By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent

DAYTON, Ohio — Sunlight dapples through tall trees. The serene grounds are dotted with religious statues; light streams into buildings through stained glass windows. Mt. St. John, home of the Bergamo Retreat Center, is 150 acres under the stewardship of the Marianist Brothers. It was once a working farm.

For as long as anyone knows the land had been used for sacred purposes; the brothers have been there for 100 years. In the 1800s it was home to a Shaker community. Before that, it was the First Nations hunting grounds. Mt. St. John is home to eight different ministries – one of them is the Marianist Environmental Education Center (MEEC). The center started in 1985 when Interstate 675 cut through the property, said Marianist Sister Leanne Jablonski. Part of the sand and gravel of Mt. St. John’s was sold to build the highway. That left a 14-acre “borrow” pit that was 40-feet deep.

As a means to restore the beauty of the property as a retreat center, Brother Don Geiger, an eminent University of Dayton plant biologist who had just moved to Mt. St. John, did some research. Geiger learned from Israel Ludlow’s survey maps that there had been prairie lands nearby, so it was decided to plant prairie grasses. That was quite successful, Jablonski said.

Now nearly 25 years later the “gravel pit” has about 80-85 percent vegetation cover, she said.

“With the establishment of prairie grasses and flower plants, we could see the butterflies returning and then came the larger animals,” said Michele Banker, land resource coordinator for MEEC.
After the success of establishing the prairie MEEC began restoring the woodlands, wetlands and old fields on the property. With the help of volunteers, Banker moved forward about an acre a year in the restoration process. They are down to the last 40 acres.
“We work with volunteers – over 550 people give 6,000 hours of service every year,” Jablonski said. “That really is the hands-on learning.”

Volunteers come in the late summer and fall to collect native plant seeds. Every June the group holds its Native Plant Sale, open to the public.

“We try to educate people about the free services ecosystems provide for us in terms of water purification, air purification, pollination, aesthetic beauty, flood control, preventing soil erosion,” Jablonski said.

“We are enhancing the service by planting these native plants, multiplying and sharing them; we are doing a mutual service back for these ecosystems. We are hoping people will come, get educated about these native plants and will buy them for their property.”

Also, over the last two decades faith and religious communities have become concerned about the environment as a moral issue, Jablonski said.

“All of the world’s religious traditions have statements on that,” she said. “We do a lot of education and working with congregational environmental liaisons, groups that want to get environmental groups going in their churches, synagogues or temples.”

The center also has community gardens, nature trails, a labyrinth and a meditative walk. Visitors are welcome, but it is requested that they phone ahead. For information visit www.bergamocenter.org and click on the “MEEC” link or phone 937-429-3582.