Environment
The Loretto Community holds stewardship of Earth as a key value. We invite you to learn about our land conservation practices at Loretto Motherhouse and other environmental efforts. Learn more about our mission to protect the environment.
Some months after my arrival at the Motherhouse in 2002, Sister Anthony Mary Sartorius, who was the Motherhouse Service Coordinator, asked me to write about the many events which take place here, much like the annals which each convent used to keep. I decided to record the present happenings and end the monthly piece with…
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LCWR Troubled by U.S. Withdrawal from Paris Climate Agreement November 7, 2019 The Leadership Conference of Women (LCWR) was deeply disappointed by President Trump’s 2017 pledge to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement and we are profoundly troubled by the decision to formally request US withdrawal from this critically important international…
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Last spring Mary Swain received a call for help from an organizer from Cedar Grove in Bullitt County, Ky., north of Nelson and adjoining Jefferson County. The utility company LG&E wants to run a natural gas line through the county, which includes Bernheim Forest. LG&E is using pressure tactics on landowners and has not met…
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“Loved places become our heart’s geography.” — Whitney Wurzel former Bernheim Education Director Many of you know that I have worked at Bernheim Forest for almost 20 years. What you may not know is that Bernheim inspired me as a little girl. It was at Bernheim that I encountered adults who were as passionate about nature…
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On July 13, 2019, the Denver Loretto Community hosted a Sustainability Afternoon. For the first half hour, the inspiration of Thomas Berry, Miriam McGillis, and Brian Swimme infused the gathering through an original development of their themes by Karen Kudebeh of Denver. She reminded us to inform our activities [to address climate change and ecological…
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As you enter the Loretto Motherhouse grounds, glance to the left of the road and you will see a carved tree trunk titled “Protected Community” sculpted by Jeanne Dueber in 2003. The eight carved figures around the trunk are slowly declining, from the center out mostly. In the beginning as Jeanne’s vision took root in…
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The food supply for monarch butterflies received a boost at the Motherhouse in May with the planting of 4 acres of milkweed and other plants favored by pollinators. Last fall, Infirmary physician Dr. Lida Oxnard brought a mesh cage with a dozen monarch caterpillars to the Motherhouse so that we could enjoy watching the metamorphosis…
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If you drive to Bardstown, Ky., on Route 49 from Loretto, you will see a high, cone-shaped hill rising from the surrounding trees near the hamlet of Holy Cross. Everyone calls it Rohan’s Knob. Upon seeing it, you will know that you are in the Knobs ecologic subregion. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,…
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By Christine Boss St. Mary’s Academy selected several girls to participate in a trip from Denver to the Loretto Motherhouse over spring break. It was the first time that the AP (Advanced Placement) environmental science students had an opportunity to travel to the Motherhouse. The trip’s intent was for us to learn more about the…
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Pentecost Sunday, June 9, 2019Reflection from the Loretto Earth Network We read in Acts 2: “When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.…
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