Spring is a time rich with opportunities to get people back outside after a long and cold winter. The last couple of months have been packed with retreats, educational programs and stewardship projects. Below are some of the highlights.
Education: Live Owl Program and Owl Prowl; Care for Creation Pollinator Program
We ran a sold out live owl program for our friends at Tall Pines Conservancy. We learned about all the amazing creatures that are active at night and learned about the adaptations that allow them to be so successful. Thanks to Wanakia Wildlife Rehabilitation for bringing live animals including the american crow, great horned owl, barred owl, saw-whet owl, eastern screech owl and opossum. The educational program was followed by an owl prowl looking and calling for owls on the amazing Camp Quad Conservation Easement. We finished with a bon fire and s’mores.
We also ran a Care for Creation program for St. Catherine of Alexandria Parish in Milwaukee. First graders through adult learned about topics including our Catholic call to be stewards of creation, prairie ecology and the diversity and importance of pollinators.
Stewardship: Camp Quad Conservation Easement
Tall Pines Conservancy’s private conservation easement on the 300 acre Camp Quad property is truly a treasure. We spent the morning with Marquette High School student volunteers marking their new nature trails throughout the property.
Faith: Retreats for St. Gabriel and St. Jude the Apostle
We always enjoy running retreats for the schools and parishes in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. In April we did so for St. Gabriel middle school at the Forest Beach Migratory Preserve in Port Washington. In May we ran a retreat for St. Jude the Apostle 6th graders which took place at the Schoenstatt Retreat Center in Waukesha.
Catholic Ecology Center Blog 