Holy Cross Abbey - Erb Student Project

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Sustained effort With an eye toward the environment and their own future, Holy Cross Abbey monks get a hand from Michigan students

By Val Van Meter The Winchester Star

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BERRYVILLE — Sustainability would seem to come easily to a religious order that has been in existence for more than a thousand years.

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But the Cistercian monks at Holy Cross Abbey in Clarke County have decided to ask for help in finding ways to keep their monastery functioning.

The community, which follows the rule set down by St. Benedict some 1,500 years ago, is based on being self-supporting through manual labor.

The monks now earn money through a bakery that sells gourmet fruitcakes, truffles, and special varieties of honey. They also operate a gift shop and a retreat center.

Alex Linkow and Jessica Neafsey prepare

The monastery property covers some to test water flow rates from a hydrant 1,200 acres, most of which is leased next to a cistern at Holy Cross Abbey in Clarke County. A team of six University of for farming.

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“Sustainability looms large,” said Abbot Robert Barnes, particularly when the community consists of 20 members, not one of whom is younger than 50. Ten are 80 or older.

Michigan students recently spent time at the abbey working on a sustainability project. The students will share their findings with the monks in 2010. (photo by Ginger Perry)

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“We can’t do all the jobs,” he said.

With an eye toward the future, the monastery has placed 200 of its prime acres and the historic house called Cool Spring into Clarke County’s conservation easement program.

“We wanted to get it away from development,” Barnes said. “It is ideal farmland.”

But he said didn’t know what else to try until one of the monks suggested contacting the Natural Resources and Environment Program at the University of Michigan.

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With a sister as a graduate, the younger monk knew the university sent its graduate students on real-life projects.

That’s how six Michigan students spent the last week in May at Holy Cross, taking water samples, questioning the bakery staff, and even sifting through a day’s trash.

“A holistic approach”

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“We had 30 to 40 programs we could choose from,” said Alex Linkow of Boston, who is working toward a joint degree in environmental science and business.

He said he signed on to help Holy Cross because “I like the idea of taking a holistic approach to sustainability.”

The team, whose backgrounds range from landscaping to the law, is looking into every facet of life at the monastery.

“They have a very broad scope,” Barnes said. “We’re open to any suggestions.”

Linkow has been surveying water use, while other members are charting energy demands.

“Alex and I have been studying land uses,” said Jessica Neafsey, who is seeking a degree in landscape architecture and ecological design.

Abbot Robert Barnes talks with Neafsey and Linkow near the Cool Spring plantation house on the property of Holy Cross Abbey. The monastery property covers some 1,200 acres in Clarke County and the monks are focused on “sustainability” for all the land.

Barnes said half of the monks at Holy Cross are 80 or older. (photo by Ginger Perry)

Her work includes studying agricultural uses such as the corn and cattle operations, as well as the “contemplative uses,” such as the monks’ living areas and the retreat center.

A check on toxic chemical use not only documents the fertilizers used on the farm but also the cleaning products used at the monastery.

“A wonderful opportunity”

Gathering such data can be messy.

“Chris Stratman and I sorted through the waste” one afternoon, Linkow said, counting and weighing plastics, glass, and paper along with the nonrecyclable items.

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“We’ll create a waste profile,” he said, in an effort to find further ways the monastery can reuse and recycle.

“There’s a behavioral component,” Linkow added.

That reality meant interviewing the monks to see how their days are spent and what their needs are.

“We’ve tried to be considerate and quiet and respect their way of life,” he said.

“It is a wonderful opportunity,” Neafsey said. “It is such a comprehensive project. Everything here could be a project in and of itself.”

She has worked on organic farms and holds deep respect for farmers. “I was attracted to the project [because of] the way of life these monks are living and the agricultural aspect. I admire the Cistercians. They have valued both work and prayer.”

She noted that the students had come to the monastery earlier in the year to meet the monks. At that time, they awoke in the early hours of the morning in order to follow them through their daily devotions.

“They are a unique client — a unique community,” Linkow agreed.

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Although the students have other jobs lined up for the summer, he said most of them will work on their data sets for the next three months.

When the fall semester starts, they will gather to brainstorm the individual issues and then an overall plan that might help the monks to save resources and continue their way of life.

The complete report should be ready next April, Linkow said.

“Very professional” Barnes, who said the entire community voted to go forward with the University of Michigan study, described the students as “very professional.

They are phenomenal people. We are fortunate to have them.”

Finding more ways to economize and also lessen the abbey’s impact on the environment is “in line with our monastic life,” he added, “and very attractive to us.”

With the students’ recommendations in hand, “it will be up to us how to proceed,” he said.

— Contact Val Van Meter at vvanmeter@winchesterstar.com

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