MIDDLETON, Wis. -- The Benedictine Women of Madison's Holy Wisdom Monastery received an LEED platinum certification Thursday.

The monastery's status is one of the highest ratings in "green" building. It was awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council, which provides standards from environmentally sustainable construction.

Holy Wisdom is a 30,000-square foot facility with geothermal heating and cooling.

Much of the building's materials were produced around the region.

"The care of the earth is important to Benedictines. We come to a community and put down roots. We know the land. We know the trees. We know the ducks,” said Sister Mary David Walgenbach.

The platinum LEED -- Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design -- certification was just one of the construction goals for the new monastery and just part of the church's mission, which Walgenbach summarized as, "To care for the earth, and we do that by having prairie around instead of farmland. It's why we wanted to build a green building, to care for the earth and to show that there can be some ways to save energy."

The project was completed last summer and cost nearly $8 million.