Greater Latrobe students participate St. Xavier conservation project

Greater Latrobe students exercised their green thumbs on the site of the former Saint Xavier Academy in Unity during a Capstone program project.

Patrick Roberts teaches the Latrobe Capstone students and is on the board of directors for the Westmoreland Land Trust.

The Trust recently purchased the St. Xavier property with the intent to protect the land with conservation work. Since then, 2,300 trees have been planted there. During their recent project, students in the Capstone program were charged with placing protective bird nets over sapling tubes.

“Often smaller birds, such as bluebirds, will attempt to nest in the tree tubes,” Roberts said. “They often become trapped and die as a result, and they can smother the small sapling in the tube.”

Because of windy conditions, students had to reinforce the netting by adding a heavy duty rubber band to the top of each tube.

The capstone program was introduced by district officials in 1994 and serves as a vehicle for hands-on environmental education.

About St. Xavier Academy

A blue state historical marker at Route 30 and St. Xavier’s Road — across from the Wimmerton housing development — informs passersby that the academy was the oldest institution of the Sisters of Mercy, a religious group of women who came to America from Ireland in 1843 aiming to serve the sick and needy.

St. Xavier got its start as Mt. St. Vincent’s Young Ladies Academy on the nearby site of today’s Saint Vincent College. It opened in 1845 in a two-story, 12-room brick house made available by the Rev. Michael Gallagher and graduated its first class of 16 students in August 1846.

The academy grounds began with 108 acres of farmland donated by early Catholic settler Henry Kuhn. It grew over the years with additional property obtained from the Boyd, Geiger-McCaffrey and Miller-Steele farms.

The first version of the main academy building, a three-story brick structure, welcomed students in 1847 but was gutted by flames in 1868. A new school stood in its place two years later and gained additions in subsequent decades. In 1928, it was joined by a hall for boarding boys in grades 1-8.

Bellbrook is the sole remaining building on the property since the academy and convent were demolished after a March 16, 1972, fire damaged them.

The Westmoreland Land Trust purchased about 250 acres of the property from the Sisters of Mercy, assisted by a $1.1 million grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.