Save the date - November 21 and 22, 2003

The Provincial Convocation on the Environment will be held at the Mont St. Marie Conference Center, Holyoke. Friday and Saturday each have two sessions; the weekend begins 1:30pm Fri. and ends 3pm Sat. Cost: approx. $96.00 for food, lodging and program. CFE has scholarship money

Pathways for creation awareness and care

Mull on this over the summer. Using a gardening analogy, it suggests that your parish may have a characteristic way to begin environmental stewardship.

"When it comes to helping a congregation cultivate a creation-honoring vision, it can be very difficult to know where to begin. Every congregation is unique - in the same way that every garden, family, or eco-system differs from the next. So in working with a congregation, there is no "one right way" to begin. And each congregational organizer has different knowledge and skills to bring to her/his work…We will use the analogy of a gardener cultivating a garden as a framework for exploring some ways in which you might begin to green your congregation…

Build community with others interested in sustainable gardening. Some gardeners will let their activities, vision and knowledge grow out of these relationships. A first step may be discovering these like-minded workers in the garden, then nurturing relationships with them.

Study and gain more knowledge of sustainable gardening in general and or this garden in particular. Some gardeners may feel that they'd like to have as much information as possible before beginning concrete activities, working with others or envisioning a long-term strategy.

Engage in a gardening activity that will give hands-on experience and possibly bring other gardeners together around a specific task. Some gardeners feel most satisfied when they can dive right into an activity and let the experience be a foundation for learning, relationship building and a long-term vision of sustainable gardening. Others may feel called to respond to a pressing need or crisis and find that immediate action is the best entry pathway.

Develop gardening plan or strategy that will help to shape the broader vision of the garden. Some gardeners prefer to have a "road map" (garden plan) before they begin to gather information, work with others, or launch into an activity.

Although the gardener may enter sustainable gardening through one of these four pathways, she will probably engage in each one of them over time…" Tanya Barcovna Barnett, Ed.

Greening Congregations Handbook. Earth Ministry, 2002.

More about Eco Teams

In the EcoTeam program, developed by Global Action Plan for the Earth, small groups of adults gather regularly to learn about particular environmental issues, discuss and commit themselves to specific action projects addressing those issues, and support each other in their commitments. The program helps team members and others in their communities develop environmentally sensitive lifestyles, empowering them to become more responsible stewards of the earth's resources. Communities of faith often use eco-teams as a small group experience , but the Eco-Team material is not itself tailored to faith groups.

The Greater Boston Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life developed an outstanding Jewish Study and Action Companion to the Eco-Team Workbook, Roots and Branches. Text study it offers for the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) is a powerful grounding for faith practice CFE has copies to loan. Please call Judi Clay, 617-482-4826 x 301.

More on Pesticides

Pesticides harmful to humans and other non-target species are commonly used to control adult and larval mosquitoes. In Massachusetts, authorization for mosquito control is given exclusively to Mosquito Control Districts located throughout the State. Towns who wish to have mosquito control efforts must join a District and be subject to its rules in order to have such services as surveillance, ditch cleaning, larvaciding and adulticiding.

Mosquito control in Massachusetts currently suffers from lack of standardization across districts; confusion over nuisance vs. public health related control activities; and inadequacy of documentation of efficacy and nontarget impacts. Per request of Heidi Ricci, Senior Environmental Policy Specialist at Mass Audubon, a meeting will be held June 10 to discuss these issues with a variety of stakeholders. To learn more, contact Sarah Little, PhD slittle@attbi. Com or 781-431-1019 x294 at www.ci.wellesley.ma.us/nrc/pesticide

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