This line from the Book of Genesis resonates deeply within the human heart. Within each of us resides a yearning for Eden, a Paradise. How to bring it back? One way is by developing nature sanctuaries where we can commune directly with the natural world and discover her wonders.
Such a nature sanctuary is what motivated me to develop a miniforest park within the Miriam College campus. Ten years ago, we were well into the environmental issue and the school still had vast tracts of underdeveloped land. These facts plus the urgency of the idea were a perfect combination for the development of such a project.
I approached the school administration with the idea and the assurance of my long-term commitment to such a project. The administration responded positively and assured me that wherever this sanctuary would be developed, no buildings would arise.
After considering various possibilities for the location of such a park, we decided on the large open area at the very center of the school campus. As if to safely encircle this area are the college, high school, child study and, recently, the environmental education buildings. Within this space are the natural adobe rock formations that have been a special attraction of the campus, providing a natural setting for a miniforest park.
Before planting a single tree, I lined up the objectives against which to evaluate the project each year. These are:
• To reverse, symbolically, the deforestation taking place in the world;
• To enhance the ecological balance of the school campus;
• To provide a place where we can teach the importance and value of trees and the need to plant and nurture them; and
• To provide a model of ecological conservation for others to follow.
The planting of the first trees was a joint effort of a cross-section of the school community: Maryknoll Sisters, administrators, faculty, students, parents, alumnae and friends. Today, the miniforest park contains the following tree species: narra, ilang-ilang, mahogany, neem, banaba, bauhenia, golden shower, ficus concinna, ficus benjamina, ficus elastica, eucalyptus, African tulip, dapdap, butter cup, acacia auriculformis, acacia mangium and many others. Each year, more trees and new species are added.
In addition to the trees, the park now has a pra-yer garden, a peace garden and a picnic grove.
A statue of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology, welcomes visitors with wide, outstretched arms. On the pedestal under this statue are the words of the poet Vachel Lindsay:
Would I might wake
St. Francis in you all.
Brothers of birds and trees,
God’s Troubadour.
We have a nature sanctuary, an Eden, at Miriam College. May this miniforest park bring joy, peace and serenity to all who visit it. May it continue to breathe for us all and bring us closer to God the creator.