Engaged Organizations: The National Wildlife Federation: Sacred Grounds

Picture courtesy of nwf.org

For over 40 years, The National Wildlife Federation has been assisting congregations and faith-based organizations in creating wildlife friendly yards and landscapes through their program Sacred Grounds. Sacred Grounds was created to give people of all faiths the opportunity to connect with nature at their place of worship. They do so by offering an online certification process about proper gardening and other tips to connect with nature. To learn more about this program and the National Wildlife Federation’s work, click here.

Shepherd’s Corner Event

Picture courtesy of mindful-labyrinths.com

Shepherd’s Corner offers a public walk through there spiritual labyrinth once a month. It is a space for peace, insight, comfort, healing, energy, connection, and letting go. The next walk is offered April 27th from 7-8:30 pm and you must register by April 25. The event is free but a 5$ donation is suggested. To register for this event, click here.

To see the events calendar, click here.

The Vocation of Agriculture: to Till and Keep God’s Creation

Picture courtesy
catholicrurallife.org

This event has been postponed to a later date. When a new date is decided upon this blog will be updated. The Vocation of Agriculture: to Till and Keep God’s Creation is a discussion on the calling of agriculture. The challenges of rural workers, rural parishes, and rural communities will be explored. There will be many speakers throughout the day including Sr. Christine Pratt and Dr. Hitzhusen both from OSU. Participants are encouraged to read Laudato Si and the Vocation to Agriculture by Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson before attending.

Engaged Organizations: Cool Harvest

Picture courtesy of coolharvest.org

Cool Harvest is a food, faith, and climate program created by Interfaith Power & Light. Cool Harvest focuses on responding to climate change by educating members on climate-friendly food choices. Their website aims to provide resources in order to help others understand the harsh toll modern agribusiness takes on the atmosphere. They provide tips and recipes on food and gardening and also informational movies and stories on the success of others. To visit their website and learn more, click here.

Engaged Organizations: Catholic Rural Life

Picture courtesy of
catholicrurallife.org

Catholic Rural Life is a national, Catholic nonprofit organization dedicated to the importance of rural America. Their mission is to apply the teachings of Jesus Christ for the social, economic, and spiritual development of rural America while strengthening and sustaining the Church. They advance their mission through three distinct areas of impact: ethical food and agriculture, rural outreach and ministry, and stewardship of creation. To learn more about their mission and these specific initiatives, click here.

Engaged Organizations: Shepherd’s Corner

Picture courtesy of shepherdscorner.org

Shepherd’s Corner is an ecological ministry of the Dominican Sisters of Peace. They serve as a farm along with a center for ecology, spirituality, and education. They work towards providing environmental education, reflective experiences on care for the creation, and renewal of the land. They welcome people of all backgrounds to come and learn how to reconnect with the natural environment, with themselves, with one another, and with the Creator. They frequently offer events to help others reach these goals. To see the dates of these events and learn more, click here.

To learn more by visiting their website, click here.

Shepherd’s Corner Events

Picture courtesy of mindful-labyrinths.com

Shepherd’s Corner is an ecology center of the Dominican Sisters of Peace. They strive to provide environmental education, reflective experience on care for creation, and renewal of the land. They hold many events which are all now listed in the events calendar. These events include celebrating the time of planting in our gardens and our lives, learning how to prepare for Spring through renewal, balancing life in tune with the Vernal Equinox, and learning how to avoid harmful cleaners. While these events are free, there is a suggested donation price and a required registration which can be found here.  To see the calendar of these events, click here.

Balinese Water Temples

Balinese Water Temples have been an integral part of the agricultural rice paddy systems in Bali for over 1,000 years. Water is distributed from the Supreme Water Temple of Bali throughout the land. This distribution cycle involves neighbors meeting in a democratic subak to discuss the synchronization of their planting. This synchronized planting motivated farmers living upstream to allow farmers living downstream to have more water. Cooperation was key, as this synchronization minimized the growing period, which stopped the spread of pests. When the Green Revolution came to Bali, the country tried to plant as much as they could. The results were catastrophic. At first, yields were high and everyone was doing well. Then, due to a lack of synchronization, pests began to devour all of the crops. The religious ceremonies and meetings at the water temples that kept everyone together were no longer being followed. Since then, the Balinese people have reverted to their time tested ways and are flourishing once again. To read more about this, click here.

A documentary explaining all of this in depth is available here at Amazon.com

For an informative YouTube video hosted by Stephen Lansing, check out the feature below.

 

Video Credit:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9ozS8BKUFI