Farm and Land
You like cows? We got ‘em! You are welcome at Loretto Motherhouse to enjoy our 800 acres of Kentucky paradise and tour our farm and land, where cows and agriculture co-exist with the life of the Loretto Community. Learn more about our farm and land.
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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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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There’s something new at the Motherhouse. Anthony Mary Sartorius is getting to retire at last after two-and-a-half terms as service coordinator. After extensive searching for a person to take on that job, Michael Bickett has been hired. He begins as the new coordinator July 15 and is the first man to hold this important job.…
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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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Did you know that our Loretto Motherhouse farm is an ecosystem? Remember that an ecosystem is made up of living and non-living things that interact and exchange energy. A farm ecosystem differs from a forest or a lake ecosystem in that humans control many of the interactions on the farm. Cattle play an important role…
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We have read about ecosystems. But what are ecosystem services? The notion was popularized by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment report in 2005, and it is often used in forest management and planning. Ecosystem services imply those benefits that come from the functioning of ecosystems. These services are generally divided into three categories: provisioning services such…
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Does eating beef harm the planet? Many are asking that important question and, like most good questions, there is no clear answer. Think of a continuum ranging from beef choices that contribute to the problem of climate change to those that contribute to its solution. The placement of beef on that broad continuum is determined…
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By Sharon Kassing Take a minute and conjure up a picture of that teacher who “captured” you: the one who with his/her enthusiasm and curiosity turned you on to an insight or a piece of knowledge which you hadn’t known before. For me, it was an art teacher in grade school, a biology teacher in…
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By Eleanor Craig
Interchange Online
The Loretto Motherhouse Coordinating Board and Services Coordinator have announced a decision which will significantly strengthen Loretto’s ability to plan a sustainable future for the farm and land at Loretto’s traditional “home place” in Marion County, Kentucky. At its meeting on August 30th, the Coordinating Board approved the establishment of a new position at Loretto Motherhouse, the Director of Farm and Land Development.
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by Eleanor Craig SL Wildflowers and bees, a wildlife corridor, and wetlands habitat will grace the Motherhouse farm as Loretto begins its third century in the “Holy Land” of central Kentucky. The Loretto Motherhouse Coordinating Board, following the recommendation of its Farm and Land Committee, recently approved the enrollment of 78.1 acres of the Motherhouse…
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