News

Season of Creation Five

EcoSchool 2017 Newsletter final

LEARNING ABOUT RUBBISH CAN BE FUN! St Dominics Church in Hanover Park has been running a holiday club for many years to provide a safe space for children during the cold winter school holiday. This year they invited Green Anglicans to lead a session with the young people. We didn’t know learning about rubbish could be so fun! One game was called “ten things I find in the river”. Each group was given the name of an item such a KFC packet, baby’s nappy etc which is sadly found in a river. They had to draw it for their group and the person who got it right rushed back for the next word. It was sad to reflect on all the rubbish in the rivers Next the groups were given magazines and hunted for pictures of the bad things that we do to other people (violence, crime, abuse etc) and the bad things we do to the world (pollution, littering, junkfood etc).  The young people explained what they had stuck onto their posters and it was wonderful to see what a lot of knowledge they have! Then we learned that when Jesus died on the cross, he died to save the humans but he also died to save the whole world – those rivers , the endangered animals, the polluted air. He is wanting us – who have the name of “Christ-ian” to work with him to be part of healing the earth. So the session ended with a competition to which team could collect the most rubbish in the shortest time.  Our little contribution to healing the world!

DIOCESE OF CHRIST THE KING – RENEWING THE INTEGRITY OF CREATION The clergy of the Diocese of Christ the King – in Johannesburg South Africa gathered for an Environmental Workshop. Rev Dr Rachel Mash , Environmental Coordinator addressed them on the challenge of Environmental Degradation and Climate Change. Of particular concern is air and water pollution caused by the many coal burning stations in the region. Waste was also identified as a massive issue. The archdeaconries then gathered to look at how they would put into practice the call of the fifth mark of Mission – to safeguard and renew the integrity of creation. Here are some of the ideas that flowed: Environmental Spirituality To hold retreats in Nature. Celebrate the Season of Creation. Create environmental themes for children’s ministry. Open air services. Local parish centres Food gardening . Create “ten commandments of the environment”.. Revive our environmental policy.  To appoint an archdeaconry fieldworker. Save water and electricity. Raise funds for water tanks (jojos). Encourage different guilds (mothers union etc) to start gardens. Have a parish rep for the environment. Community outreach To get involved in the Klipriver and Vaal river. Involvement in school projects.  Plant trees. Report leakages and sewerage to local authorities.  Partner with other churches around environmental challenges. Watch this space – Christ the King is moving! ————————–

PENINSULA PADDLE – TAKING BACK THE WATERWAYS “The health of a City is seen in its waterways” – Kevin Winter, a member of Christ Church Kenilworth in Cape Town has a passion for water. He works at the Future Water Institute at the University of Cape Town and given the current drought crisis , has been invited to address the issue of water justice at the International Water Justice Conference as well as the AGM of A Rocha South Africa. As he often says, the challenge is not just the scarcity of water but also the quality of water. The City is connected by its waterways, which are often polluted by domestic and industrial waste. How can we help build awareness of the real state of our city’s waterways? And so the idea of the Peninsular Paddle was born, to get people onto kayaks and to explore the rivers, to see and experience for themselves the beauty of the rivers as well as the pollution. The Peninsular Paddle has two goals – to raise awareness about the blue-green water corridors that have potential to join our divided city; and to bring to the attention of the City of Cape Town and public the condition of the waterways. The third goal is to have fun on the water! This year was a great experience, young people came in their numbers as well as the young at heart. Although it was a cold and windy day, we kept warm by paddling and it was fascinating to see the different parts of Cape Town from a different perspective. There was a huge variety of birdlife, which was heartening to see, but also sad to see how much litter, especially plastic, was on the banks of the rivers and to pass pipes leaking unpleasant things into the river. We were all inspired to make a difference, to treasure our waterways and inspire others to do the same. There are not sacred and profane places. There are only sacred and desecrated places—and it is we alone who desecrate them by our blindness and lack of reverence. It is one sacred universe, and we are all a part of it. (Richard Rohr) Over 80 paddlers joined the Peninsula Paddle last Sunday to celebrate the recent rainfall and refreshment that this brought to the dire state of Cape Town’s waterways. The Peninsula Paddle is a gruelling journey from Muizenberg to Milnerton that requires participants to paddle and drag their kayaks through canals, rivers and vleis over a distance of about 15 kilometres. Certain sections are not possible to traverse. Along the way the paddlers get a close-up view of the city’s waterways following months of accumulated litter, aquatic weeds and contaminated water that regularly flows into the canals and lakes. The paddle is a long standing initiative of community-based conservation organisations, with the leading role being played by UCT’s Future Water Institute and the Friends of the Liesbeek. Greg Bertish was the celebrity guest at the event this year. He is an inspiring adventurer and fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital Trust. He paddled and sailed his dinghy through the waterways – a sign of his personal grit and determination. The paddlers were also joined by 30 youngsters from the Steenberg and Grassy Park communities, which lie adjacent to the paddle route. Every one of these participants had to prove their ability on the water by attending a series of practice outings held at Zandvlei, which were organised by the City’s Sports and Recreation Development Department. The programme encourages the youth to take an interest in waterways and enjoy the fun of paddling these river corridors. The Peninsula Paddle raises a critical message: “The health of the city is seen in its waterways.” The blue and green waterways are the veins of the city that connect well-established suburbs to some of the poorest parts of the city. We all share the waterways. Whatever gets dumped into storm-water drains and is allowed to flow into the waterways will eventually find its way to the sea. The recent rains flushed tons of trash, plastics and other materials out to sea. Once solid waste gets into the water, it is almost impossible to get it out. The challenge of addressing the pollution of Cape Town’s waterways and beaches is overwhelming the City’s resources. Regular cleaning and maintenance is necessary, but this is unsustainable in the long term. The heart of the challenge is about enabling citizens to enjoy and value these waterways – this is the long term vision of the Peninsula Paddle.

Green Anglicans hosted a cluster meeting/workshop for movers and shakers in the region of Gauteng.  Beginning Friday the 30th of June to the 1st of July, all the leaders gathered to discuss national key environmental issues which are affecting all dioceses in the region.  The team leaders were joined by Dr Roselyn Kareithi, who came insight of helping us review our working mechanism as Green Anglicans and its effectiveness. In some of the activities she made us discuss different ways of approach, especially to people who already have spiritual beliefs.  We later proceeded into the program for the following day, where everyone was invited to come. Saturday the 1st we moved to the Cathedral of St Mary in Johannesburg , where everyone was invited.  Dioceses that were present included Johannesburg, Christ the King, Highveld and Pretoria. Predominately  young people and a handful of clergy, the conference kick-started on a good note with a morning prayer from one of the very active clergy in the environmental ministry Rev Mpho Mohale, after that we had each diocese share what they have done so far and what they would like to achieve. We had four major themes for the day (Water, Water, Coal and Food) Lydia Mogano  from Southern African Faith Communities’ presented on food, Okuhle Waste Company came on behalf of Pickitup to talk about waste.  A video about coal use and its health impacts called “Bliss of Ignorance” which highlighted in bold how use of coal is affecting the lives of many in South Africa as well the environment at large.  The hall was then split into diocese to plan their actions for the next 24months, and  this is what transpired : DIOCESE OF JOHANNESBURG Water and waste Advocate through visuals(documentaries, Posters) Speech Collaborations (rand water , municipality, JAEI, Pickitup) Jojo tanks (water harvesting) Finding recycling measures around your community Direct services   DIOCESE OF PRETORIA WASTE MANAGEMENT How are we are going to do it? Pass motions of synod (the whole dioceses to go the same road) Plan of action Power of listening Heartbreaking stones Your gift What type of service? waste management church to partner with local school encourage taxi driver  to have some bins in their taxis Teaching people to separate waste Teach people to identify between recyclable and none recyclable What partner organizations do you need to partner with ?(Tumelong, different areas) What are our challenges- People not willing to learn and lack of knowledge. The Diocese of Highveld and Christ The King, both agreed and set up a follow up meeting, to discuss their plan of actions, as they still need to speak to a couple of people.