The Earth Tenders, a group of affiliates with the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration are connecting with FSPA land on St. Joseph Ridge, just outside of La Crosse, in an effort to acknowledge and learn from our ancestors. "The Indigenous people of North America taught the first European settlers how to tap the maple tree and make syrup. We want to acknowledge that history and the importance of connecting to nature, on the ancestral land of the Ho-Chunk Nation that we call the FSPA land on St. Joseph Ridge," says Beth Piggush, FSPA's integral ecology director.
On Feb. 19, the Earth Tenders did just that. They gathered on St. Joseph Ridge to tap the maple trees and will gather again at a future date to process it into maple syrup!