Every day is Earth Day for us as we practice good stewardship of God’s earth.

From day one of Sacred Stones, Sacred Stories we have kept the word ‘earth’ in our minds. Deconstruction of the Marian Wing provides us with many opportunities to recycle, which is vitally important to us. We are recycling many of the materials from the process, including wood, hardware, windows and bricks. Plus, we’ll add a geothermal heating/cooling system to greatly reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

This is just one more piece of our environmentally friendly portfolio. Over the years, our green projects have included the addition of a wind turbine on our property. While we don’t directly receive energy from this project, we are content in promoting the uses of alternative energy.

We also use re-sealable plastic bags and recycled materials to package our altar breads, drive hybrid vehicles, compost and garden, replaced our light fixtures to use T-8 ballasts and compact fluorescent bulbs and installed energy-efficient windows. Stormwater run-off from roofs, roadways and parking areas is diverted and stored in special ponds.

Our Tucson community has also stepped up. Recent efforts include the addition of solar panels and rainwater collection tanks along with the recycling of gray water from laundry to water our orchard.

We each must play a part to ensure God’s earth is viable, productive and beautiful for the generations that follow. It is our blessing to do so.

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