To better serve the children and adults who visit the sanctuary, and to provide a more sophisticated outreach program of environmental education, we are considering what would be an effective shelter or facility or building to build over the next year. In eras when the church leaders had precedence over the secular authorities, any person who could outrun the local police and arrive first at the sanctuary of the neighborhood church was protected by the church authorities from persecution. One place to find such islands is the sanctuary. In spite of the educational programs that take place at the sanctuary, and in spite of the wildlife management activities, one the most important aspects of the sanctuary is passive. The sanctuary acts as a haven of natural beauty and order in a world that seems to be in the process of becoming increasingly disordered.
Sanctuaries preserve scenery that ranges from the interesting to the spectacular.
They have provided roaming space for nature-interested humans. And they have served most importantly as an educational tool. Their educational function alone justifies the investments made in sanctuaries. The Junior Naturalists are beginning the new year by exploring the Michaud Farm and recycling some of the wood that was cut last spring. On a Saturday in October the Juniors gathered at the farm to wander through the milkweed meadows looking for late insects and spiders still clinging to plant fibers and spinning webs.