St. Mary Organic Farm, established in 1998, has 24 community-garden plots and a flower patch that is a certified monarch butterfly waystation. From 1920 to 1976, the IHM sisters operated St. Mary Farm with a wide range of crops, poultry, and dairy and beef cattle.
The Blade/Julia Nagy
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As ecology director, Sharon McNeil runs the garden and its programs for parolees and people who have disabilities.
The Blade/Julia Nagy
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Sister Ann Currier reads a poem in front of the photos she's taken of her flowers at the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The Blade/Julia Nagy
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Old windows recycled into art at the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The Blade/Julia Nagy
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A hallway at the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Monroe, Mich.
The Blade/Julia Nagy
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Alexis Keister, 10, and her brother Caleb of Monroe play "Go Fish" in the gazebo at the garden at the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The Blade/Julia Nagy
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The Immaculate Heart of Mary sisters chose to keep their 1932 motherhouse but to shrink its carbon footprint.
The Blade/Julia Nagy
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Danielle Conroyd, director in the sustainable campus planning office, walks by a window at the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The motherhouse has 1,500 windows.
The Blade/Julia Nagy
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Danielle Conroyd, director in the sustainable campus planning office, talks about the courtyards located at the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Monroe, Mich.
The Blade/Julia Nagy
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The Immaculate Heart of Mary has areas of uncut grass in order to cut down on the use of fuel to cut it.
The Blade/Julia Nagy
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The scenic ‘gray water’ pond, left, is part of a constructed wetland that filters used water from sinks and showers and returns it for use in toilets.
The Blade/Julia Nagy
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A windmill at the grey water wetland. The wetland helps filer water from the sinks and showers to be reused.
The Blade/Julia Nagy
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Danielle Conroyd, director in the sustainable campus planning office, shows an interactive showing how much solar energy is being collected at the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The Blade/Julia Nagy
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The larger of two pole barns, brightened with nature paintings, at the edge of the two-acre garden.
The Blade/Julia Nagy
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The larger of two pole barns, brightened with nature paintings, at the edge of the two-acre garden.
The Blade/Julia Nagy
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Artwork at the garden at the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The Blade/Julia Nagy
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Jalapenos grow at the garden.
The Blade/Julia Nagy
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