We take seriously the call to be faithful stewards of what God has entrusted to us. Sustainability takes many forms at the Catholic Ecology Center, but all of them flow from our faith in God.
We have converted several acres of lawn into high diversity pollinator prairie. We are annually planting native trees and continue to remove invasive species. We also have an educational butterfly garden highlighting 52 native species.
Clare Gardens grows organic produce through careful soil stewardship and organic best practices including composting food scraps on-site. Sustainability education is at the core of what we do. Learn More HERE
We have taken care to ensure that the materials we purchase, like furniture, are either reclaimed or made from recycled materials. Our Holy Hen House was built using reclaimed, salvaged, and recycled materials.
Our purchase of the Catholic Ecology Center land ensured this amazing property would not be turned into subdivisions. We routinely monitor wildlife populations and ecosystem health including water quality.
With buildings ranging from 10-50 years old, we are working diligently to upgrade and increase efficiency of lights, appliances, and utilities. We are moving to all LED bulbs and fixtures. We also feature a green roof and grey water recycling system in our new building addition.
The Catholic Ecology Center has a 14kW solar array on the main CEC Neu building, producing about 80% of our electricity needs. Geothermal heating and cooling systems are also installed in our main building. You can view a live feed of our solar output HERE
CEC Executive Director Joe Meyer was named a Notable Leader in Sustainability in 2023 by BizTimes Milwaukee.