Rachel Mash

Green Anglican Activists could not put their phones down, for 5 days, and this was all fine! In fact, that was part of the plan. The Green Anglican Team organised a Mobile Journalism (MoJo) Training for, some Green Activist in the Province. This training taught these activists the ins and outs of using their Smart Phones  as a tool to capture important moments on Climate change adaptation, and anything else that is of value. The group consisted of participants from Diocese of Cape Town, ANSOC, Diocese of Mbashe, Diocese of Mthatha and Ecumenical partners. The Training was facilitated by Dominique , of MoJo. Revd Rachel Mash, Bino Makhalanyane and John-Paul Roberts from Green Anglicans, welcomed us, and made sure everyone was settled. The agenda went into details of the history of Mobile Journalism, Photography, Videography, the required Shots that make up a great Video, Adding sound, Editing the video, and so much more. The group was paired into twos and the work got practical, with some healthy competition, with Lutho Sigcu from UWC ANSOC, claiming to be the A-Student, as an experienced Content Creator. This fuelled the group, and challenged everyone dearly, in a healthy green way! We had visitor from The Friends of Zeekoevlei, who gave us the scoop on the challenges of Zeekoevleii, and were kind enough to allow us to interview them for footage for videos for assessments. The training concluded on Day 5, and the participants were tasked with producing two videos each, covering an Adaptation Project in their vicinity. We look forward to seeing these videos and sharing them with the Environment Family, across the Province and the greater Anglican Communion. Our goal is to lift up the voices of people impacted by climate change and how they are adapting to those changes. These ideas can then be shared and adopted by others We are grateful for the support of the Adaptation Network and Australian Anglican Overseas Aid in this project Melissa Awu, Cape Town

The Diocese of  Lake Malawi  passed a resolution to establish one woodlot per parish or station. The Diocesan Synod declared that every third week of January should be dedicated to replenishing the Environment. And so the Green Anglicans of Malawi took the initiative to implement this Synod resolution. To kick start this initiative, this year we secured 500 Mangoes and 500 Pine tree seedlings. Fruit and non-fruit trees were distributed and planted in all archdeaconries and the table below summarizes the total number of trees planted during the exercise; 8 Archdeaconries , and two schools received trees A total of 1000 trees were planted RECOMMENDATION          The Diocese of Lake Malawi is taking this exercise seriously in such a way that each parish with idle land is being earmarked for a woodlot/orchard.          Parishes should be encouraged to make an allocation for this exercise on annual basis.          Parishes should be proactive in sourcing the trees as early as possible to ensure that during planting time we do not struggle as to where to get them          The Green Anglicans in Malawi are so thankful to Rev. Dr. Rachel Mash and the United Thank Offering  for the support to make this exercise a reality; we do not take this gesture for granted. The team is working tirelessly to make sure that the campaigns being pursed reach to all the parishes in Malawi. These parish woodlots will be part of the Anglican Communion Forest Initiative

Earth Day Hike: A green Future is a prosperous Future!   The youth of St Michaels Church in Harare, Khayelitsha were challenged to learn more about nature and how to preserve it on an Earth Day hike 36 Young people including 4 leaders (Siliziwe Maka, Anele Maku, Solomzi Nyezi & Qhayiya Mjali)from the Parish of St. Michaels and All Angels,Harare took time to enjoy and appreciate nature on earth day by hiking Cecilia Forest via the waterfalls.The hike was a fun day and an educational event about naturing, appreciating and preserving nature. The young people took time walking and enjoying the beautiful scenery saroundend by trees, fresh air, beautiful waterfalls and beautiful Cape Town views. The weather was chilli with light rain which made the day even more beautiful. Our facilitator Solomzi Nyezi facilitated activities which engaged and educated the young people. Young people expressed that they would like to know more be more educated about how they could live their day to day lives preserving nature.  St. Michael’s is very grateful to Green Anglicans for the support. “We got to experience some peace and tranquility. The hike was fantastic and the view, the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful! The trail was much easier than expected.”this is some of the feed back from the young people. Hopefully in the future we will be more involved and active “green anglicans.” We worshipped God our Creator  through song, and the hike was also a reminder and a lesson about the journey of life and Young people were reminded to Keep on Moving“Life is, in a lot of different ways, like a long and challenging trail” As we trek the journey we call life, we, far too often, easily give up on our dreams and hopes, overwhelmed by challenges, disappointment or rejection. But on the hiking trail, you’ll learn that as long as you’re putting one foot in front of the other, you are getting somewhere”. by  Siliziwe Maka We are very grateful for the support of the United Thank Offering for this project of educating youth

After a Lent retreat reflecting on WORLD WATER DAY the Green Anglicans of Inhambane continued with our activity (restoration of Mangal on the Seaside of Chambone Mission).  Today the activity was attended by Ven. Micaias Caessa Diocesan Coordinator of Green Anglicans- Anglican Diocese of Inhambane and Bishop Emanuel Capeta-Provincial President of the Commission on Climate Change and Environment. So far we count 550 Mangrove  seedlings planted…. We continue to count on the collaboration and support of each of you! Provincial Coordinator of Green Anglicans Father Aurelio Uqueio Mangroves are a group of trees and shrubs that grow in coastal areas in tropical and subtropical regions. They play a vital role in protecting our coastlines from erosion and  storm surges,. They also provide habitat and nursery grounds for many fish species and other marine life, including endangered species. Additionally, mangroves store carbon in their roots and sediments, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. Overall, mangroves are essential for maintaining healthy coastal ecosystems and are important to many local communities who rely on them for their livelihoods. Depois de um Retiro Quaresmal refletindo sobre o DIA MUNDIAL DA ÁGUA (22/03), demos a continuidade com a nossa actividade (repovoamento do Mangal na Orla Marítima da Missão Chambone). Hoje a actividade contou com a presença do Ven. Micaias Caessa Coordenador Diocesano dos Anglicanos Verdes- Diocese Anglicana de Inhambane e do Bispo Emanuel Capeta-Presidente Provincial da Comissão das Mudanças Climáticas e Meio-Ambiente. Contabilizamos até este momento 550 mudas de Mangais já plantadas…. Continuamos a contar com a colaboração e apoio de cada um de vós! Coordenador Provincial dos Anglicanos Verdes Padre Uqueio

Cape Town was the first major city in the world to face ‘Day Zero’ when all the taps would be turned off. Since then the water situation has improved, as we were in a period of  La Niña induced heavy rains. However as we enter a cycle of El Niño lower rains are projected and Cape Town faces another period of reduced rains Another challenge is load shedding when the electricity is cut for up to eight hours a day. This is putting an enormous load on the sewage system, as the pumps cant work, leading to breakdowns and flooding. The situation is made worse by people dumping rubbish into the sewage system which blocks it The City held a “water and sanitation innovation indaba” calling for civil society to share ideas and innovations that could help solve some of these problems. Green Anglicans was invited to present to a panel of water experts their ideas around faith based education . There are 722 verses in the bible that talk about water, Christians are baptised by water, Muslims wash their hands for their five daily prayers. All religions hold water to be sacred. This is a great motivation for people to be better stewards, saving and harvesting water. Educational materials can be geared for the faith community, with scriptures , sermon ideas and prayers The panel was very interested in the proposed idea. Let us watch this space to see if the City takes it up!!