Sustainability

Tu B’Shvat: Trees’ ReBirth Day

The Shalom Center logo

Picture courtesy of theshalomcenter.org

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. You can contribute by clicking here. To read more about Tu B’Shvat click here.

Fasting for Climate Justice

Picture courtesy of catholicclimatemovement.global

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. To read the entire resource, click here.

Homily Help

Picture courtesy of catholicclimatecovenant.org

Homily Helps is a resource from Catholic Climate Covenant that offers resources that help to integrate the insights of Laudato Si’ and caring for creation into Sunday mass. It includes highlights from the Scripture, relevant quotations from Laudato Si’, sample applications, and more. To download the entire resource, click here.

17 Ways to Reduce your Carbon Footprint

Picture courtesy of catholicclimatemovement.global

17 Ways to Reduce your Carbon Footprint is a guide from Catholic Climate Movement that offers ways to reduce your carbon footprint when travelling, in home energy, and in food. To read the entire guide, click here.

Why We Care for God’s Creation

Picture courtesy of crs.org

Why We Care for God’s Creation is a primer created by Catholic Relief Services. It is designed to help bring the conversation of caring for God’s creation to faith organizations. To read or download this resource, click here.

Eco-Parish Guide

Picture courtesy of catholicclimatemovement.global

The Global Catholic Climate Movement released the Eco-Parish Guide for Catholic Parishes. It is a free-guide that assists in bringing Laudato Si’ to life in the church. It offers explanations on how to form green teams, reduce parish emissions, advocate for climate justice, and care for those harmed by climate change. To read more or download the guide, click here.

RENEW International

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RENEW International is a Roman Catholic ministry organization that fosters spiritual renewal by empowering individuals and communities to encounter God in everyday life, deepen and share faith, and connect faith with action. To read more about RENEW International, click here.

Let There Be… Stuff?

Picture courtesy of greenfaith.org

Picture courtesy of greenfaith.org

GreenFaith and The Story of Stuff Project have teamed up to create Let There Be… Stuff?. It is a six-week session for teenagers that explores the relationship between consumption, faith, and the health of the planet. They offer a Christian and a Jewish version. To learn how to download Let There Be… Stuff?, click here.

To watch The Story of Stuff and read more on their work, click here.

Tips and Resources for Eco-Friendly Landscaping

Picture courtesy of greenfaith.org

Picture courtesy of greenfaith.org

GreenFaith has created a resource for grounds maintenance that has tips on how to consider the environment while landscaping. The article offers guidelines on pest management, turf maintenance, cultural practices, and irrigation tips. To read the entire post, click here.

Food Waste: By the Numbers

Picture courtesy of creationcare.org

Food Waste: By the Numbers is an article from the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN) on the statistics of food waste in the United States. The article states that 40% of our food that is grown gets wasted. It then goes on to discuss steps to reduce food waste and how to be more aware. To read the entire article, click here.

To read another post from EEN about food waste, click here.