The image of the nun, like the monk, is one of solitude, humility, and absolute devotion to the path of their god. Somewhat reclusive, the everyday life of the nun is perceived to be timeless, a retreat from the benefits and weaknesses of modern life, untouched by the daily troubles of a 21st century existence.
A group of Benedictine nuns, from the Convents of Our Lady Consolation, however, have made a switch that fully reflects both the problems and feelings of a number of people in the last decade; they have moved from their old monastery, a building high in carbon emissions levels, to a new green monastery, fitted with a wealth of technology that will make use of solar energy.
Costing close to £5m, the new building shows that the ‘green revolution’ and the environmental movement is taking hold even in institutions that are often deemed to be archaic of old fashioned; the Catholic church, often the butt of criticism for its traditionalist views, has made a firm step to include environmentalism in its agenda, though the new green monastery is only one case in point.
The new building, which means a move from Worcestershire to Yorkshire, will use a wood chip boiler fuelled by local trees, solar photovoltaic panels, and grass covered roof, as insulation. They will also collect rain water for flushing the monastery’s toilets, and the building has, as far as been genuinely viable, been built using local materials.
One nun commented that “We’re here for the monastic life and it is being impinged upon.”
It is heart warming to see that something which could have contributed to the plot of a feel-good film or been the setting for a light-hearted sitcom has in fact been enacted in reality. The vast complex, which will also contain broadband-ready rooms for the nuns, is pulling the idea of the monastic life into the modern world, and bringing environmentalism with it.
Perhaps, indeed, this new so-called ‘eco monastery’ will become a pilgrimage for environmentalists in itself; such a big environmental project, on such a large scale, and within the confines of the Christian church, is sure to draw interest.
