St. Cyril of Alexandria Parish and School Emphasize Care for Creation

By Carissa Krautscheid 
 
St. Cyril of Alexandria Parish and School is located in the center of Tucson, surrounded by urban neighborhoods and busy streets, miles from the nearest green space or nature preserve. This is hardly unusual throughout the diocese and given the urbanization of Tucson, Yuma, Nogales, Sierra Vista, Casa Grande, and places in between.  
 
God created the beautiful Sonoran Desert of our Southern Arizona home, but how are we tending the garden that God planted for us?  
 
This question arises daily at St. Cyril of Alexandria Parish and School. With the encouragement of pastor Fr. Paul Henson, O.Carm., and principal Danielle Coleman, the St. Cyril community is making great strides to transform its facilities with sustainability and to educate its students about the need for environmental literacy. 
 
Pope Francis asked, “What place ecology has in evangelization?” That question led to the writing of Laudato Si’, the first papal encyclical to focus on the environment. This week, we are celebrating Laudato Si’ Week and the eighth anniversary of this unifying, challenging, and clarifying letter written to every single one of us.  
 
On the question of faith and science, St. Cyril’s science teacher, Constantinos Manoli, PhD, said, “For me, it’s easy. There is scientific evidence to support the existence of God. I always ask the students, do you think this happens by magic or by accident? It’s really easy to show that science is part of the creation, wisdom, and love of God for humans. We are not here to overtake and destroy, but rather we can cultivate his creation and have a positive impact.” 
 
Over the past three years, Dr. Manoli has encouraged the school to go green – and not just because green is their school color. He has implemented student-led projects, won grants, and collaborated with local experts in areas such as hydrology, air pollution, climate change, conservation, sustainability, water management, and sustainable grazing practices. 
 

Students Plant a Rainwater Garden 

Watershed Management Group and Arizona Project Wet offer a grant of up to $7,000 that goes to schools for the promotion of water harvesting. As a recipient, St. Cyril worked with these organizations to design and create “a passive rainwater harvesting garden that will transform the northern side of the school from a sterile environment to a lush garden for students with trees, benches, and shrubs,” explained Dr. Manoli. The rainwater system is now in place, the ground basins are completed, and plants are beginning to take root.  
 
Additionally, Fr. Paul is leading an effort to get the entire parish on passive water harvesting that simply collects the rainwater that falls on roofs then redistributes it to reinvigorated landscaping around the parish. The benefits are many: eliminate flooding around the campus, lower property damage, pay less for water, and beautify the property.  
 
The effort was also inspired by Dr. Thomas Meixner, who was tragically shot and killed in October 2022 on the University of Arizona campus where he led the Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences Department. Dr. Meixner was an active parishioner at St. Cyril, his children attended the school, and his wife taught at St. Cyril. He was known to be an expert in water conservation and desert water issues.  
 
The new garden will be appropriately named “The Meixner Garden.” 
 

Do French Fries Grow on Trees? 

In conjunction with the rainwater garden, St. Cyril’s students have planted a vegetable garden to promote the growth and consumption of organic vegetables at school. This garden cultivates fresh produce for cooking in the environmental science elective course. Students learn about sustainable food production, organic food, and how it compares to other agricultural practices. 
 
“The vegetable garden does not just impact junior high students, but also the little ones,” said Dr. Manoli. Younger students thought French fries grow on trees because of the similarity of a particular type of leaf shape to French fries. Dr. Manoli brought them to the garden and pulled a plant straight out of the soil. “It was a big ‘wow’ moment in their lives. You take away the myth and actually demonstrate the real source of our food.” 
 
The students say it had a “big impact on them and now they want to grow gardens at home.” 
 

Scientific Research Presented at the University of Arizona 

In the past three years, St. Cyril eighth graders have participated in the University of Arizona’s El Día del Agua y la Atmósfera Conference at the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences for graduate students. St. Cyril was the only non-graduate level school at the conference.  
 
After months of scientific research, collecting and analyzing data, and creating a professional poster presentation the students actively participated in the conference by presenting their work. In the past, they have presented research on climate change and the effectiveness of medical face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 
 
This spring, St. Cyril students focused on the impact of climate change on monsoon patterns. They analyzed 100 years of data related to rain frequency, monsoon duration, and greenhouse gases. Students concluded that changes from global warming are having a negative impact on monsoons, resulting in storms that are more intense, shorter rainy seasons, and a reduced amount of rainfall.  
 
The department head from UA Hydrology watched the presentation and congratulated students on their research because St. Cyril’s findings are in alignment with Hydrology Department research. “They were shocked when they found out the students were eighth graders and not seniors in high school,” said Dr. Manoli. “The department head invited us to come next year to present more research.” 
 
St. Cyril also won a grant from NASA that will provide a UA graduate student directly to the school for the academic year. “It is a huge benefit to our class to have a meteorology expert present at our school,” said Dr. Manoli. The graduate student is excited to develop a community outreach project and work with kids. 
 
According to Manoli, The Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences at the UA is working on strengthening the collaboration with St. Cyril school in the future including installing an air pollution station at the school to collect data as part of a national program, while educating students about the human impact on air quality. “They will install an air pollution station in the Meixner Garden and St. Cyril is going to become a PurpleAir Sensor school, part of a bigger network taking measurements on air pollution” around the region. 
 

Integrating Sustainable Grazing Practices 

St. Cyril students also had the opportunity to collaborate directly with a local cattle rancher in Sonoita, whose daughter recently graduated from St. Cyril. The ranch is well known for its environmental efforts to promote sustainable grazing while protecting endangered species on its property. 
 
With a $2,000 grant from the Arizona Game and Fish Department, students learned about ranching and how it can be done in an environmentally friendly way that protects the natural habitat rather than threatening it. Students studied how much cattle can graze without becoming a competition to wildlife. They visited the ranch to collect data and develop a grazing management plan; students then provide recommendations to the rancher detailing the appropriate number of cows grazing to a particular pasture. The rancher implemented the suggestion and students returned four months later to discover that their plan was successful! 
 
“It was really enlightening to understand where our food is coming from,” said Dr. Manoli. “Creation is interconnected. By integrating sustainable grazing practices, we are actually promoting conservation rather than competing with wildlife.” 

 
Dr. Manoli has the academic background to apply a very hands-on, practical, and eye-opening experience that puts science into perspective and transforms young students into scientists. With an academic background in environmental science, he feels very comfortable diving into grants and research. Dr. Manoli is always finding opportunities to incorporate faith into his science classes.