Read about Sr. Dorothy Stang from the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, the first US woman to be included in the memorial for modern martyrs, with a personal story by MEEC's Director, Sr. Leanne Jablonski, FMI. Other MEEC updates include an upcoming Winter Wisdom retreat at Mount St. John, learning about gardening with Native plants, and more.
We have so many exciting updates this month it's hard to know where to begin. We have moved into our newly renovated offices in St. Joseph Hall, not far from our old space. We have a new classroom, restoration lab, and library. We can't wait to share it with you. We're still settling in but we'll schedule an open house in the spring.
We're offering a very special full-day, hands-on Winter Wisdom experience on March 1. We welcome special guest artists Nina Grauley, a nature illustrator, and Beth Guippe Hall, a collage artist who works with wax encaustics. Nina's watercolor Hidden in Plain Sight is above. Nina and Beth's joint exhibit Sights and Sounds of Nature will be open in UD's Roger Glass Center for the Arts from February 21 – March 14, 2025. For more program details about Winter Wisdom and other programs, read on.
On a more personal note, February 12, 2025, marks the 20th anniversary of the martyrdom of Sr. Dorothy Stang, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur from Dayton who spent nearly four decades protecting the Amazonian rainforest, promoting sustainable agriculture and advocating for the poor in Brazil despite repeated death threats. She was shot six times on February 12, 2005, by hired gunmen and left for dead along the side of the road as she was on her way to a community meeting. As she faced the gunman, she began reading from the beatitudes: blessed are the peacemakers, blessed are the poor, blessed are those who seek justice.
Sr. Dot, as she was known to friends, has long been an inspiration to me as a Catholic sister, an environmental advocate, and a witness for peace and justice. When I was in Rome last month for my Marianist Sisters' international chapter meetings, I visited her memorial at the Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island. She is the first woman of the Americas (she was a joint US and Brazilian citizen) to be honored among the new martyrs of the 20th and 21st Century. The memorial displays relics and testimonies from all the continents, including those of the martyrs of Communism, and Nazism, of those killed while serving the poor, and the cause of peace, dialogue, and justice. A cross containing blood-soaked soil from the place of her murder and her blue sweater can be seen near Saint Oscar Romero's memorial.
The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur have many resources, reflections, and events related to the anniversary here. I've been helping develop a local Dayton pilgrimage to sites of Sr. Dorothy's life, including St. Rita's parish and Chaminade-Julienne school, and the Ohio Sisters Justice Network will be offering two online event options on Thursday, March 13th, at 2 pm and 7 pm during National Catholic Sisters Week. We'll let you know more about all these events as they're finalized.
The Sisters of Notre Dame have a list of suggested actions to honor Sr. Dorothy and I leave them with you in closing and invite you to join your efforts with mine as we hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
Cultivate gardens of any size, anywhere, and share the harvest with communities that have limited access to fresh produce
Plant trees
Pray for all migrants seeking asylum and peace
Advocate for comprehensive immigration reform
Advocate for simple and practical actions to protect the planet
Other Updates from MEEC
Winter Wisdom
Saturday, March 1, 9 am - 5 pm,
Madeleine Room, Chaminade Center
This day-long integrated and hands-on retreat experience, part of the University of Dayton's Graul Chair Exhibit Sights and Sounds of Nature and inspired by the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, includes two transformative workshops: a wax collage session with Beth Guipe Hall and a field sketching experience led by Nina Grauley. Limited to 30 participants, this retreat invites attendees to explore the connections between art, nature, and spirituality.
Registration fee is $50 ($40 for Friends of MEEC) and includes lunch and materials (bring your own sketch implements if you prefer).
Click here for more information
Gardening with Native Plants
Saturday, April 26, 9 am - Noon
Madeleine Room, Chaminade Center
Celebrate Ohio Native Plant Month with an in-person, introductory workshop on how to incorporate native species into your yard & garden. Conserve water and energy, provide habitat for wildlife, and green your yard! Whether you want to create a bird & butterfly garden, add reliable blooms to a “problem area,” install a rain garden, replace aggressive or invasive species, stabilize a stream bank, or establish a prairie patch, we can help make your nave garden a success. We’ll help you select species that will thrive in any area of your garden for season‐long color.
Registration is $35; $25 for Friends of MEEC.
Click here for more information
2025 Native Plant Sale
Saturday, June 21, 8 am - 1 pm
Save the date! Catalog and order form will be available in April. To receive a hard copy, send us your name and address at info@meec.center. We're expecting to offer two new species this year: stiff gentian (Gentianella quinquefolia) and native wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana). Stiff gentian is a conservative prairie/woodland biennial that likes some moisture but little competition. Wild strawberry is an excellent groundcover that spreads to fill open spaces easily. We're also bringing back an old favorite - rough blazing star (Liatris aspera), shown above. As always, all of our plants come from local, ethically sourced populations and are grown right here at Mount Saint John.
Marianist Environmental Education Center
(Article from Marianist Magnificat, February 2025)
By Tara Poling and Sr. Leanne Jablonski, FMI
St. Francis asked that part of every friary garden be left untouched so that wildflowers could grow there and inspire those who saw them to raise their minds to God. Today, little of God’s creation remains untouched by humans. Many plants and animal species are lost or threatened, impoverishing our spirits and affecting earth’s life support systems in ways we don’t fully understand.
In 2019, the United Nations declared a Decade for Restoration to halt the degradation of ecosystems and restore them in the face of habitat loss and climate change. Pope Francis also urges us to restore the earth by “establishing harmony within ourselves, with others, with nature and other living creatures, and with God” (Laudato Si 210).
Since 1986, the Marianist Environmental Education Center at Mount Saint John in Dayton, Ohio, USA, has engaged volunteers to restore more than 40 hectares of prairie, woodlands, and wetlands. MEEC increases biodiversity and enhances beauty for more than 10,000 annual visitors; creates spaces for learning, contemplation, and encounter; and supports native plantings in the region’s urban areas. Marianists everywhere are invited to join them and commit to restoring 30 percent of their land by 2030. For information, click here.
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Thank you for this wonderful sharing. Keep growing in the love of nature and God. Peace!