6 minute read
Pollinator Sensory Garden Begins to Blossom
By Teresa Messmore, Director of Communications
More than a year after its inception, planting has begun in a new Pollinator Sensory Garden designed to beautify Magnificat's campus while educating students about ecology and environmental issues. The project is part of a larger effort to care for creation on campus as the Sisters of the Humility of Mary have done for decades at their home in Villa Maria.
As the Seeds of Service Horticulture Club continues to beautify Magnificat’s campus, members frequently look to one place for inspiration: the Villa Maria Education and Spirituality Center in Pennsylvania. Home to the Sisters of the Humility of Mary, who founded Magnificat, the Villa hosts retreats and spiritual programs in a bucolic setting with nature trails, a greenhouse, a labyrinth, and beautiful grounds conducive to prayer and reflection. Magnificat’s prayer path and hoop house are two examples of commonalities shared between the school’s and the Sisters’ environments, and the addition of the new Pollinator Sensory Garden along with plans for a larger greenhouse will further enhance the connection.
“Our goal is to mirror the Villa,” club moderator and Horticultural Manager Karen Ryan Tigue ’85 said. “If we can show the students how to care for our campus and make small changes to care for the natural environment, they can take these practices wherever they go. They can take a little bit of Magnificat—and a little bit of the Villa— with them.”
Connections to Villa Maria
Villa Maria was given to the Sisters by Bishop Amadeus Rappe of Cleveland in 1864, and the philosophy of the religious community since that time has been to live off the land as much as possible. Today, the Villa houses a working farm on 759 acres with a produce market, flower greenhouse, herb garden, and community supported agriculture (CSA) open to the public. Sustainability is
integral to the operation of the farm, and all vegetables and herbs are certified organic. Some of the produce is donated to local food banks, shelters, and parishes, in alignment with the Sisters’ many efforts to help those living in poverty.
Magnificat students and faculty visit the Villa each year, witnessing firsthand a model for caring for natural resources and practicing responsible agriculture. Students tour the woodland paths and farm during Freshman Heritage Day, in addition to meeting HM Sisters, praying in the chapel, and taking part in other activities.
Over the years, Seeds of Service’s efforts have echoed certain aspects of life at the Villa. Vegetables grown on Magnificat’s campus in the hoop house and with aeroponic gardening towers are donated to local Meals on Wheels, and blooms from the cut flower garden beds are used in arrangements for school Masses and special events. A prayer path behind the school is maintained in part by Seeds of Service members, and while Magnificat does not raise animals like the Villa once did, students do care for bees in several hives and harvest the honey to sell in the Streaks Boutique as a club fundraiser.
“We definitely see the connection there and how important it is to the Sisters of the Humility of Mary to protect the earth,” club member Maddie Thomas ’25 said. “We see all the gardens that they have and we try to mimic that—and are trying to do our best to care for creation like they do.”
Pollinator Sensory Garden
Attending to plants and creatures throughout campus honors the call to action made by Pope Francis in his 2015 encyclical Laudato si': On care for our common home Currently, the club is creating a new Pollinator Sensory Garden near the Coyne Courts to enhance the campus, support the environment, and educate students. Members drafted a layout for the garden and researched plants that will attract butterflies, bees, and other ecologically important pollinators. Thanks to contributions from various donors, the pathways and flower beds were installed last fall. This summer, students are helping weed and planting flowers to bring the vision to life.
The space is designed to be relaxing for visitors, with curved paths, arbors, benches, and potentially a water feature. Some plants will be chosen to engage the senses, such as lavender for fragrance and lamb’s ear for its soft texture. Students will help maintain the garden from spring through fall.
“Being close to nature heightens our sense of awe and wonder for the beauty of God’s creation,” Vice President of Mission Katie Higgins ’99 said. “It also helps us to recognize our interconnection with God’s creation and our call to care for the Earth, which resonates deeply with the Sisters’ commitment to care for the land and to practice ecological sustainability.”
A Vision to Expand
The transformation is part of a broader vision to use every area of Magnificat's campus in a sustainable, educational, and spiritual way. The grass lawns, for example, require intensive maintenance and could be replaced with islands of flowers around trees, garden beds, and more outdoor classrooms, Tigue said.
Plans are in the beginning stages for a new greenhouse that would be larger than the hoop house. The greenhouse would help take the club to the next level by increasing the propagation of plants, beginning seed starting earlier in the year, and extending the growing season during the winter months. The club would like to grow more herbs and vegetables, working with Magnificat’s chef, Adam Hale of AVI Foodsystems, and the cultural clubs to grow plants that could be used in Magnificat’s lunch menus.
Other projects underway, funding permitted, include:
• A small orchard with four to six plum and apple trees, developed by Charlotte Harter ’24 for her Agape Project.
• The addition of high top tables for teaching and work space.
• The installation of pollinator houses built in the school’s woodshop along the prayer path to provide nesting areas for native bees.
• A labyrinth made of paver stones on the lawn next to the east athletic doors.
To learn more about ways to help support the garden and Seeds of Service, please contact Vice President of Advancement Deborah Durbin '81 at 440-331-7227 or ddurbin@maghs.org.
