Shirley Heinze Land Trust Executive Director Kris Krouse, left, and Franciscan Health Michigan City President and CEO Dean Mazzoni cut the ribbon on the St. Francis Nature Preserve on May 5. (Photo provided)
In Michigan City, news release from Franciscan Health says a boardwalk now winds through an area of old-growth forest and wetlands, “providing a healing habitat for strolls” near their Michigan City hospital. A blessing and dedication of the St. Francis Nature Preserve, a joint project of Franciscan Health Michigan City and the Shirley Heinze Land Trust, was held this month.
Father Joseph Uko sprinkles holy water along the boardwalk as he blesses the St. Francis Nature Preserve on May 5. (Photo provided)
Planning for the trail began in 2016 when design and construction of the hospital on the north side of Interstate 94 was underway. Shirley Heinze Land Trust executive director Kris Krouse recalls an early discussion with late conservationist and former Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore supt Dale Engquist who said ‘wouldn’t it be great to have a St. Francis nature preserve next to the hospital?’ St. Francis of Assisi was known for his reverence for nature. “We’re grateful that we could partner with the Shirley Heinze Land Trust and make this dream become a reality and offer this to the public so that others can enjoy the wetlands, the wildlife and even have a little bit of a respite sometimes from what might be going on inside the four walls of this hospital,” said Franciscan Health Michigan City President and CEO Dean Mazzoni.
Jessica O’Brien of the Michigan City Rotary Club sits on the bench that was donated by the club, dedicated to those healing from perinatal loss. (Photo provided)
Troy and Amber Glass sit on the bench donated in memory of Amber’s mother, Tricia Dolph, a longtime nurse at Franciscan Health Michigan City. (Photo provided)
The entire trail is a raised boardwalk, which passes through the wooded wetlands it sits upon. The trail is a self-guided tour with informational signage funded by the Franciscan Health Michigan City Medical Staff and benches along the trail provided by donors through the Franciscan Health Foundation.
The Rite of Blessing was conducted by Father Joseph Uko with a reading by Franciscan Health Michigan City Vice President of Mission Integration Sister Petra Nielsen.
Krouse praised the partnership with Franciscan Health and the contributions of Tonn and Blank Construction and Soil Solutions, Inc., which was involved in identifying the wetlands and working on protection of the property.
The blessing was attended by members of the Michigan City Rotary Club, which contributed a bench dedicated to those healing from perinatal loss. Jessica O’Brien, who lost her infant daughter Allison, spearheaded the effort when she was club president.
“When I came across maternal health as one of the initiatives for Rotary, I knew that I wanted to partner with Franciscan on it, so I met with Sister Petra and asked her what we could do. She said they were in the process of making this walking trail and they were looking for people to donate benches. I thought that was a great way that Rotary could contribute to other people suffering in the same way,” O’Brien said. The club held projects to raise money and used a grant through the Rotary Foundation and member donations to fund the bench.
Also attending were Amber and Troy Glass. Amber’s mother, Tricia Dolph, was a longtime nurse at Franciscan Health Michigan City who passed away from cancer in February 2020. Tricia’s colleagues donated money to fund a bench in her memory. Hospital volunteer Darlene Manuzzi and physician Matt Provenzano and his wife, Shana, also donated benches.
The St. Francis Nature Preserve can be accessed from the parking lot outside the hospital Emergency Department, and the public is welcome to enjoy the trail. The old-growth forest contains a wetland habitat with an abundance of native plants, including oak trees. A third of the preserve was historically farmed, ditched and logged, but since those operations were abandoned, the forest has slowly repopulated with remnant species of native plants and fungi.
