Saturday was our work-day fundraiser at the Schoenstatt Retreat Center in Waukesha, WI. Student’s from MUHS helped clear and mulch branches from a massive pruning project on the grounds. Schoofs Greenworks donated funds from the job to Laudato Si’ Project to help pay for our 2 acre prairie planting on the Schoenstatt Property this Fall. Schoofs Greenworks has also been a Laudato Si’ Project business member for 2 years. We were able to use the mulch generated Saturday to create a mulched border around our native butterfly garden that we seeded last year (see that blog post HERE). They will also be donating two truck loads of mulch to be used on our newly created woodland nature trail as part of an Eagle Scout Project this summer.

With the end of April near, we decided to put up our final wood duck house in the Schoenstatt wetland. Water temperatures in the high 40’s was no obstacle for these brave volunteers. Special thanks to Leroy Meyer for donated these hand made wood duck boxes that we have used at several project sites. Wood ducks are one of Wisconsin’s most gorgeous birds and one of only two ducks in WI that nest in tree cavities (thus the nest box simulating that cavity). The other type is the hooded merganser which was present in the wetland during our time there.

Male wood duck and male hooded merganser- our two cavity nesting ducks