FRANKLIN — Off a busy road in Franklin, behind a cancer treatment hospital, there's a nature sanctuary providing patients and families a bit of respite from some of the most difficult times. It's called the Conservancy for Healing and Heritage.
The Conservancy is unlike other parks. It's not city or county-owned. It was built with private money, but it's open to the public. More importantly, it was deliberately designed to maximize the healing power of nature.
“The curve of the walks. The kind of stones that were chosen, where benches are placed, where the gazebos are. Every bit of the design is very specific," Susan Rabe, the CEO of the Conservancy for Healing and Heritage said."
The Conservancy is located behind Reiman Cancer Center - Ascension Wisconsin Health Center. The space's purpose is to give families and patients a place to unwind and find peace.
To facilitate that tranquility, the park was designed with certain attributes. There is a chapel with large windows facing the park, a large pond for fishing and meditation, dirt trails, a paved path, a healing garden, sculptures, a waterfall, gazebos, and more.
It's all relatively new. While the idea for the park came in the 1990s, the Healing Chapel was built in 2016, and the trails were finished in 2023.
“All the elements of the garden are meant to help the human body and the physiology of the body get into a relaxed state so that healing can take place.”
In addition to the trails, the Conservancy offers nature education, weddings, baptisms, wellness retreats, and more.
"It takes people out of this urban setting (and) into a very private sanctuary," Rabe said.
The park was built for people like Adrienne Zuber. She started coming here in 2021 after she began her battle with lung cancer.
See more of what the Conservancy for Healing and Heritage looks like...
"I enjoy just sitting here. A lot of times I will sit here a couple of hours if I come you know 2-3 times a week," she said.
Part of her lung was removed. Then she had a few health complications that nearly killed her. But she would always find her way back to the Conservancy. It's where she found the power to keep going through the toughest times.
While many parks have the same attributes, to Zuber this place feels special.
"It's different from going to a park and sitting. You're surrounded here with all of the trees, the beautiful bushes, the flowers, you know, that are coming out," she said.
About 100 people a day visit the park. There are patients, doctors, family members, the general public, and cancer survivors like Zuber and Jackson Poulos.
“A few months ago me and my friend, we came down here every single day for about 5-6 hours just to come here and fish," Poulos said.
The 12-year-old beat abdomen cancer as a child. Once he discovered this space, he just kept coming back.
"I just like to be out alone and just doing my thing," he said.
Like any park, the Conservancy requires almost daily maintenance. Since it's privately funded, Rabe said they are always looking for more donations to continue the park's upkeep and programming. Plus, they are hoping to break ground on the construction of a new welcome center in 2025. You can make donations here.
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