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20 items

  • The Giving Tree: Fighting Climate Change and Strengthening Communities in Nicaragua

    The Giving Tree: Fighting Climate Change and Strengthening Communities in Nicaragua is an initiative from Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western hemisphere with one of the worst rates of deforestation in the region. CRS is engaging rural Nicaraguans, who have an average employment income of $3/day, in planting 310,000 indigenous trees in land on or near their small farms. These trees will remove from the atmosphere approximately 67,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, over their full lives. Farmers will be paid annually for a 10-year period to maintain and nurture these trees, and additional investment will be made in the communities.

  • Anthony’s Garden

    St Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Powell, Ohio created Anthony’s Garden to memorialize the son of family in their congregation. The garden is tended by parishioners, and each week produce from their garden is donated to their local food pantry Help My Neighbor.

  • PIN Garden Ministry: Asbury United Methodist Church

    The PIN Garden Ministry at Asbury United Methodist Church was started in 2007 to provide fresh produce to People In Need, a service organization in Delaware County. It is tended to by parishioners and intentionally includes children in the maintenance of the garden as a way to extend youth ministry into the outdoor classroom.

  • Faith Presbyterian Community Garden

    Faith Presbyterian is involved in many service and mission programs in Myrtle Beach where they are located. Their service work includes a community garden. They use the produce of this garden to support those who experience food insecurity in the Myrtle Beach area and to connect with God as creator. One of the ways that they share information about their community garden is through a Facebook page. Facebook pages or groups can be a great resource for faith communities who are beginning their own community gardens too.

  • Derbyshire Place Community Garden

    Not only do more traditionally organized faith communities create community gardens, but Derbyshire Place is an example of a faith-based community center that is also getting involved in community gardening.

    Breaking ground in 2019, the goal of this community garden is to increase accessibility to fresh fruits and vegetables for families who may have difficulty affording fresh produce at the grocery store. Leaders also hope it will give an opportunity for inter-generational community conversation.

  • Baltimore, Ohio Community Gardens

    A 2017 article written by Robert Badgeley and published by the Lancaster Eagle Gazette shares the success of the Baltimore Community Gardens sponsored by Faith Lutheran Church in Baltimore, Ohio. Extra produce is donated to the local Baltimore Food Pantry.

  • Caring for Creation: Corner of Creation (Madison Christian Community)

    Madison Christian Community offers a number of helpful resources for faith communities. One of the items is a “study-action” program that can support communities in reclaiming their sense of place. It is called “Caring for Creation: Corner of Creation.”

  • Group Profile: St Joseph Montessori School Laudato Si' Club and Honey Bee Project

    A group of St Joseph Montessori School students were inspired by Pope Francis’ letter to the world called Laudato Si.  In his letter, the Pope called for every person on the planet to live more simply, in harmony with nature, to care for each other and our common home.  In other words, the Pope wants us to "bee-have" better towards our environment.

    St Joseph Montessori students formed an Environmental Club called Laudato Si'. The club spent time researching Honey Bees, bee colony collapse, and the importance of bees. They decided they must do something. Students applied for grants, presented plans for two bee hives, an enclosure around the hives, and a pollinator garden to the school and Sacred Heart parish leadership. They required permissions to use school and church property for the bee hives. They even submitted plans to the local government, for approval.

    They met with a bee-keeper to get some advice on building the hives. Throughout the winter months, they developed materials to share with the younger grade levels and during our Earth Day Celebrations on April 18, they presented to small groups within the school on bees and how they help the environment. The students passed out information flyers, along with wildflower seeds, to the surrounding homes explaining the bee hives and the importance of not treating their lawns with chemicals.

    The Laudato Si Club evaluated the campus and identified an area where the bees would be able to co-exist with their surroundings but not interfere with the students and community. The area gets ample sunlight which will allow the bees to survive Ohio Winters. It is also elevated with a building nearby; this created a flight path for the bees that force them away from the playground and high foot traffic areas. It is also near an area of the school that has garden and flower beds that have been converted into pollinator gardens.

    Now they manage two active hives of honey bees (St. Ambrose hive and St. Abigail hive) and a small pollinator garden, named after St. Kateri. We hope to have healthy bees -- and maybe some honey -- for years to come.

  • Bishop Hartley High School vermi-composting bins

    Bishop Hartley instructors Ann Hawk and Rick Kohut maintain vermi-composting bins in each of their classrooms. They enjoy having it to teach their students the science behind the eco-friendly decomposition process. Maintenance is relatively low - occasionally needing to add shredded paper to soak up some of the moistness.

  • Bishop Hartley High School Care 4 Creation faculty committee

    Bishop Hartley High School has created a Care 4 Creation faculty committee to plan for long-term school initiatives. The committee is open to instructors from any academic discipline there.

  • Bishop Hartley High School Care 4 Creation student association

    Bishop Hartley High School Care 4 Creation student association is a student-led organization that promotes and carries out creation care related projects at Bishop Hartley High School. One example includes the student led climate strike at the school.

  • Toledo Grows: Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

    Community Supported Agriculture is run by grassroots organization Toledo Grows. Benefits of being a CSA shareholder include receiving weekly shares of quality, fresh farm products. Shareholders also can choose between a full share (portioned for a family of 3-4 for the week) or a half share (portioned for 1 or 2).

    Members support local farmers using sustainable growing methods—no harmful chemicals; receive a variety of vegetables and herbs, including many “staples” such as carrots, lettuce, peppers, onions, etc.—whatever is ready that week; experience new vegetables; and receive recipes and tips on cooking them.

  • Kentucky Nuns

    The Sisters of Loretto have been involved in social movements and justice for a long time. It’s not surprising to hear that in recent history, they were involved in stopping a Kentucky pipeline. The construction of the pipeline, as well as the route it took, would have caused potentially massive amounts of pollution and damage to the earth. As stewards of the earth, they saw it as their job to protect the planet.

  • School of Sustainable Faith

    Sustainable Faith is a collective of spiritual directors and pastors working to create a spiritually healthy culture among leaders and communities. They aim to guide people in honoring the Sabbath and living a healthy, embodied spiritual life. They have established schools in twenty-four American cities and the Netherlands. They also work to place qualified spiritual directors in local churches and grow the practice of group spiritual direction in churches.

  • Spirituality and Food

    Many people in Oregon have been eating organic and locally grown food to connect with their spiritually sides. From Buddhists and Native American religions to Jews and Christians, everyone has a reason and explanation of how eating local organic food helps to connect them with their faith.

  • Jewish Farmers

    There are many Jewish farmers living in various communities throughout New York. Many of these farmers moved out to the country for spiritual reasons, and now live out teaching of the Torah as part of their lives.

  • Seminary Hill Farm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

    The Seminary Hill Farm website includes the following information on their community supported agriculture program:

    "Transforming the traditional model of a CSA program, our program follows a new model that allows you to choose what items you would like week to week without having to commit to the entire season. Once the season begins, simply choose the items you would like to enjoy in your kitchen that week by visiting our website and meet us at one of our convenient locations to pick up your honestly fresh ingredients. We will have the items properly washed, packed and ready for you to take home and celebrate."

  • ISNA Green Initiative

    The “ISNA Green Initiative” was formed in December of 2014 as one initiative for the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). The group aims to raise awareness of issues concerning the protection and conservation of the environment, as well as promote a sense of urgency with regard to the catastrophic effects of climate change.

    The ISNA Green Initiative Team has created a myriad of ways to promote environmental social justice within the Muslim community. The group has developed standards for transforming Masajid into environmentally friendly places of worship and promoting standards for building Masjid that meet the standards of green architecture. One example of their educational programming includes the promotion of the practice of a “Green Ramadan,” designed to reduce waste, conserve resources, and reduce the use of harmful products such as plastic water bottles and styrofoam. Another example includes promoting the use of solar energy to reduce the use of fossil fuels.

  • The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life

    The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) is a group within the Jewish Council of Public Affairs that focuses on environmental issues within the Jewish community. Their focus is on utilizing Jewish environmental knowledge to serve as a voice within in the broader interfaith community, through outreach and activism. Working among a network of Jewish leaders, institutions and individuals, COEJL seeks to conserve energy, increase sustainability, and advocate for policies that increase both energy efficiency and security.

  • Interfaith Cincy

    Interfaith Cincy seeks out religious groups and the services they provide in order to enable them to expand their capacity. The website provides a communication network for individuals to share success stories and their best ideas. We use our academic resources to objectively represent the variety of organizations that we have encountered in a growing directory.

    InterfaithCincy.org is also an educational tool designed to strengthen interfaith dialogue.