GREEN SANCTUARY PROGRAM

As 2009 unfolds, we hope to make strides in energy conservation as well. An audit revealed the church’s electricity use increased in 2004-2005 after several years of decrease, so we are trying to find out why that happened and remedy it. We also hope to promote green values in the church’s investing and purchasing, and in any potential building activities. We want to encourage more sustainable transport to and from church (and elsewhere) and are working on a carpool plan. We will continue our monthly film series, encourage church policies of energy conservation and recycling, support the "That's My Farmer" program, and offer adult classes using materials from the Northwest Earth Institute. And finally, we hope to develop a micro-finance program. More below

Current Activities:

• COMMITTEE MEETINGS - see UUpDate for each month's meeting

• SUBSCRIBE to the Green Sanctuary Discussion Email List

• Get a FREE household climate consultation  (2009)
Call or email the Climate Leadership Initiative to schedule the consultation and tell us what you’re most interested in. We’ll send a Climate Master (a community member trained through our Climate Master class) to your home to tailor a plan for reducing your personal and household greenhouse gas emissions. The consultant will come brimming with resources and free energy saving devices for your home that will cut your bills and your emissions immediately, like compact florescent lightbulbs and easy to install insulation and power strips, donated by Jerry’s Home Improvement Center. Contact the Climate Leadership Initiative at 346-0786 or climlead@uoregon.edu to sign up. The Climate Leadership Initiative is an educational, research, and technical assistance consortium aimed at increasing public understanding of the risks and opportunities posed by global warming and enhancing climate protection policy and program development.

• 30 DAY PROGRAM TO LOSE 5000 POUNDS is a fun, accessible, easy to use guide that will show you, step-by-step, how to dramatically reduce your CO2 output in just a month's time. http://www.empowermentinstitute.net/lcd/

• CARBON USE CALCULATORS
http://www.empowermentinstitute.net/lcd/lcd_files/LCDcalcNet.html
Calculate Your Carbon Footprint (PDF on the church site)

• TRANSPORTATION THOUGHTS
Here is good information about other options and small steps.

Also: Lawn to Garden, Grassroots Garden, School Garden Project, Climate master program, and Stream Team...

GREEN SANCTUARY PROGRAM

The Green Sanctuary Program is a national UUA accreditation program that mobilizes the disparate efforts in a church around the issues of sustainability, social justice, and the environment. Our purpose is

• To build awareness of societal environmental issues among UU's
• To generate commitment for personal lifestyle changes
• To motivate UU's to community action on environmental issues
• To build a connection between spiritual practice and environmental consciousness
• To build awareness of and rectify environmental injustices

The Program asks that we take action on energy conservation, recycling and reduced resource use, communication with the congregation on practical environmental practices at home, religious education, worship, and environmental justice issues that knit our community together and strengthen our connection with Earth and its systems and beings. At the end of a year in which we demonstrate our willingness to take on and accomplish these tasks, we receive recognition as a “Green Sanctuary” by the national UUA. We have already done a great deal of this work, so the Program gives us a check list for what’s done and what can be done better. Over the long term, the program seeks to help us live as if a future in a flourishing natural world really matters – now. You can learn more about the Program on the UUA web site: www.uua.org/ga/ga01/2065a.html .

ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT ACTION PLAN

The Green Sanctuary Committee (GSC) has begun its first task of gathering information about the church’s current practices in the following areas: energy, toxics, recycling, purchasing and investing, landscape (environment), religious education, and worship services. By the end of April the committee hopes to have enough information, along with an action plan, to submit our application to become a Green Sanctuary Church.

For the Action Plan, the church will need to choose two activities relating to Worship and Celebration, Religious Education, and Environmental Justice; four activities that contribute to Sustainable Living; and two more in any of those areas. Some preliminary ideas as follows:

Environmental Justice/Sustainable Living
     • Lobby local stores to discontinue toxic products.
     • Form an activist computer network similar to MoveOn.Org to address local issues, with ways to send email or petitions to potential supporters.

Sustainable Living:
     • Lobby local stores to encourage packaging that is less wasteful or harmful to the environment.
     • Have a Master Gardener or someone from NCAP speak to the church and/or community about pesticide-free lawn care
     • Foster car-pooling to church and church events
     • Reinstate valet bike parking for big events
     • Move the church’s bike rack away from native plants; Install a bigger bike rack
     • Ensure that church landscape plans help to prevent runoff
     • Green building, for any new church construction
     • Global Warming 1-2-3 Pledge
     • Food for Thought and Action Pledge

Environmental Justice
     • Socially responsible investing by the church - encourage - also by members
     • Work with Habitat for Humanity on a service project
     • Volunteers to help in Grassroots Garden (Food for Lane County)
     • Promote Latino gardeners for hire
     • Micro-financing for small, low-income businesses
     • Lobby LRAPA, DEQ to support neighbors in low-income neighborhood affected by Baxter Co., very bad polluters
     • Green building education, for members’ homes

Religious Education
     • Intergenerational activities re: sustainability
     • Incorporate more about the earth in all curriculums

Worship and Celebration
     • More worship services about the earth, intergenerational

Gardens Task Force
The Gardens Task Force launched the following projects. All levels of participation are being planned, from one-day work parties to ongoing events, including:
     ° “Bed raising” events to educate, promote and assist in the creation of personal vegetable gardens for church members and the community.
     ° Volunteer days to work at the Trauma Healing Center’s garden.
     ° Fundraising and volunteer work days for the Grassroots Garden.
     ° Lobbying the city to designate land for more community gardens and helping to create them.
If you are interested in having our community help you build raised beds or start your own garden, please contact Judy Sawyer at jsawyer@rio.com

Committee members were encouraged to review this list and add other items as they think of them. Anyone interested may also submit ideas to the committee through Judy Sawyer at jsawyer@rio.com.