Loretto Carbon Offset Fund Honors Anthony Mary

On my first visit to the Loretto Motherhouse, I discovered tree identification tags on several of the massive, ancestral trees scattered throughout the Motherhouse campus. Soon, someone put a pamphlet in my hands, “Visitor’s Guide to Loretto Motherhouse Trees.” Maidenhair, Nandina, Grandiflora Magnolia, Golden Rain Tree, Kentucky Coffee Tree, Sweetgum — my days were spent following this trail, a scavenger hunt marked by sketches and observations hastily drawn in my journal. This was my first introduction to Anthony Mary Sartorius, author of the pamphlet, planter of many of Loretto’s trees.

Years later, in the summer of 2019, the Loretto Community celebrated Anthony’s retirement from her long years as Motherhouse Service Coordinator. In her honor, we established the Loretto Carbon Offset Fund, dedicated to helping fund projects that will heal and balance Earth’s natural ecosystems.

The Loretto Carbon Offset Fund Committee continued Anthony’s legacy of planting trees in the first two funded projects: one led by our sisters in Pakistan and one at the Holy Family Retreat Center in Beaumont, Texas. A mature tree can consume 48 pounds of carbon dioxide per year, cleaning the air and mitigating climate change. In urban areas, trees produce enough shade and release enough water vapor to reduce temperatures as much as 20-45 degrees F.

Our next project was to help fund a new electric vehicle (EV) charging station at the Loretto Motherhouse. EVs lower carbon emissions that contribute to climate change and reduce air pollution. By installing an EV charger, Loretto is making it possible for employees, retreatants and other campus guests to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and charge up while working or visiting.

Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels is crucial to address effectively climate change. For the carbon emissions that one cannot immediately eliminate, however, offsetting those emissions by contributing to projects that will draw carbon out of the atmosphere is the best option. The Loretto Carbon Offset Fund contributes to projects that prevent the output of carbon into the atmosphere (for example, renewable energy) or sequester carbon from the atmosphere (for example, planting trees).

Whenever you purchase a plane ticket, pay your heating and cooling bills or fill up your vehicle with gas, consider taking a minute to calculate the emissions associated with that aspect of your lifestyle. Build a habit of purchasing an “emissions ticket” for the areas of your life where you can’t immediately reduce or eliminate your carbon footprint. Visit the Loretto Carbon Offset Fund website for information on carbon emissions calculators, flight facts, additional resources or to make a donation.