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The Aberdeen, South Dakota, K.O. Lee Library staff came out to see our Prairie Restoration Project in the fall of 2023. Their visit inspired a request to the Laudato Si’ team to collaborate on a multifocal project. The library wanted to create events engaging and educating the public in Aberdeen about the history of the Presentation Sisters and their discernment of Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ encyclical.
Our first event, held on June 17 at the KO Lee Library, focused on an evening with adults. Approximately 50 people attended and listened as Sister Pegge Boehm brought the history of the Presentation Sisters and the Land Restoration Project to light for the group. Jamie Risse and Jared Hohn, co-directors for Laudato Si’, then followed with highlights and experiences from working on the land for the past four growing seasons. This created interest from local painters, book study leaders and other local environmental advocates.
The following day, our age demographic changed, and we hosted over 60 children from ages 3 – 10 on the land at Presentation Heights. The children’s event focused around four educational stations including soil health, water infiltration, creating pollinator balls and the reading of a locally authored book, The Soil Quilt, which told the story of a little boy from the east coast who was visiting his grandma in South Dakota and learned all about soil health. The library even purchased enough of these books so each child could take one home!
These two different, yet similar events, provided us with excitement and hope as we continue to educate and share our experiences with one another. Our connection with the library sparked the need and desire for projects like this to happen annually. We are already brainstorming new ideas for the coming year!
