After hearing Sister Patricia Powell speak at the Running Stream community meeting on Friday night we were determined to call in at the Sisters of Mercy - Rahamim Ecological Centre at Bathurst to find out more about what they do.
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| Sister Patricia Powell with Julie |
Sister Patricia is an unassuming woman with a well developed sense of humour. We liked her immediately and she has had an impact on both of us.
The centre is focussed on developing ecologically sustainable land use practices and running workshops and other activities. They certainly practice what they preach.
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| Arriving at Rahamim |
The centre is quite impressive, from the building - a donation from a benefactor many years ago - to the community gardens and various tree plantings and sustainable land use practices.
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| Rahamim Centre - housed in a grand old family home donated to the Sisters of Mercy |
The Sisters are pursuing the notion of eco-spirituality as espoused by
Thomas Berry.
They have about 5 hectares of land on which they are implementing a range of strategies including tree planting, water harvesting, treatment and reuse, community gardens, solar energy.
John Fry, a very experienced and knowledgeable man, works with the Sisters to implement their vision.
He took us on a tour of the property and explained what they are doing. The Sisters are very lucky (they might say blessed) to have him working with them.
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| One of a number of layered "dams" to catch run off water |
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| Mesh neded to be added to allow for student groups to visit |
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| Rows of tree plantings and swales |
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| "Speed hump" used to rediret run off water |
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| Artificial wetland |
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| Artificial wetland - another view |
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| John Fry in the community garden |
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| The chook yard |
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| The original water storage tanks were rediscovered and are used to gather water from the roof. Original "convict bricks" have been used. |
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| The tree plantings that used biodynamics are twice the height of traditional plantings |
It was well worth the visit, both to catch up with Sister Patricia and also to see what is happening at Rahamim. We encourage anyone in the mid-west to find out about the cntre and its work.
Cheers, and blessings ;)
Michael & Julie
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