MIDDLETON —a 10,000-year-old glacial lake is restored.

Seventy acres of farmland are returned to native upland prairie and oak savanna.

A critically needed detention basin to control runoff is created and now working as a natural filtering system.

These are among the accomplishments of the Prairie and Wetland Restoration Project that the Sisters of Saint Benedict of Madison started five years ago. It’s an ongoing project at the Saint Benedict Center to continue with the environmental stewardship that has long been a part of Benedictine tradition.

Back in the early 500s, Benedict of Nursia, a simple Italian monk who founded the Benedictine order, proclaimed everything that we have is a gift from God, to be cared for and used for the benefit of current and future generations.

Neal Smith, executive director of administration for the Sisters of Saint Benedict had a lead role in the restoration project. It includes nature trails throughout the prairie, “where a colorful landscape allows you to get in touch with nature and experience the gift of creation,” he says.

The project formed partnerships among more than 50 organizations.

“Probably the biggest in-kind gift was contributed by The Bruce Company,” Smith says. “They did more than half of the dredging of Lost Lake.”

That work is valued at $95,000 because the lake —which wasn’t much more than a 2-foot-deep mud hole —was restored to near its original 9-acre surface, with a depth of 15 feet in the center.

About 85,000 cubic yards of silt were removed from the lake. (By comparison, one big dump truck holds about 10 cubic yards.)

“We’re also part of a coalition with the Dane County Natural Heritage Foundation, Madison Audubon Society and Prairie Enthusiasts,” Smith says. “Jointly, we have 10 college interns this summer, working at sites for each of the four organizations.”

The summer internship program recently received a $10,000 grant from the Alliant Energy Foundation, allowing students to get hands-on experience in environmental restoration and natural resource management.

Besides that, the Sisters of Saint Benedict sponsor a Wisconsin Conservation Corps crew, which did a lot of tree removal, building of benches and work on trails and drainage areas at the center. Hundreds of volunteers of all ages also have sown more than $100,000 worth of donated seed on 70 acres of prairie. An additional 10 acres are slated for seeding this fall.

These restoration activities have created new partnerships between the Sisters of Saint Benedict and local environmental organizations, including the Lake Mendota Priority Watershed. Ducks Unlimited is another interested partner.

Other major partners include The Bruce Co., the Dane County Department of Land Conservation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Madison Community Foundation and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

“We want to do our part in helping to keep Lake Mendota clean,” says Mary David Walgenbach, prioress of the Sisters of Saint Benedict of Madison.

Besides that, there’s a desire to share the beauty of the 130 acres that comprise Saint Benedict Center, which sits on a hilltop that forms a significant part of the green belt north of Madison.

The center has a long history of ecumenical work and hospitality. Located along Middleton’s border in the town of Westport at 4200 County M, the center is a meeting space for religious groups and nonprofit organizations.

“We started our ecumenical ministry in 1966, and these relationships have really helped shape us into a welcoming monastery for interfaith groups,” Walgenbach says.

In 1953, the Sisters of Saint Benedict bought this parcel of land in Westport; future plans include further development as an ecumenical community, especially with women in the Madison area.

“We also want to expand our educational component so young people can learn about the environment and how to grow a prairie, because these issues are very important to our planet and its limited resources,” says Sister Joanne Kollasch, director of monastic formation at the local Benedictine monastery.

Across the Country, there’s a growing awareness of our connection with the land, Kollasch says, “and we’d like to do more with getting in touch with the people who were here before we came.”

This certainly includes American Indians, because there are several registered and certified American Indian effigy mounds on the Benedictine property, where there is now increased habitat for endangered plants, wildlife and migratory birds.

“This property had been held as sacred by prehistoric Native Americans,” Smith says. “This place did have a significance to our ancestors going way back, and I think they would be proud of the way we’ve returned the land to its pre-settlement condition.”