Marking the first Decade of Catholic Earthcare Australia
On Wednesday May 9th Archbishop Adrian Doyle lead the Eucharistic celebration in the Mary MacKillop Chapel, North Sydney, on behalf of the assembled members of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. Current staff members of Catholic Earthcare read, offered prayers and the gifts.
At the close of the liturgy, Archbishop Phillip Wilson launched the most recent book by Father Denis Edwards by drawing attention to the skillful manner in which Denis combines sound theology and science in accessible ways.
The invited guest and friends of Earthcare adjourned to 'The Living Room' to continue the celebrations.
Jacqui Remond with three members of the outgoing Bishops' Commission for Justice, Ecology and Development, Bishop Eugene Hurley [Darwin], Archbishop Adrian Doyle [Hobart] and Bishop Greg O'Kelly [Port Pirie].
Bishop Joseph Oudeman [Auxillary Bisbane], Jacqui Remond and Sr Mary-Ann Casanova rsj.
Celebrating a Rockhampton connection - Dr Gerard Goldman [Broken Bay Institute], Jacqui Remond, Sr Mary-Ann Casanova rsj and Bishop Brian Heenan [Rockhampton].
Welcome back to Jacqui Remond
Jacqui Remond has returned, in a part time capacity, to the role of Direcotr of Catholic Earthcare Australia. Jacqui will engaged in Earthcare activities on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. She can be reached at the Catholic Earthcare Office.
l to r Luke Edwards - Program Manager, Jacqui Remond - National Director, Megan Seneque - Social Process Advisor and Facilitator and Sr Mary-Ann Casanova rsj - Project Officer/Assistant to the Director.
Day one saw Jacqui and Luke attending the meeting for the Bishops Commission for Justice, Ecology and Development. Fortunately there was time for a 'welcome back' cake on day two in between other meetings!
Parramatta Learning Community for Sustainability
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| Students led a tour of their garden. Pictured here with Catholic Earthcare's, Luke Edwards |
On
Wednesday 7 March, the Parramatta Learning Community (PLC) for
Sustainability met at St Finbar’s Primary, Glenbrook to discuss learning
opportunities for students around developing oral language skills
through kitchen garden groups and environmental programs.
Those
present at the meeting included principals, teachers and coordinators
from several Catholic schools across the diocese, as well as Zhan
Patterson from Western Sydney Regional Organisaton of Council’s (WSROC)
Water in the Landscape Project; Damien Feneley from Department of
Education and Workplace Training (DET); Jennifer Plaskett, Western
Sydney and Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health Districts; Luke Edwards,
acting national director from Catholic Earthcare; and head of
environmental education at Abbotsleigh Anglican School, Helen Watkins
who all spoke to the group about programs, initiatives and learning
tools that can be implemented in their teaching.
As
part of the meeting, St Finbar’s students from the Mountain Devils
kitchen garden group led the PLC members on a tour of their school
grounds, discussing their plants and herb gardens along the way.
The
next meeting of the Parramatta Learning Community for Sustainability
will be held 13 June at St John’s Primary, Riverstone 2-4pm. Interested
schools, educators, business and community leaders should contact Clare
Maloney via email: Clare.Maloney@parra.catholic.edu.au
More information about Kitchen Garden in Schools via: http://kitchengardensinschools.blogspot.com
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Several members from various educational and government organisations are members of the PLC for Sustainability
|
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| Catholic Education's, Clare Maloney says students need to use all their senses to balance indoor learning with outdoor learning |
courtesy of Parramatta Catholic Education.
For the full article please visit www.parra.catholic.edu.au
NSW Sustainable Schools Newsletter
Click here to read the March 2012 Edition
Learning Communities for Sustainability Gatherings
Sydney Learning Community for Sustainability scheduled for March 29 - venue TBC
If you are keen on establishing a learning community for sustainability, register your interest at admin@catholicearthcare.org.au
ASSISI Formation Opportunities
You are invited to express your interest in participating in the formation opportunities available.
An Animators for Sustainability programs will be held in May. Click here to read more.
*Only 4 places remaining on the May program (Tasmania)
A Creation and Reconciliation immersion program will be held in partnership with The Broken Bay Institute and the Diocese of Broken Bay Catholic Schools Office in April . The 2012 program is closed. Click here to read more.
Revised set of Prayers of General Intercession
An updated library of Prayers of General Intercession is now available. This resource is intended as a guide and springboard for the preparation of intercessory prayers with an ecological and eco-justice flavour.
Read more
ASSISI Formation - Animators for Sustainability - Castle Hill, Nov 2011
Catholic Earthcare facilitated the formation program for Animators for Sustainability at Marymount Mercy Conference Centre, Castle Hill November 22-25. Below is a smattering of comments from those who participated.
- I came to the workshop ready to be engaged and this happened.
- My expectatons were more than met.
- I valued the theory and information regarding systems approach to mission.
- My overall appreciation for the workshop is high. You are doing a central and crucial work for our Church, society and planet. You bring a holistic approach, which is sound and theory based.
Participation opportuinties available in 2012 -
Click to read more
The Murray-Darling Basin Plan
The draft plan for the Murray-Darling Basin has been released. The statement, 'The Gift of Water' which Catholic Earthcare Australia released in 2004 was endorsed by the Bishops of the Murray Darling Basin. You are invited to revisit this document in the light of the current proposals.
Murray-Darling Basin Statement: "The Gift of
Water"
A Statement from Catholic Earthcare Australia endorsed by Bishops
of the Murray-Darling Basin.
Click
here to download a PowerPoint presentation (16.4MB) which
summarises the main points of the Statement.
Click here
to download The Gift of Water in PDF format (3MB)
A number of environmental and community groups are working towards a brighter future for the River and all the human and non-human communities which depend on it.
For more information visit the Murray Darling Basin Authority website www.mdba.gov.au
The Friends of the Earth offer several ways to be involved.
Catholic health care leads the way in caring for the environment
St John of God Health Care recently took out the Corporate Business Leading by Example award at the WA Environmental Awards with its innovative ‘Safeguarding Our Environment’ program acknowledged as the best in the State.
The award reflects the depth and breadth of the organisation’s environmental sustainability strategy and its commitment to excellence in care, both for patients and the environment.
St John of God Health Care’s forward-looking environmental fund allocates $1.2 million annually for priority initiatives not covered in normal budget processes. This ensures that bright environmental ideas can come on stream immediately resulting in rapid benefits for the hospital or other operating division.
In addition, the organisation is the first health sector employer to have implemented and used
Energy Carbon Information System (ECIS) to electronically gather utility and waste data for
performance measurement and National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER).
Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr Michael Stanford, said the award reflects the hard work and dedication of the environmental teams and, critically, senior management buy-in that is vital to the success and sustainability of any corporate environmental program.
Dr Stanford said: “From our Board members and executives, who are pitching in by phasing out paper through the widespread use of tablet computers and taking part in sustainability leadership retreats, to our hospitals and other divisions who are enthusiastically embracing a number of environmental initiatives, we are determined to minimise the impact of our activities wherever and whenever we can.”
Some of the many success stories include the installation of solar hot water heating at our Murdoch hospital, with an anticipated 13% annual energy saving and the Travel Green program at our Subiaco hospital, which offers a daily allowance to those who use green modes of travel such as public transport, cycling or walking to get to work. So far, it has enticed 13% of the hospital’s caregivers to leave their cars at home and is now being extended to other operating divisions.
The Garden Planet is now on 
You Tube
The Garden Planet has made the transition from VHS format to DVD and is now available on You Tube.
Click here to access The Garden Planet on You Tube
Ecological Calculator
At Catholic Earthcare Australia we believe that everybody has a role to play in creating a sustainable world. Our individual actions, whether large or small, have a collective impact that will ultimately determine our future.
By combining our efforts we can help reduce humankind's impact on the planet and be part of the solution for a sustainable future.
This tool will calculate your ecological footprint for a 12-month period (your 'baseline footprint') by asking you questions about your energy use, travel, waste, and food consumption. Your 'baseline year' is counted as the 12 months prior to the date of you first use the calculator. If you don't have all 12 months of data for some questions don't worry - the calculator will estimate your annual emissions based on the data that you do enter.
Each part of the calculator has help available. Hovering over the label for each question will provide you with information on what data to enter, and clicking on the "Help" button for each question will provide you with additional information.
To navigate through the calculator just click on the tabs at the top. You can navigate between these tabs at any time. Information on your total footprint and tips on how to reduce it are displayed at the end of the calculator in the 'Summary' and Recommendations tabs.
Click here to LOGIN to the personal calculator.
How to host a Sustainable Event and/or Conference with the Catholic Earthcare Checklist
Catholic Earthcare invites you to host environmentally sustainable events on a sustainable budget.
Please use this guide to host environmentally sustainable events at your school, parish, congregation or church organisation that will lead to reduce the ecological footprint of your meetings, events and conferences.
This information can be implemented today with immediate results. Click here to download the guide.
