HISTORY

The Land Stewardship Committee for Mary Help of Christians Church began in 1994 shortly after the Archdiocese acquired the present grounds. It is composed of members of the parish that share both the faith and a deep abiding love of the land as well as the creatures and plants upon it. Working from the central theme that all things are one in Christ this group has assisted the pastor during the negotiations for purchase of the land and eventually were instrumental in the layout of the infrastructure and landscape palette and design.

The early members met often and explored the land, the cypress hammock and the meadow that was soon to be the parish grounds. It was during these meetings that the bond between the members grew to the point that they pledged to commit 12 hours every three months in assisting the pastor in the development and stewardship of the land. From this early informal commitment came the nickname THE DIRTY DOZEN-a term that describes the moral and philosophical commitment and not the number of participants. Often, in the early days, these meetings ended in cookouts and informal social gatherings around a rock fire pit. It was during these rest periods that the membership of the Land Stewardship Committee became keenly aware of the richness of the property in terms of its bio-diversity. More thorough scientific studies soon confirmed what the members had suspected. The land was home to and adequately supporting many species of birds in addition to raccoons, fox, opossum, non-toxic snakes, reptiles and a number of tree frogs.

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