SYLVANIA, Ohio — The Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania dedicated their campus solar canopy Saturday, November 7, opening the inaugural Sylvania Franciscan Sustainability Summit at the Franciscan Center, according to the Rossford Record Journal.
The free summit ran from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Franciscan Center, 6832 Convent Boulevard, drawing more than 50 sustainable vendors, local artists and creators, educational speakers, hands-on workshops and family activities, according to the Rossford Record Journal. BGSU Campus Sustainability confirmed the same date, hours and address for the event.
The day opened at 10 a.m. with the Solar Canopy Dedication at the Solar Carport in Parking Lot C, according to the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania’s official summit schedule. Toledo City Paper likewise listed a solar project dedication among the summit’s features.
Volunteers with the Toledo Repair Café worked in the Franciscan Center Gym from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., fixing residents’ belongings for free, while a recycling drop-off, a seed cleaning workshop and Toledo Bikes! ran in the gym through the afternoon, according to the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania’s official summit schedule. Toledo City Paper independently listed the Repair Café, specialty recycling and drop-off services, speakers, workshops and family-friendly activities.
The program included a keynote by Tish O’Dell at 11 a.m. in the Franciscan Center Theater, titled “What We Do to Nature We Do to Ourselves,” according to the Sisters’ official schedule, and panels and talks through the day on Lake Erie, climate resiliency, sustainable housing and the emerging world of artificial intelligence, according to BGSU Campus Sustainability and the Sisters’ schedule. A Kids’ Zone offered activities from the Toledo Mindfulness Foundation, the 577 Foundation and the Grass Roots Recycling Network, plus story time with the Sisters, according to the Sisters’ schedule.
The canopy itself is the visible center of a longer commitment. The Sisters have made Sylvania their home since 1916, according to Toledo Free Press, and their solar work is part of a seven-year commitment to implement Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home, according to S.A.V.E. Notes, Spring 2026. That source said the 475-kilowatt array, featuring panels donated by First Solar, was fully operational December 31, 2025, and described it as the largest solar energy project in Sylvania.
No 2027 summit date was announced in the sources consulted. What happens next is the continuing work itself: the Sisters are in the fourth year of their seven-year Laudato Si’ action plan, now focused on ecological economics, according to the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, and residents who missed the one-day summit can follow future events at sistersosf.org.
Photo: Laurenpippin, CC BY-SA