News
Sacred Grounds Project Update
Calling all gardeners, wildlife enthusiasts, land stewards, and tree huggers!
The property committee and St. Paul’s Youth (SPY) have joined forces to lead an exciting new landscape initiative for the campus. We are taking part in a program sponsored by the National Wildlife foundation – Sacred Grounds. It is easy sometimes to feel overwhelmed by the scale and scope of habitat loss and species extinction, but this program is a way for us to do something tangible in our piece of the world to create a space where people and nature can thrive.
The Program: Sacred GroundsTM Sacred Grounds is a program of the National Wildlife Federation launched in 2013. The program recognizes congregations, houses of worship, and faith communities who both create wildlife habitat and actively link faith practices in caring for the environment.
How it works: The central requirement for a house of worship to be designated as a Sacred Grounds site includes planting a native plant garden / wildlife habitat. We want to do that while also replacing the many trees that have been taken down over the years. The program encourages congregations to not only engage the congregation, but to reach beyond the congregation and include the larger community.
Certification: Once the landscape is installed, we will need to complete an online form for NWF review. The questions that need to be answered are:
- What was your inspiration for creating a native plant/wildlife habitat?
- How did you engage people and the community with this project?
- What support was most instrumental in carrying out the project?
- Please provide an estimated size of your garden in sf.
- List of native plants that you planted
- Upload two pictures of people using the garden space or installing the garden
Positive Outcomes:
- Provides a theology-based way to develop the campus landscape and replace trees that have been removed.
- Offers leadership opportunities to the entire parish providing experience with teamwork, planning, and intergenerational cooperation.
- Puts discussions of stewardship of creation into practical use
- Is a public relations opportunity in the community
Schedule: We have already had presentations to SPY and at the adult forum in January. Now we want to gauge interest from the larger community. Our next steps include organizing the larger group into task forces to lead design, plant selection, tree selection, project management, and construction. Ideally this work will be done this spring and summer with a dedication of the new landscape on St. Francis Sunday 05 October.
Opportunities for leadership: There are several opportunities for leadership / participation
- Project management
- Design
- Publicity / communication
- Maintenance program development
- Guiding plant selection
- Developing tool lists
- Scheduling
- Procurement
If interested in participating: Drop an email to Mark Duckett duckettmpd@hotmail.com with the subject line “Sacred Grounds”. If you have a specific area of expertise or an area of interest, please include that. For more information feel free to speak with Mark Duckett, Madeleine Harris- Larew, John Faggotti, Tom Lloyd, Kristen Poole, or Louise Thompson.
Almighty God, in giving us dominion over things on earth, you made us fellow workers in your creation: Give us wisdom and reverence so to use the resources of nature, that no one may suffer from our abuse of them, and that generations yet to come may continue to praise you for your bounty; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer, p. 827)
