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Profile: Todd Marti
Todd Marti, a parishioner at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Columbus, serves as a “garden steward” for the community garden located on the grounds of the Upper Arlington Lutheran Church at Mill Run. Todd’s garden stewardship is a clear reflection of his care for creation and his fellow man. Each year vegetables are planted on two-thirds of the 12,500 square feet garden. When the tomatoes, beets, squash, lettuce and other vegetables are harvested they are donated to the Hilliard Free Lunch Summer Camp for Kids, and Mid-Ohio Food Bank partner pantries. On average 10,000 pounds of produce is harvested and donated annually. Over the life of the garden 130,000 plus pounds of produce have been donated. The recipient of the Franklin Park conservatory Growing to Green Gardener of the Year Award in 2012, Todd utilizes innovative gardening practices such as companion planting and sequencing of multiple crops to enhance output. The garden helps preserve God’s creation by composting food waste and coffee grounds from local coffee shops and restaurants. Yard waste is also composed including that generated by St. Francis of Assisi from its flower and vegetable gardens.
When he is not working in the community garden—which he is every Saturday from spring until mid-November--or recruiting volunteers to help with weeding, planting and harvesting, Todd can be found at his day job as an Assistant Attorney General for State of Ohio.
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Remembering Sr. Paula Gonzalez, Ohio’s “Solar Nun” and Environmental Visionary
Sister Paula Gonzalez, a Sister of Charity in Cincinnati and co-founder of Ohio Interfaith Power and Light (OhIPL), passed into eternal light earlier this month and was mourned and celebrated by friends and loved ones at a green burial on August 2 and a mass at the Sisters of Charity Motherhouse on August 4. Sr. Paula taught biology at Mount St. Joseph University for 15 years before dedicating the last 40 years of her life to environmental education and ministry. Shown here in her solar powered golf cart (which she built; photo credit: Sisters of Charity, Cincinnati), Paula received Green Energy Ohio’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and was honored as a “Woman of the Year” by the Cincinnati Inquirer in 2014. She remains famous for her good spirit and vision for sustainability, and for her energy efficient renovated living and work spaces. An award was made in her honor, The Sister Paula Gonzalez Award, and Sara Ward was the recipient. Paula will be remembered at OhIPL’s Earthkeeping Summit at Ohio State on Sept. 24. -
Profile: Jerry Freewalt
Jerry Freewalt is Director of the Office for Social Concerns of the Catholic Diocese of Columbus, Ohio. In this capacity, he serves as an educator and advocate to further the understanding of the Church’s social justice teachings. Jerry joined the office in 1995 as the respect life coordinator. Jerry also administers the respect life program, parish social ministry, rural life, jail and prison ministry, advocacy for persons with disabilities, and other education and advocacy efforts. -
St. Patrick Parish Green Kits
"St. Patrick Parish in Iowa City, a participant in the Victory Noll Sisters Small Grants Program, offered each household in the parish a free kit with native plant seedlings, a kitchen compost container, and LED bulbs.
The 162 native plants arrived just in time for Laudato Si Week in late May, and more than thirty households signed up in this inaugural effort."