Pastoral note, from Mike

When we lived in Clemson one of our favorite things to do was to visit the Biltmore Estate near Asheville. Over the years we took family and friends to tour the Biltmore mansion, but we also became enamored with the grounds. The landscape was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the famous 19th-century landscape architect who designed magnificent parks like Central Park in New York City, Prospect Park in Brooklyn and the U.S. Capitol grounds in Washington, DC. He also created landscape design for campuses like the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Maine, the University of Chicago and Stanford University, just to name a few. He was an amazing visionary.

One of the things that intrigues me about his work is his innovation as an urban planner, designing public spaces that were appealing for those living in those current times, while also imagining the future and how landscapes and use would change as the plants and trees grew and matured. People with that kind of vision astound me.

Now, I mention that because included in the masterful work of Edie Dutton and our Renovation Committee is a component in which the Oikonomos Ministry Team has been involved. Several years ago Oikonomos made a proposal that Woodland develop a master landscape plan. The proposal was put on hold as the Renovation Committee did their work. Now, as the Committee’s work is unfolding, a landscape design is being created. Working with Rachel Raise, an Austin-based landscape architect and daughter of Alison and Chuck Raymer, initial plans are to create a “footprint” design for our campus that will allow our campus to environmentally mature in the days ahead. Inherent in this will be a design created using indigenous planting. (See below) This will allow us to enjoy beauty and also be good stewards of the water and soils of our campus. Hopefully this “footprint” design will be available as construction begins on our buildings.

It is an exciting time to be at Woodland – to see things take shape in the here and now but also get a glimpse of things to come. Thank you, Renovation Committee, for helping us to look ahead.

Enthusiastically,
Mike Massar
P.S. One of the matters environmentalists here at Woodland and worldwide must address is the changing dimension of our climate. A couple of weeks ago I had a déjà vu experience, because San Antonio’s landscape reminded me of my childhood in West Texas fifty years ago, complete with a red-sky dust storm (Granted it wasn’t quite as severe as those I experienced growing up, but enough to trigger a dusty remembrance!).  All of which is to say that extended droughts and increased temperatures are going to affect the landscape to which we’ve been accustomed. I hope you will join me as we pay attention and pray for the future!