ABOUT THE CONSERVANCY
A healing garden, woodland and wetland paths, a healing chapel in the woods, and a glacier lake.
Welcome to the Conservancy
Located in Franklin, WI, the Conservancy for Healing and Heritage is a 36-acre parcel of land in southeastern Wisconsin that features a rare combination of ecosystems. This unique piece of land is Milwaukee County’s only kettle and glacier lake. And for the first time ever, it will be open free to the public.
We are protecting this natural habitat while creating shared spaces for comfort, inspiration, healing and education. The Nature Trails, Healing Garden, Healing Chapel in the Woods, and Kopmeier Lake are surrounded by forestland with a history leading back to the settlement of greater Milwaukee in the 19th century. The lake is flanked by a steep glacial moraine covered in mesic hardwoods. The forest floor is alive with wildflowers in the spring and mushrooms in the fall.
Stay awhile - relax, rejuvenate, restore.
Ice-Age History
The land was born of the Ice Age. Carved by glaciers that created a steep gravel ridge which then retreated, leaving behind an enormous block of ice buried in the outwash. That mammoth cube melted to become a 35 ft deep spring fed lake.
1889 - Kopmeier Family purchases the land
1955 - They donate land to Archdiocese of Milwaukee
1987 - Archdiocese sells to the Polish Heritage Alliance for the future site of the Polish Cultural Center
2003 - Conservancy becomes an independent 501(c)3
2005 - Conservancy purchases 36 acres including Kopmeier Lake and the surrounding woodland and wetland
2016 - Reiman Healing Chapel in the Woods is opened to the public
2017 - initial clearing of the Healing Garden and upper Trail
The lake and the land around it is protected from future development forever.
Be a sponsor!
Funds raised is $2.5 million with a remaining $2.4 million needed to complete the Healing Garden and Nature Trails.
A memorial or honorarium is a way to recognize a family member or friend.
No gift is too small. To find out ways you can help click the button below.
Please Help Our Cause
Your support will enable us to meet our goals of completing the Healing Garden and Nature Trails. Plus, our mission to conserve this precious land for the entire community.
