MIDDLETON, Wis. (WKOW) — Wildflowers and grasses are in bloom at Holy Wisdom Monastery.
“I really, really think that in this modern, fast-paced, high-stimulus world, I feel all of us sort of hungering for a place where we can live this simpler life,” said Amy Alstad, the monastery’s director of land management and environmental education, while giving a tour through the monastery’s flourishing prairie trail.
But, a peaceful outdoor retreat like the trail wouldn’t exist if weren’t for the vision of the monastery’s four sisters: Lynne, Mary David, Joanne and Everline.
Together, they’ve restored 170 acres of land into a thriving prairie and oak savanna, a mission that started decades ago.
“There were no evergreens or trees on the property when the sisters came in 1953,” said Sister Joanne Kollasch. “In 50, 60, 70 years, you see what has grown and developed when in the beginning, there was nothing here.”
Caring for and protecting the land are values the sisters said are carried through Benedictine beliefs; one instilled at a young age.
“I grew up in Kenya on a farm,” said Sister Everline Jeruto. “Growing up, I knew the farm was the sole provider of everything, because we got our food, we reared our animals. So when I came here, actually it was like I was reinforcing what was already in me.”
The sisters credit a mass of volunteers and organizations in the area for helping them achieve their restoration goals. Joined by those they’ve recruited over the years, the sisters hope to leave the world a better place for future generations.
“There’s a great emphasis on caring for everything that we have,” said Sister Lynne Smith. “And that extends to the land, because we want it to last.”
The mission doesn’t just stop with the prairie. The monastery campus itself runs net-zero, powered by technologies like a geothermal HVAC system and a solar farm. The main monastery building on campus earned a LEED platinum rating, the highest sustainability certification.
“We’re not the only ones that are doing these kinds of things,” said Mark Hanson, a monastery volunteer who was a part of the original design and construction team for the main building. “The more examples we have, the more power it has to spread this word of what can be done.”
For the sisters, that’s the goal of their mission: to set an example for others to live sustainable lives.
“We are a catalyst,” said Sister Mary David Walgenbach. “We are poor in the sense of, well, we are not a big group of sisters. We’re a small group of sisters. But, we believe that we can be that leaven that is really the spirit of God, that is the powerfully person for change, and that we, too, will grow.”
The monastery trails are open for the public to enjoy, though no bikes or dogs are allowed.