Protecting Environment Starts at Home for the Sisters of St. Joseph
A rare pine barrens forest on the campus of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Brentwood is now permanently protected, following a major conservation agreement between the Sisters and New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation.
DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton this month announced a conservation easement covering more than 43 acres on the Sisters’ 200-acre Motherhouse campus. The land will be jointly managed to safeguard groundwater, protect habitat, and expand access to open space in a historically underserved community.
Sister Tesa Fitzgerald, C.S.J., president of the Sisters of St. Joseph, described the easement as “a profound expression of our congregation’s mission.”
“This land is not only a sanctuary for wildlife, but a sacred trust we honor for the common good.”
The Sisters of St. Joseph are well known for their focus on environmental stewardship and care for God’s creation. The sisters’ website says 28 acres on their Brentwood campus is leased to local farmers, enabling the fields there to serve their original purpose. In one case, Island Harvest Food Bank volunteers, working under a certified organic gardener, grow 4,000 pounds of produce for local food pantries, soup kitchens, and feeding programs.
The sisters also support sustainable partnerships and practices, including wastewater management and an extensive solar panel system, operating since 2018, supplying energy for their needs.
Catholic Charities of Long Island and the Sisters of St. Joseph have worked together and cooperated on initiatives such as CCLI’s Parish Social Ministry Poverty Simulation held this past April at the Brentwood campus, to the Sisters’ longtime past service as administrators and staff at Cleary School for the Deaf, a ministry of CCLI. Sister of St. Joseph Lynn Caton is a clinical supervisor at Talbot House, CCLI’s
residential stabilization center in Bohemia. She is a Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor at the Master's Level.
The 43 acres of newly preserved land feature a globally rare pine-oak-heath forest, with its mix of scrub oak, blueberry, ferns, sedge, and wintergreen, growing on glacial outwash and moraine soils. The New York Natural Heritage Foundation has identified this ecosystem as especially rare given its urban setting.
In late 2024, a $3.44 million conservation agreement was reached. The site contains foot trails for walking, birdwatching, and nature study, and soon will include visitor parking.
This month’s announcement is the latest environmental project between the Sisters and the DEC. In 2018, DEC awarded a $40,000 urban forestry grant, and in 2022, the property received $31,000 for reforestation and invasive species control.