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  • 10 Eco-Mission Projects

    Evangelical Environmental Network MOMS has created a list of family oriented service projects that focus on the environment. These ideas not only offer ways to serve the community, but also take care of God’s earth in simple but effective ways.

  • For Love of Lavender

    For Love of Lavender is an account of how Christine Sine, creator of Godspace and writer for Evangelical Environmental Network MOMS, encountered God through the beauty, fragrance, and abundance of the lavender in her garden. Reflecting on her garden informs her of God's work and calls to mind numerous bible verses, including Proverbs 27:9: The heart is delighted by the fragrance of oil and sweet perfumes, and in just the same way, the soul is sweetened by the wise counsel of a friend. Christine also mentions how to use these lessons to teach children.

  • How do we Communicate Environmental Ethics? Reflections on Environmental Education from a Kuwaiti Perspective

    Dr. Khadija al-Naki, an educational researcher, discusses Islamic thought in relation to environmental education. Comparing Islamic teachings with Western environmental ethics, al-Naki opens a conversation on how to develop an environmental curriculum in Islamic education systems. This article leaves the reader questioning the role of education in the environmental movement.
    Published in the journal International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education.

  • Manifesto for an Ecological Reformation of Christianity

    This Manifesto by the World Council of Churches is a call to examine Christian practices that may be harmful to the Earth, humans, and other species. It urges individuals instead to focus on what various “eco-congregations” or “green churches” are doing. The following manifesto excerpt provides a rationale for the need for ecological reformation:

    "The need for an ecological reformation of all Christian traditions is of course manifested in different ways in various parts of the world. The pain impulses associated with ecological destruction have been registered especially in those areas that lie on the periphery of current constellations of economic power. The call for an ecological reformation of Christianity has come with particular urgency from Christians in such areas (the Pacific, Africa, Asia, Latin-America) as they are more exposed and vulnerable. This call is echoed by churches which belong to (mainly protestant) countries in the global North which have contributed heavily to the exploitation of natural resources, industrial production and a style of consumption that causes environmental degradation."

  • Wanted: Innovative Farmers to Help Slow Algal Bloom on Lake Erie

    The Christian Science Monitor has written an article discussing how agricultural nutrients in the Maumee River, Lake Erie’s biggest source of pollution, are reaching record proportions. Most nutrient pollution is caused by large storms, and with climate change, these storms are becoming increasingly more common. The USDA reports that farmers are making headway toward reducing nutrient pollution on a voluntary basis, but many researchers say that these efforts are not sufficient. A recent report suggests additional outreach, an increased focus of conservation dollars, and mandated soil testing.

    Wetland restoration – bringing back bits of the Black Swamp— can play a pivotal role in clearing algal bloom in Lake Erie. The Black Swamp Conservancy is currently working on turning 60 acres back into swamp in northwestern Ohio. William Mitsch, a retired Ohio State University professor and wetlands expert, hopes to eventually restore a tenth of the Black Swamp (about 100,000 acres) to provide a substantial cleaning of Lake Erie.

  • Anamchara Faith Community Celebrates Earth Day 2016

    This year, the Anamchara Faith Community will be providing an Earth Day celebration in the woods at Bernheim Forest in Bullitt County, Kentucky. The service will include biblical passages that give honor to the importance of trees, with the plan to plant at least one during this time. This service will draw from different faiths and cultures, ranging from the Catholic faith to Native American customs and traditions.

  • Trees for the Earth

    The Catholic community is joining with the Earth Day Network to help reach the goal of planting 7.8 billion trees by 2020. This would equate to one tree per person on earth. Pope Francis's recent encyclical, Laudato Si, focuses on the importance of trees and their benefits to the environment as well as human kind.

  • Columbus YMCA Youth Engage in 4-H Urban Gardening Program for Cultural Exchange with Youth in Accra, Ghana

    This summer, dozens of Columbus North YMCA youth participated in 4-H urban gardening programs as part of an urban agriculture exchange program with 4-H and YMCA youth from Accra, Ghana. In response, in May of 2017, three Ghanaian youth and an advisor will travel to Columbus to share their urban agriculture experiences at the annual Ohio Future Farmers of America (FFA) conference at the Ohio State Fairgrounds. Please click the link below to read more:

  • Fasting for Climate Justice

    Fasting for Climate Justice is a resource from Global Catholic Climate Movement (GCCM ) on the practice of fasting for climate action through two initiatives: meatless Fridays and monthly fasting. The GCCM encourages abstinence from meat on Fridays as a way to reduce one’s negative impact on global climate change. The GCCM also promotes fasting for the climate which takes place the first day of each month.

  • Tu B’Shvat: Trees’ ReBirth Day

    The Jewish festival of Tu B’Shvat, also known as the New Year for Trees, celebrates the ReBirthDay of earthly trees and of the sacred and supernal Tree of Life. The celebration begins on January 30th and ends January 31st. It is celebrated with a Seder in which the menu is the fruits and nuts that are given by the trees. As a special aspect of their climate-crisis work, The Shalom Center is inviting people to create a special Trees of Life Fund for reforestation in the US.

  • Evangelical Environmental Network: Trump Budget would harm National Parks and the Protection of God’s Other Creatures

    The president of the Evangelical Environmental Network, Rev. Mitch Hescox, made a statement saying that the budget proposed by the Trump administration is a “devils bargain,” which would harm national parks and the protection of God’s creatures.

    “The Trump Administration’s budget, if implemented, would be an abdication of our stewardship of our public lands, which are entrusted to each generation to pass on to their children.”

  • Becoming a CreatureKind Institution

    “Having compassion for others begs the question of who ‘the others’ are. The animals whom we farm are sentient beings and individuals in their own right, even when they are crowded together in barren cages or windowless sheds. They are surely – in their billions – ‘others’ who deserve and desperately need our compassion. I wish CreatureKind great influence in bringing compassion to these fellow-beings of ours.”

    – Joyce D’Silva, Ambassador Emeritus,
    Compassion in World Farming

    CreatureKind is a Christian animal welfare group that works to help institutions improve their practice as it impacts farmed animals, with benefits for humans, animals, and the environment. Becoming a CreatureKind institution means committing to a cycle of reviewing current sourcing, setting goals for improved practice, and acting on them, together with engaging your community about the program. The program have two major goals: reduce consumption of animal products and obtain remaining animal products from higher welfare.

  • CreatureKind Church Course

    CreaturKind has created a 6-week course to help Christians think about what their faith means for animals. The course is free and is meant to assist churches in learning about animal welfare and how to care for animals faithfully. They aim to encourage Christians to consider what they believe about God’s creatures and how they might move toward living out those beliefs as members of the body of Christ.

  • Environmental Statement – American Baptist Churches

    Environmental problems that exists today have stemmed from humanity’s current and past greed. Science and technology are being abused and threaten to make problems worse, even though they have the power to make things better. American Baptists advocate that we must be stewards of our home and not abuse it if we wish to continue on as a species. In order to fix what humans have caused, we are called to recognize and preserve the earth and natural resources we have.

  • Environmental Statement – Church of the Brethren

    The Bible is filled with examples that demonstrate our responsibility to care for all creation on our planet. From Genesis to the parables of Jesus, it is explicitly stated that we must be caring stewards of the earth. In order to reverse the damage that humankind has done, the Church of the Brethren is calling its own members and all people to action. In addition, they are also calling upon the government to be more supportive of environmental policies and clean up.

  • Environmental Statement – Reformed Church in America

    In 1982, the Christian Action Commission of the Reformed Church in America (RCA) released a document titled “Care for the Earth: Theology and Practice.” This was given to General Synod, who then passed several resolutions outlining the Reformed Church in America’s stance on environmental issues. The Action Institute wrote the article below that discusses the resolutions that were passed.

  • Sustainability Photo Contest

    This RESTORExchange photo contest is being brought back from the pre-COVID era, and with an added collaboration with the Sustainability Institute. It's based around the question "What does sustainability look like?" This can include sustainability in environmental justice, technology, energy, lifestyle and wellbeing, society and culture, economy and politics, and any other context where you see sustainability in action. We want to see your perspectives and show all the different places that sustainability is practiced! Winning photos will be decided by a panel of judges (yet to be determined), and the top four photos will win a prize! First place will receive $400, second place will receive $300, third place will receive $200, and an honorable mention will receive $100. Submissions will be accepted through March 15, 2023.

  • Decolonizing Thanksgiving

    "As we head into the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in the United States, it’s great to think about all the things we can be grateful for. It is good to have a time to pause and reflect, to participate in the seasonality of gratitude for the year’s bountiful harvest, and to gather with family and friends. (We’ll ignore the über-consumerism of the day following Thanksgiving…)

    Many of us probably know by now, however, that the story many of us learned in school about the first Thanksgiving is rather inaccurate at best, and racist and paternalistic in many ways, with a focus on the Manifest Destiny idea of the divine mandate for Europeans to conquer the “New World” in the name of Christ and country.

    A few questions come to mind (at least my mind), for those of us with European-American roots, such as:

    Should we even celebrate Thanksgiving, since it’s so tainted with colonialism?
    What might it look like to “decolonize” our own understandings and our culture?
    How can we do this work in a way that encourages our own folks to partner, rather than making them (our White brethren) feel further ostracized, but while also speaking real truth?
    What can we do this Thanksgiving to begin to reconcile relationships damaged in the colonial era, both human to human and human to this land?"

  • The Kirkmont Memories Project

    "The Kirkmont Memories Project is my Capstone project for my senior year at The Ohio State University. I originally came up with the idea in 2020, while I was working on Summer Staff at Kirkmont Center and hearing so many interesting stories about the history of camp. I wish that I had done what I wanted to do at the time, which was to sit down with Buzz Reed, press record, and ask him everything he knows about Kirkmont. When I entered into my final semester at Ohio State, I was assigned to create a lasting change within a community through acts of leadership. All I could think of was that idea of sitting with a friend of Kirkmont, listening to their stories about what Kirkmont means to them, and using that knowledge to help create more memories for the future of camp. I created a plan to interview and survey as many Kirkmont alumni and friends as possible to find a collective story of the history of camp and hear about different perceptions of the value of camp, what camp means to them, and what we see for our future. After reaching out to alumni via Facebook, I've had the privilege of collecting over 30 amazing stories! I loved getting to spend time learning more about alumni who I've looked up to for years, as well as folks who I got to know better. Reading through my notes one after another while creating this website has brought up so many emotions and memories of my own experience, and I hope that as you view this project you can also feel some of that nostalgia and appreciation for our Kirkmont family."

  • Community Grower's Network

    "The Community Growers’ Network is an initiative for Columbus-based Urban Farmers and Gardeners who steward a fresh food culture in their own neighborhoods. The Community Growers’ Network (CGN) focuses on communities which are food deserts/apartheids. The project is designed to build food system resilience by investing in the capacities of Urban Growers with various experience levels."

  • Checking on the Chickens With the Next Generation

    "Checking on the chickens with the next generation. We built the coop from recycled materials, the chickens eat much of our food waste, provide eggs, and encourage us to think about the cycle of our consumption and how we can be more sustainable. We want our son to approach his entire life this way, and these chickens will be his responsibility as soon as able. We live in the city of Columbus so we try to bring a different lifestyle to city living."
    Taken by Grace Freeman. Submitted to the Sustainability Photo Contest.

  • Care for Creation - Catholic Conference of Ohio

    "The Catholic Bishops of Ohio invite you to study the issues related to the stewardship of God’s creation. Care for the environment is a fundamental principle within Catholic Social Teaching. We applaud efforts already underway in many Catholic homes and institutions that help conserve energy, protect the environment, and advance a greater understanding of faithful stewardship. We hope that Catholic families and institutions around the state will continue in such efforts."

    This resource includes a statement calling to care for God's creation and contains information and links to several other resources related to religion and environmentalism.

  • EPN Signature Earth Day Event - Monday, April 22, 2024: Eat This Earth Day! Ohio's Native Plants for Food

    "Ohio State’s Environmental Professionals Network, in collaboration with the Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens and native plant enthusiasts from across the state, proudly invite you to eat and drink from Ohio’s native plants this Earth Day! Discover through your senses, the edible flora of the Buckeye State. Over long periods of history, through the tastes, smells, and eyes of diverse native wildlife and human cultures, both ancient and present, these plants have sustained life."

    This event will take place on Earth Day, April 22, 2024 from 4:45 pm to 7:30 pm. Admission is free and the event will be held at the Fawcett Center in Columbus, Ohio. Food and drinks will be provided.

  • Prescott Community Compost Project

  • Eat Close To The Ground!

    "Eat Close To The Ground!" Taken by Linda Sterling. Submitted to the RESTORExchange Sustainability Photo Contest.