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220 cashew trees were planted in Chambone Mission  in Maxixe as part of the Greening of Maxixe Urban Area project. The tree planting took place in  collaboration with the Maxixe City Council and OJM-Mozambican Youth Organization (Maxixe), The trees were planted  in the residential and coastal area of the Chambone Mission …. The activity is aimed at mitigating the effects of erosion that worryingly rages this Zone. 36 Young people took part in the activity, of which 2 Councilmen and 6 OJM members. The 28 are part of Anglican Youth, members of Green Anglicans – Inhambane Cashew trees are indigenous. They help to reduce deforestation as people do not cut them down for firewood since they give cashews for food and for income to sell Rev Aurelio Uqueio, Environmental Coordinator, Diocese of Lebombos, Mozambique

#fast4earth Have an electronics free day I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. (Psalm 101:3) Five Reasons to Take a Break from Screens Research is growing that shows that excessive media  use is not good for us physically, mentally, or emotionally. The good news is that taking a media break is a powerful way to improve our well-being. What are some of the advantages? Slow down and smell the roses! We do not appreciate the moments of silence or peace in between activities, because we always grab our cell phone to see what we have been missing. So we never really have a moment of complete down time. When we walk to your next appointment or class, take time to breathe in the fresh air, rather than checking your social media as you rush along. Improved sleep Electronic media is not your friend when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep, especially if it’s used in the hours close to bedtime. This is partly due to the  effects of the “blue light” of the screen, which confuses the brain into thinking it is not night time, , delaying  sleep. In one study, for example, people reading on an e-reader at night, compared to those reading a print book,  took longer to fall asleep, and felt less rested the next day. We are also temped to ‘quickly’ check our social media , and find ourselves still active hours later. Late night work emails or irritating social media posts will disturb your peace and not let you sleep.. Better  connections Social media promises social connection, but the full richness of human relationships is best found face-to-face. Playing an active or board game with your children can be a huge highlight of their week as you are not distracted by your phone.  You can have deeper conversations when you are not constantly distracted. We can nourish our relationships by having a fast from electronics! 4. Productivity and learning Any work that requires a focused mind will benefit from a media break. The constant use of electronics means that we are always ‘task switching’ and not concentrating so deeply on the task at hand. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/five_reasons_to_take_a_break_from_screens

  The first Church in Creation for the year was held on the LIesbeek River., led by the Arocha team   Sabelo from Friends of the Liesbeek explained how over the last years the river is being restored to a living eco-system. Every week a group of volunteers takes a huge amount of litter out of the river, and many indigenous plants have been planted on the banks and invasives removed. We then had a time of reflection and ended with a clean up. Baba Dioum — ‘In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand and we will understand only what we are taught.’ This is true for our relationship with the natural world. The Liesbeek River is part of the Salt River system of rivers which enters Table Bay at Woodstock Beach. This watershed is our home, but do we really understand it? So we come to Church in Creation with open minds and open hearts to move from knowledge to love, and from love to hands-on caring #churchincreation Photos James Irlam

#BIGFALSEBAYCLEANUP At the Southern part of Cape Town lies the beautiful False Bay, home to dolphins, seals and whales, surfers and swimmers. It is a treasured part of Cape Town life where many go to spend family time on the beautiful beaches and the warmer waters of the Indian ocean. On the 5th of December members of the #together4creation group organised a #bigfalsebaycleanup  at five different venues across the 33 km wide bay; Muizenberg, Mnandi, Macassar, Monwabisi and Strand.. Gen 1:20  “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures”. This coast does indeed teem with swarms of living creatures. But when they see small pieces of plastic, they think that it is food and swallow it. When their stomachs are full of plastic they get no nutrition and so can die of hunger. God has called us to be keepers of the earth and so part of that task  is to stop pieces of plastic from going into the ocean” Said Rev Rachel Mash Over 200  people took part from 25 churches; Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, Lutherans, Dutch Reformed Church, Jubilee, one Spirit, and others. In Khayelitsha we were joined by 10 Cuban doctors and the clean up ended up with a dance festival! The group from Muizenberg were sent a message from the former Miss Earth (who was in isolation) “remember it is the little things that we say that won’t cause damage  that are harmful to sea creatures” Other partner organisations took part such as the Ocean Awareness group and Surf instructors who gave information about marine pollution and water safety. On some of the beaches nurdles were found – these are tiny pieces of plastic that look like eggs and are a huge risk to marine life. The #together4creation group was born during Season of Creation, when young people from different churches joined forces to organise an online service for the world day of prayer for creation on the 1st of September. They decided to continue working together on an ongoing basis, inspiring other churches to join them