Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Conservation Center

The Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Conservation Center is a Catholic nonprofit organization, founded in 2000 by Bill Jacobs.
== Mission ==
The Saint Kateri Conservation Center says that its mission is "to promote Catholic faith, integral ecology, and life."Mission and Values, St Kateri Tekakwitha Conservation Center. Retrieved 23 June 2019.. 
The Center has several programs in order to meet its mission:
* a large online library of Catholic quotes on ecology and environmentalism, accessible with a free subscriptionCatholic Ecology Library, St Kateri Tekakwitha Conservation Center. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
* a land trust program to protect land owned by the Church and Church membersCatholic Land Trust, St Kateri Tekakwitha Conservation Center. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
* a Habitat Program to encourage everyday people of faith to create habitat in their own backyardsSt Kateri Habitat, St Kateri Tekakwitha Conservation Center. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
* an education and outreach program to spread the word of their missionEducation and Outreach, St Kateri Tekakwitha Conservation Center. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
==Work of Interest to Maryland Green Gardeners ==
The Saint Kateri Habitat Program - named for Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk Native American woman and patron saint of all those who work in ecology and environmental stewardship - is a program open to anyone of any faith, although each certified garden must include at least one Catholic religious expression, such as "crosses, wayside shrines, grottos, stations of the cross, Saint Kateri Habitat signs, or statues of Mary, an angel, or a saint, such as Saint Francis of Assisi". The program, much like the NWF habitat certification program, allows anyone to create wildlife habitat, such as a native pollinator garden, and register it as Saint Kateri Habitat. Signs are for sale in the shop, and habitats are all featured on the Center's ESRI story map tour.
Maryland Green Gardeners with an interest in the program can create and register a garden with native plants as Saint Kateri Habitat and connect their faith with their interest in green gardening. The Center hopes to encourage people of faith to learn about the benefits of wildlife habitat in their own backyards, create habitats to promote biodiversity, and create a community of Catholics who care for creation in their own backyards. 
Full details on the program and on how to register can be found at through the Conservation Center's webpage.
Category:Advocacy and Education Organizations