4 Wisconsin Nuns Turn 40 Acres Into 170-Acre Wildlife Haven

Outside Madison, Wisconsin, four elderly nuns have pulled off an environmental miracle that would make any conservation team jealous.

Since the 1950s, the Benedictine sisters at Holy Wisdom Monastery have transformed 40 acres of cleared farmland into a 170-acre oasis bursting with wildflowers, songbirds, and native wildlife. What started as bare land from the early 1900s now serves as a refuge for countless species and exhausted humans alike.

Sister Lynne Smith, 71, calls their creation a "refugia," a place where peace survives even during crisis. "We need refugia now for the human spirit where we can come and remember what it is to be human," she told The New York Times.

The sisters didn't just plant a few trees and call it done. In 1996, they launched an ambitious project to restore a 10,000-year-old glacial lake, hauling away 85,000 cubic yards of built-up silt and replanting the shores with native species.

In 2009, they replaced their drafty old monastery with an eco-friendly building so efficient it earned the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design sustainability certification. A decade later, they added 463 solar panels to power their growing sanctuary.

The Ripple Effect

Today, only four sisters remain: Smith, Sister Mary David Walgenbach (86), Sister Everline Jeruto (53), and Sister Joanne Kollasch (95). But their work has inspired an entire region to think differently about land restoration.

"They're small, but they're mighty," said Leah Kleiman, a county land restoration specialist who has watched their work flourish over the years. The monastery now serves as both a conservation model and a peaceful retreat where visitors can reconnect with nature and themselves.

The sisters believe their land nurtures something essential in people who visit. "We want this to be a place where we live humanly and we nurture those human values," Sister Smith explained.

Seventy years of patient work proves that environmental transformation doesn't require massive organizations or unlimited budgets, just dedication and a long view of what's possible.