The Sundance Chanel notes that this new Wisconsin monastery may be "the greenest building in the US."
The <a href="http://benedictinewomen.org">Benedictine Women of Madison</a>'s new home features "Geothermal heating and cooling; solar panels; windows that open and natural lighting in all occupied spaces; rain gardens; roof gardens; tankless water heaters; and a slew of reused furniture including a renovated organ..." The sisters believe their new building has a "high probability" of receiving 63 of 69 LEED points, which would beat out the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center (also in Wisconsin), the current top dog of the US green building scene.
. . . The sisters have a long history of environmentalism, and note that "Reverence for creation is a deeply-held Benedictine value." Since 1996, the order has been involved in prairie restoration efforts around the Madison area, and other conservation and restoration efforts.
As I've noted in other contexts, monastics and religious congregations were social entrepreneurs before the term became trendy.
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