Religion-Environment Photo Gallery | Faithful Earth Stewardship

What does “religion and the environment” look like? See the results of the 2019 Religion-Environment Photo Contest (winning photos announced below) and help expand our collective vision of what faithful care of creation looks like.

This gallery was begun with a photo contest in 2018 that invited images – displayed below – that capture the many dimensions of faith-based creation care, environmental justice, and spiritual elements of ecology and sustainability. The photo captions reveal additional information about the motivations, setting and story behind each image. This gallery will remain open for ongoing submissions of the diverse expressions of faith community environmental work, and all photos carry a creative commons license for public use (feel free to use any photo in this gallery in accord with its creative commons license, and all photos in this gallery will also be available for an online, open-source textbook about Religion and Environmental Values in America, forthcoming in 2019; you may also submit photos for the gallery and book but opt out of the contest, or start submitting photos for the 2021 contest!). Enjoy, and please submit your photos and captions here!

: 2019 Photo Contest First Prize: “Ecstacy”–muralist Dimitri Kadiev caught painting one of four sacred murals we brought from Taos to the Capitol in Santa Fe for Global Climate Strike, Sept 20. Photo credit: Todd Wynward, TiLT [Taos Initiative for Life Together]

: 2019 Photo Contest Second Prize: Me and my friends were picking up trash out of a forest for class extra credit and we stumbled across this glass jar with plants growing through it, showing how even when we treat nature bad it still finds beauty in the forgotten treasures such as this glass jar being home to new life. Photo credit: Mikayla Benjamin

: 2019 Photo Contest (tie for) Third Prize: Reciprocity – A young girl gently lowers a ladybug onto a flower during a ladybug release at the GrowHaus, a nonprofit urban farm. Photo credit: Kelsey Ryan-Simkins

: 2019 Photo Contest (tie for) Third Prize: My trip to the 12 Apostles in Princetown, Australia. 12 Apostles represents the team that Jesus brought together to tell the world about our divine nature. This photo shows the light peaking through the clouds creating a feeling of calm and connectedness to our Earth. Photo credit: Cassidy Jenney

: At Camp Albermarle, God and environmental stewardship are one. Students who volunteer for the North Carolina Coastal Federation through Buck-I-SERV are fortunate to stay at a beautiful campground whose roots are deep in stewardship for all types of creation. Being an environmental steward gets one closest to creation and at Camp Albermarle, it seems even that much closer. Photo credit: Jackson Howard

: The village of Firostefani in Oia Santorini. Photo credit: Chrisoula Spanorigas

: Near the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo Credit: Sara Miller

: Pondering the death of Jesus on a Good Friday hike in Leprechaun Canyon, Utah. Photo credit: Alexander Wimmer

: On pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayo in New Mexico. A group of 15 young adults, led by the Catholic group Creatio, walked 43 miles over three days on pilgrimage to this holy site in New Mexico. Photo credit: Juan Andres Coriat

: “Seeking Truth Among the Birds.” Libby Mark, a 9 year old future explorer and curiosity extraordinaire, tests out the binoculars as she looks towards the heavens to find species of bird that live in the saltwater marshes lining Barnstable Bay, Cape Cod. Similar to the way we look for God in our day to day lives, we often find his wonders in nature. My sister looked a little too hard though, the bird was sitting right on the railing behind her, just like sometimes you only need to turn around for the answer to become clear. Photo credit: Iris Mark

: This picture was my very first “fall photo” of the year. It caught my attention as I was walking up my drive way. I was intrigued by how only one leaf stood on its own. Had I not looked down and stopped I would’ve never noticed this. We should always stop and recognize as well as admire God’s creation even in the little things! Photo credit: Rayjohnny Williams

: A Buddhist monastery and garden, built in the shape of a 8 spoke wheel, seated in a valley in Lake County, Montana. Properly named “Ewam and the Garden of a Thousand Buddhas” Monks live intentionally here, studying, mediating working and praying year round. Photo Credit: Parker Dean

: A Buddhist monastery and garden, built in the shape of a 8 spoke wheel, seated in a valley in Lake County, Montana. Properly named “Ewam and the Garden of a Thousand Buddhas” Monks live intentionally here, studying, mediating working and praying year round. Tibetan Prayer Flags fly in the wind here, sending prayers to the mountains of Montana and the world. Photo credit: Parker Dean

: A Buddhist monastery and garden, built in the shape of a 8 spoke wheel, seated in a valley in Lake County, Montana. Properly named “Ewam and the Garden of a Thousand Buddhas” Monks live intentionally here, studying, mediating working and praying year round. Tibetan Prayer Flags fly in the wind here, sending prayers to the mountains of Montana and the world. Photo credit: Parker Dean

: While planting echinacea flowers late in spring to serve the summer pollinators, this delicate crab spider made an appearance. How easily this messenger could’ve gone unseen, not much larger than a seed from the plant she blends into. But even more enchanting is the little skull that seems painted on the baby-pink spider. This struck me as a reminder of the wisely guided and often unnoticed details of a fragile, and simultaneously immense life, to be cherished … and its gifts honored. Photo credit: Aubree Brown

: Whenever I walk through the Glen Helen Nature Preserve, I’m seeking a special kind of silence: One that echoes peace. One that resounds in the doings of the creatures in life, hard at work and scrutinizing in their attendance to the vitality and balance of the earth. It’s beautiful; in one chance rest along the path, you can watch the divine wheel of our world turn, and understand the story without a word. Photo credit: Aubree Brown

: An employee of the West Laurel Hill Cemetery and Arboretum takes shelter from a summer storm. There are various religious affiliations represented in this non-denominational historic cemetery. This photograph highlights the environmental context to which we all ultimately return. Photo credit: Emily O’Donnell

: Praying with and learning from a Tribal elder – Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light invited people to share their prayers for the future of the Inland Northwest at the Nimiipuu River Rendezvous. The Nimiipuu (Nez Perce Tribe) held this gathering to discuss treaty rights, salmon recovery, and river restoration. Photo credit: Jessica Zimmerle

: “Rooted in Tradition” Townsfolk in the village of Worawora (pronounced “Ra-ra”), Ghana, watch dancers and offer customary greetings during the final funeral celebration of one of the community’s elder sub-chiefs. The procession circles around a massive tree at the end of the town square, clad in the traditional mourning colors of red and black. Later in the day, children and older men would take refuge from the intense sun under the widespread shade of ancient branches, climbing and sitting on the sturdy raised roots. At three in the morning, the sub-chief would be returned to the earth, buried after months of preservation and ceremonial funeral rites. I was generously given the opportunity to join in the procession with my host family, who were relatives of the deceased. Polyphonic layers of drumming, synchronized hands and canes beating the surfaces of cylindrical, stretched animal hides, and sporadic booms of rifle blanks fired into the hot air accompanied the cheerful choruses singing praise of the life and spirit of the sub-chief. Photo credit: Emma Szymanski

: Early autumnal sunlight cascades onto sacred Ramapough Lenape land. Photo credit: Emma Szymanski

: After helping to install solar at our church, we used the same solar contractor to install this array at our home, near our garden. It was inspiring to work in the garden with the solar array “watching over us,” and in this scene, after the garden was done for the season, the panels continued to transform sunlight into energy. Colgate, WI. Photo credit: John Helt

: Temple Chai, Phoenix AZ, Jewish Star Garden is planted by the first grade Sunday School class each year. We explore the ongoing miracle of life that gardens demonstrate so vividly, and all the kids learn to love eating fresh vegetables and flowers they grew themselves!! If you know the Earth intimately, you are much more likely to respect and protect it, and feel connected to the Source of Life. We donated many pounds of summer squash to our local food bank, and to Arizona Jews for Justice to feed asylum seekers. Photo credit: Nona Siegel

: Faith and Science standing together to advocate for all creation and community lead climate solutions. Birmingham, Alabama. Photo credit: Michael Malcolm

: Grotto Falls June 2018; My father’s life was suddenly taken in June of 2017. Growing up, my brothers and I would hear my dad talking about the Smoky Mountains and how whenever his time came, he wanted his ashes to be spread on the beautiful landscape. Though it happened so soon, my brothers and I carried out my fathers wish and went on a hike on a beautiful June day. We hiked up the Smokies into an area known as “Grotto Falls”. We went a bit further back and barefoot in the river, the three of us spread our dads ashes and hung this cross ornament on a rock in memory of him. This place will always be incredibly special to us. Gatlinburg, TN. Photo Credit: Caitlin Perkins

: Reaching for life – Wormsloe Plantation. Savannah, SC. Photo credit: Laura Corcoran

: Sunday afternoon on the Water in Ross County. Chillicothe, OH. Photo credit: Laura Corcoran

: Students collect recyclable caps to create benches for their playground and future grotto. Mt. Vernon, OH. Photo credit: Beth Robinson

: Bishop Flaget School: Be Somebody’s Sunshine. Chillicothe, OH. Photo credit: Laura Corcoran

: Young kitten waiting to pounce. Chillicothe, OH. Photo credit: Laura Corcoran

: Pondering life at Ross Lake. Chillicothe, OH. Photo credit: Laura Corcoran

: As Global citizens we must be stewards of the creation of God. Fjallabak, Rangárvallasysla, Iceland. Photo credit: Andres Arnalds

: Let’s listen to the voice of creation – A rumbling volcano in the land of ice and fire. Rangárvallasýsla – beside the Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland. Photo credit: Andres Arnalds

: Reflections on the creation. On the need to turn our approaches in caring for Earth upside-down, engaging communities. Iceland. Photo credit: Andres Arnalds

: Connecting – it just speaks to a universal pull and blessing of nature when we have time to lie down and contemplate in the stillness of nature. Central Highlands, Iceland. Photo credit: Andres Arnalds

: We need to listen to the voice of nature. Strandir, Iceland. Photo credit: Andres Arnalds

: Lichen: God’s version of modern art. Photo credit: Leanna DeJong

: Finding God in the mundane: Christian school elementary students make a work of art together using small pieces of God’s creation (found on the ground) that they think are beautiful. Photo credit: Leanna DeJong

: Season of Creation Bulletin Board display for 2019 Season of Creation – Praise the Creator by Protecting the Web of Life. Photo credit: Sister Nancy Miller OSF

: Our Lady of Perpetual Help Creation Care Council member Pat Sarosi gives a parishioner one of over 30 seedling trees handed out on Earth Day 2019 to a parishioner. Photo credit: Sister Nancy Miller OSF

: Our Lady of Perpetual Help Creation Care Council members tour the Ohio State Byrd Polar Research Center to learn about global warming. Photo credit: Sister Nancy Miller OSF

: Blessing of Animals at Our Lady or Perpetual Help Church, Grove City, OH. Photo credit: Sister Nancy Miller OSF

: Hoping to convince President Obama to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, 48 climate activists cuffed our wrists to the White House fence as a non-violent witness. It was Ash Wednesday 2013, a good day to be arrested. Photo credit: Jim Antal

: Glory to God for the beauty of the earth. Vernal Falls, Yosemite (1983). Photo credit: Fred Krueger

: Cross-mounted steeples of a church in Riobamba, Ecuador, are flanked by the moon and active Tungurahua (left) and geologically recent Altar volcanoes (right) on the horizon, juxtaposing the creation and created as environments of worship. Photo credit: Bryan Mark

: This photo was taken in Corfu, Greece outside of Vlacherna Monastery. I was in Corfu for study abroad and this church always comes to mind when I think about my time there and how lucky I was to be surrounded by such a beautiful culture. To get to it, you had to travel down a long walk way through the lake that connected two parts of the island. To me, this picture symbolizes how worshiping god in the middle of the nature he created is one of the most powerful experiences. Photo credit: Mary Armbruster

: In a hot and muggy room in southern Georgia and had the honor of meeting the former president turned bible study teacher Jimmy Carter. This photo was taken the day before his bible study, which undeniably changed the way I view the world, and strengthened my faith. Photo credit: Erin Tatman

: St. Francis of Assisi Creation Care Team gather to prepare the church’s flower and vegetable gardens for spring planting. Photo credit: Karen Scheid

: St. Francis of Assisi Creation Care Team members load yard waste to be composed and used in a community garden to feed hungry families. Photo credit: Karen Scheid

: This photo was taken at Oak Point State Park, Ohio’s smallest state park, on South Bass Island in Lake Erie. This year spring storms and winds from the northeast brought record high waters to the western basin of Lake Erie. Here at the park water washed over the sidewalk along the docks, eroding the soil, washing in debris and making boaters walk through water to get to their docks. It remained this high most of the summer. With our climate changing and weather events becoming more severe, is this the new normal? Care of creation becomes the topic. Title: High Water 2019. Photo credit: Ann Hitzhusen

: Sunrises and sunsets are such gifts of beauty! This photo was taken at sunset over the harbor at Put in Bay, Ohio. Title: Fire in the Clouds? Photo credit: Ann Hitzhusen

: This photo was taken on South Bass Island on Lake Erie while waiting for the ferry. Whether looking for treasures, meditating, praying or just enjoying the water, wind and sunshine we have another opportunity to enjoy a gift of God’s creation! We call this simply “A Walk on the Beach.” Photo credit: Ann Hitzhusen

: Every year when flowers are at their peak, I try to capture some of the beauty of God’s creation. This morning I took some photos of the caladium leaves (while not a bloom, the leaves provide glorious color all summer). When I looked at the photos on my computer I saw the heart shadow on this leaf. I didn’t notice it when I took the photo but it somehow represented the gift of the beauty all around me. I might title it “At the Core of Beauty is a Loving Heart.” Photo credit: Ann Hitzhusen

: Trail Magic 2nd Year Tall Grass Prairie. Photo credit: Carl N. McDaniel

: 2018 Photo Contest 1st place photo: Theotokos in the Apothecary. Photo credit: Jacob Taylor, 2017

: Father and son duo help remove on of the largest bittersweet roots the Athens Conservancy had ever seen in Strouds Run State Park, July 7th, 2018. This was part of an ongoing monthly service project called First Saturday, where all participants wear their red shirts with the Wesley quote: “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” Photo credit: Jenaye Michele Hill

: Clergy climate-energy advocacy at the Ohio Statehouse. Photo courtesy of Ohio Interfaith Power and Light

: Sr. Paula Gonzalez, Ohio Interfaith Power and Light Co-Founder, the Solar Nun. Photo courtesy of Ohio Interfaith Power and Light

: Peace Church, Bowling Green, OH. Photo courtesy of: Deb Conklin

: Rooftop garden sunflowers at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Headquarters in Chicago, IL. Photo courtesy of technologyforthepoor.com

: Container gardens. Photo courtesy of technologyforthepoor.com

: Milo-Grogran community garden in Columbus, OH. Photo credit: Kamara Willoughby

: Youth gardens catalyzed by Cardinal Turkson visit to Columbus in 2015. Photo credit: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170829/columbus-bonds-with-ghana-sister-city-through-agriculture-project

: Activists with Young Evangelicals for Climate Action meet with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) to discuss faith-based climate advocacy. Photo credit: Kyle Meyaard-Schaap

: Twinrise- This photo was taken together with “Morning Tree” (also in this gallery). I took this photo in Armleader Park on the Little Miami River after soccer conditioning at 6 am in high school. Coming home the sun was always still rising in the river valley that was blanketed in fog every morning. After practice instead of going back to sleep I decided to take advantage of the beauty of a new day to see the world in a unique light. The low sun and thick fog created amazing silhouettes that really emphasized the strength of the trees to me. Photo credit: Tony Losekamp

: 2018 Photo Contest 2nd place photo: Spiritual Tree- I took this photo in Hocking Hills, Ohio on the trail between Old man’s cave and Cedar Falls. It was spring and the forest was exploding with life. The air hummed with excitement and power that is comparable with excitement and power of a rich spiritual life in communion with God. Photo credit: Tony Losekamp

: Enlightenment at 16,340 ft: Rongbuk Monastery against Mt. Everest. Photo credit: Rongkun Liu

: Young Evangelicals for Climate Action march at the People’s Climate March in Washington, D.C. in 2017. Photo credit: Kyle Meyaard-Schaap

: Young Evangelicals for Climate Action march at the People’s Climate March in New York City in 2014. Photo credit: Kyle Meyaard-Schaap

: Grace Cathedral. Photo credit: Bill Bradlee

: Morning Tree – this photo was taken together with “Twinrise” (also in this gallery). I took this photo in Armleader Park on the Little Miami River after soccer conditioning at 6 am in high school. Coming home the sun was always still rising in the river valley that was blanketed in fog every morning. After practice instead of going back to sleep I decided to take advantage of the beauty of a new day to see the world in a unique light. The low sun and thick fog created amazing silhouettes that really emphasized the strength of the trees to me. Photo credit: Tony Losekamp

: Faith joins the Climate March. Photo credit: Bill Bradlee

: Faith Leaders at the Climate March. Photo credit: Bill Bradlee

: Mirror Lake Peace – I didn’t have many chances to get out and enjoy nature in college, especially freshman year living on campus at OSU. I really enjoyed taking time out of busy freshmen year to slow time and enjoy the little bit of nature on campus. It was counter cultural on campus to slow down and find peace amidst the stress of college. Photo credit: Tony Losekamp

: Every year our Christian intentional community and school spends several weeks focusing on environmental issues and the importance of being conscious of our energy use. For one week we discontinue the use of electricity, natural gas, and running water and use only renewable resources. This is a photo of Dr. Kim and Dr. Kwon sharing in our evening devotional. Photo credit: Wilhelmina Witt

: Every year our Christian intentional community and school spends several weeks focusing on environmental issues and the importance of being conscious of our energy use. Students research, build, and test various forms of appropriate technology, including solar cookers, rocket stoves. In this photo a group of students are learning the principles of sand-water filtration. Photo credit: Wilhelmina Witt

: IPC Intergenerational Neighborhood Clean-up Day! Photo credit: Ann Hitzhusen

: Hostas for Grandma – This was in college in Clifton just off campus at University of Cincinnati. We were going to an Italian restaurant for my grandmother’s birthday. It was one of the first photos I took with my first digital camera. I still love it for the fact that these beautiful hostas were surrounded by concrete on all sides in a busy city. In a dessert of a city these were an oasis of life. Photo credit: Tony Losekamp

: Participants in the girls book and social action club, Girls Read and Do, participate in the Jewish New Year ritual of Tashlich as part of an educational session on how to ensure that our Jewish practices are harmonious with the environment (in this case, casting bird seed in lieu of the traditionally used bread crumbs — not healthful for water foul — into the water). Photo credit: Liz Vaisben

: Evangelicals from across the country lobby on Capitol Hill for a price on carbon in 2017. Photo credit: Kyle Meyaard-Schaap

: Close Sunflower – This was in the community garden I started at my high school, Archbishop McNicholas High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. The sunflower was huge and the number of seeds it produced was incredible. I wanted to capture the detail in the perfectly organized seed arrangement in the flower that is one of infinite examples of an intelligent designer of creation. Photo credit: Tony Losekamp

: Abode of Peace: A Tibetan Buddhist Temple Perched on Hillside for Meditation Retreat. Photo credit: Rongkun Liu

: Office for Social Concerns, Catholic Diocese of Columbus, held a staff retreat on October 4th, the Feast of St. Francis, at St. Therese Retreat Center. Among many topics we discussed Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ and recommitted ourselves to make the world better than we found it. Photo credit: Jerry Freewalt

: 2018 Photo Contest 3rd place photo: Shiva, the God of Destruction, Destroyed. Hindus have worshipped at the banks of Ganges and the shores of other bodies of water for centuries. Jamaica Bay is basically a closed system, so whatever lands in its waters stays until it is removed. The Ganges and many other bodies of water have become polluted by the use of many user groups. The Ganges, one of the major rivers of India, also known as Ganga Maa, is said to have made her abode in Shiva’s matted hair in order to prevent the destruction of Prithvi (Mother Earth). The flow of the Ganges also represents the nectar of immortality. Shiva is regarded as “the Destroyer” among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. He is also regarded as the patron god of yoga and the arts. Here, Shiva is found broken in the sands of Jamaica Bay, during a cleanup organized by the photographer Aminta Kilawan-Narine and her husband Rohan Narine. Photo credit: Aminta Kilawan-Narine

: Ohio Serving the Poor – This photo was taken on the gulf cost in Biloxi, Mississippi. It was winter break during my freshmen year at Ohio State (2013). It was a Buck-I-Serve trip. Doing an O-H-I-O is a normal occurrence, but I really like the natural beauty of the silhouette on the beach where we were staying. Photo credit: Tony Losekamp

: Kali Maa under transformation after being found at Jamaica Bay during a cleanup organized by the photographer Rohan Narine and his wife Aminta Kilawan-Narine alongside other local Indo-Caribbean Hindus advocating for eco-friendly worship. Kali is an embodiment of the Goddess Durga. She is fierce and associated with empowerment or shakti. Kali means black, time, and death, thus Kali is the goddess of time and change. Although she is sometimes depicted as dark and violent, Kali Maa’s earliest incarnation is as a figure of the destruction of evil. Photo credit: Rohan Narine

: Headless Baby Krishna. Many of the items used in worship get broken by wave and water action. This depicts what happened after a worshipper with the best of intentions, left the murthi (sculpture of Hindu deity) at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in New York City. It is said that at midnight on Janamashtami, baby Krishna, who is depicted in this murthi, was born and travelled across the Yamuna River in order to help Mother Earth bear the burden of the sins of the tyrannical leaders of the world. This murthi was found by the photographer Hemma Kilawan, during a cleanup organized by Indo-Caribbean Hindus in the New York City area. Photo credit: Hemma Kilawan

: Catholic school children carry signs with quotes from Pope Francis during the September 20th, 2019 Youth Climate Strike at the Capitol. Photo credit: Jonathan Lacock-Nisly

: Composting at Shepherd’s Corner Ecology Center. This process is a great metaphor for reconciliation. When we bring the rotting fruits and invasive weeds of our lives to confession, God transforms them into rich material for new growth. Photo credit: Julie Laudick

: A bountiful harvest of paw paws. Foraging for this native Ohio fruit is a Garden of Eden experience. We can share the joys of the harvest without the toil of cultivation. Photo credit: Julie Laudick

: Soil samples from the garden plots at Shepherd’s Corner Ecology Center. Can you tell which plot received the heaviest application of sheep manure? Photo credit: Julie Laudick

: Feeding sheep. Long-time volunteer at Shepherd’s Corner Ecology Center gives the sheep a treat after pulling out old collard greens that are bound for the compost pile. The greens were fertilized by previous years of sheep manure. From manure they came, to manure they shall return. Photo credit: Julie Laudick

: Volunteers from the OSU Newman Center walk down an alley to return tools to a shed after a satisfying morning of work at Franklinton Farms. Photo credit: Julie Laudick

: A wandering student on campus appreciating the pattern of God’s signature in shaping continuous creation to illuminate Own signs onto awe sensed sentient beings. Photo credit: Jennet Nedirmammedova

: Messenger to the Creator. Captured in Hocking Hills State Park, this photo depicts a painting of an eagle on the side of a Native American Tipi. The eagle is sacred in their culture because this high flying bird can get closer to the Creator than any other creature. Photo credit: Sara Miller