butterflies, led by Dr. Chip Taylor. They learned that monarchs, like many pollinators, are imperiled. While butterflies are fun to watch, they and other pollinators, including bees, moths, birds, and bats, pollinate over 75% of the world’s flowering plants. Their absence would not only threaten the habitats and ecosystems that many animals rely on for food and shelter, but also threaten much of the food we eat and the flowers and plants we enjoy. With this in mind, committee members felt the need to help out.
The metamorphosis from idea to a fully hatched plan took time and planning, and finally came to fruition as a four-bed pollinator garden, located on the on the south side of the SCL campus, near the labyrinth.
Sincere thanks goes to the SCL Council for their approval on this project. Thanks also goes Kenny Davidson, campus grounds manager, and his crew for creating the raised beds, as well as the efforts of the Care of Creation committee. Recently, Sisters Rejane Cytacki and Susan Chase purchased a variety of native plants and flowers from Vinland Nursery—all raised without the use of pesticides!
Recently, the plants were placed in the raised beds by the following committee members: Sisters Rejane Cytacki, Pat Johannsen, and Shirley Rockwell, SCLA. Also helping out were John Shively and Rebecca Metz of the Office of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation. Their efforts will help attract butterflies and bees and maintain a healthy ecosystem on the campus and the surrounding area. Thanks to their efforts, the new pollinator garden promises an earth-friendly future that was just in time for Laudato Si’ Week 2021, which began on Sunday, May 16, and ran until May 25, 2021.
MAY 20 WAS WORLD BEE DAY
In honor of World Bee Day, Ross Hall Sisters and staff gathered together during their weekly Gardening Group to discuss the importance of bees. Attendees enjoyed the conversation, trivia, and other bee-related content. Here is an informative presentation about the importance of saving the bees, put together by Chloe West, SCL campus activity director.
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- The stones and sand are placed in a shallow dish so that bees do not drown when stopping to get a drink.
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- Sister Kevin Marie Flynn carefully assembles her bee waterer.
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- Sister Peter Parry builds her bee waterer with beautiful stones and marbles.
