The Saint Kateri Conservation Center

Parish Challenge

The Saint Kateri Conservation Center challenges Catholic parishes

to serve as refuges for biodiversity and climate resilience,

much like an ark, where people and wildlife flourish and grow.

the goal: a thriving parish ark

Renew Catholic faith by deepening connections with God and fostering harmonious relationships with each other and all of creation.

Conserve thirty percent of Catholic parish open land for the well-being of people, biodiversity, and climate resilience through faith, re-wilding, restoration, and land conservation.

The Process

  • We have set aside over thirty per cent of our land for vegetation and have begun the process of reducing the area devoted to traditional lawns or covered by commercial mulch.

    We have increased biodiversity and wildlife habitat by introducing native plants: including a dogwood tree, mt. laurels, bayberries, woodland phlox, oak-leaved hydrangeas, native irises, zizia, woodbine, asters, jack-in-the pulpits, spiderworts, wild strawberries, mayapples, and ferns.

    We have cleared the woodland of the majority of the trash and debris that had accumulated over the years. We have redistributed plant debris that had accumulated near the road to create berms to reduce flooding and icing of the circulation areas near the church.

    We have started to remove invasive plants in the woodland using sustainable, organic methods. We have begun to establish paths through the forest along with spots for prayer and quiet reflection.

    We have worked with local neighbors, the Archdiocese of Boston and the town of Lexington to ensure that our efforts are well-coordinated. We have participated in study groups and sponsored discussions and educational forums exploring the deep connections between our faith and the environment.

  • Join the Garden Stewards to be help us plan and be informed about special projects.

    Please let us know if you have any special equipment or skills (e.g. stump grinding, rock wall building, landscape design training) to offer. This will help us with planning.

    Consider planting a memorial tree or group of shrubs to remember a loved one. We can help with selecting a site on the parish grounds and provide information about trees that would be well suited for the spot.

    Next time you are dividing your native plants consider setting aside a portion for the parish. We promise to do our best with your offerings. We have fairly diverse microclimates and would be able to find a good home for almost anything that does not require large amounts of water.

    Help us root out the vinca that has overtaken the forest floor. (Organic methods of weed removal are labor intensive, but weeding our woodland could be the perfect penance for any ecological offense or just a way to spend a quiet morning… please make yourself at home.)

    Learn more

    Pray more

    Donate

  • We have a number of potential projects for the gardens near the church, the parish center, and the woodland. The Sacred Heart Garden Stewards will be meeting with other stakeholders over the winter to make decisions about how to move forward.

    We have also been asked to speak at the RCAB Justice Convocation on March 28th about our efforts to bring our faith to stewardship efforts on our parish property,

  • link to saint kateri habitat page