Communities of faith share a commitment to care for the planet. Locally, congregations and members are connecting their faith to growing trees for shade, cooling, and healthier communities in San Diego.
- Start with an invitation to your congregation and members with reasons that resonate with your faith community.
- You might introduce it at a service, show a video, start a book study, or offer the idea as a service project with families.
- Invite youth to act on their environmental concerns and future by investing in trees for creation care and climate action.
Trees on faith properties
- Bring together faith leaders, building committee, landscaper, and interested members
- Ask an arborist to assess your site, check irrigation, and suggest species
- Arrange for tree purchases and set up a planting day with families and other members
- Pay attention to tree watering, weeding, and young tree pruning to keep trees healthy
- Recognize that trees on faith properties provide many more benefits of trees in the community
Trees for families and other members
- Talk about creation care, family commitment to an action, and roles of family and household members
- Follow these steps! for identifying your site in back- or front-yard, choosing and getting trees (in small 5-gallon size), and caring for your tree
- Make some lifestyle changes that support both creation care and climate action with trees.
Learn more about your faith community’s actions for creation care.
- Interfaith Coalition for Earth Justice, https://icejsd.org/ Tree committee established to “create greenspace and additional tree canopy in communities with little or none.”
- Catholic Diocese of San Diego, Creation Care Program, 2021 Creation Care Action Plan, https://www.sdcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/life-peace-and-justice/care-for-creation-and-environment/documents/Creation-Care-Action-Plan.pdf.
- Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, Interview with Rev. Michael Curry, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church of the US, 2021, https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/episcopal-church-leader-urges-action-climate-change-81100466