THIRD JOINT ECO CONFERENCE BETWEEN DIOCESE OF VELLORE AND CAMBRIDGESHIRE ECUMENICAL COUNCIL
On 8th August 2019 the third joint Diocese of Vellore and Cambridgeshire Ecumenical Council Eco Conference took place at St John’s Church in Vellore. The keynote speakers were Dr Magdalene of the Research Department of Zoology at Voorhees College, Vellore, and Dr Helen Mason of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Cambridge University. Presentations were made by staff from Tirrapatur and Sipcot Schools on their Eco Projects and the conference concluded with the distribution of saplings to those delegates who were able to take them back to their organisation for planting – unfortunately not the Cambridgeshire team!
On this visit three of the Cambridgeshire team were also able to participate in an international ecological conference on greening the globe for sustainable living which was organised by CSI Synod Department of Ecological Concerns on 1st - 4th August 2019 at Chennai. An account of this conference can be found here.
At the Vellore Conference delegates were reminded how stewardship of the earth’s resources is both collective and personal, and that there is a need to support laws and policies to secure clean air, safe water and productive land, with every institution taking responsibility for reducing energy conservation, limiting waste, using sustainable technology and local producers, and greening their environment. Dr Magdalene’s recommendations for individual action was “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” that is to: buy less; use recyclable products; buy bulk to reduce packaging; buy second-hand; compost; eliminate toxins at home; buy organic; conserve water and energy and learn to think ecologically. She reminded us that already 600,000,000 people in India alone were at risk because of extreme weather and drought associated with climate change, in particular in the 12 states of the Himalaya Region. Dr Helen spoke on global warming and recommended: use less electricity; improve public transport; walk or cycle where possible rather than drive; plant more trees and forests; eat less meat and more vegetables; recycle more; pray for wise leaders locally and nationally who understand the issues and act on them.
Diocese of Vellore schools have been active in promoting Eco concern (Voorhees College came third in the CSI Green School Project at the Chennai conference mentioned above). Actions included: Eco Clubs; nurturing plants on campus; creating biodiversity registers to evaluate the green cover, insect wealth and medicinal use of plants on site (Voorhees had 35 species of tree, 13 types of grass and 33 different herbs on campus); auditing energy and investing in solar panels; rainwater harvesting; separating recyclables and arranging for their collection; honouring visitors with gifts of plants rather than shawls; using waste water from hand washing to water plants; clearing plastics out of the classrooms; planting a sapling on a child’s birthday and giving them responsibility to care for their tree; having electricity free days and powering down the smartboards. The schools represented at this conference were all secondary schools, and it is the intention of the Diocese of Vellore to involve their elementary schools in Green School Projects.
The Vellore Diocese Eco Convenor, Pastor Robert, outlined how CSI resolutions on Eco Issues will be forwarded in the Diocese, including refusing to use plastic, and asking congregation members at the forthcoming Eco Sunday to donate any items they had not used in the last year to sell and raise money for the poor. A sapling distribution initiative is already well underway and churches would be encouraged to take up the same kinds of practices as the Eco Schools. In response, Reverend Paul Whittle, Chair of Cambridgeshire Ecumenical Council, explained some of the actions being taken by English Churches, including Operation Noah and Eco Congregation Awards, as well as using video conferencing to avoid unnecessary travel, and influencing the policies of major organisations who contributed to climate change.
On this visit three of the Cambridgeshire team were also able to participate in an international ecological conference on greening the globe for sustainable living which was organised by CSI Synod Department of Ecological Concerns on 1st - 4th August 2019 at Chennai. An account of this conference can be found here.
At the Vellore Conference delegates were reminded how stewardship of the earth’s resources is both collective and personal, and that there is a need to support laws and policies to secure clean air, safe water and productive land, with every institution taking responsibility for reducing energy conservation, limiting waste, using sustainable technology and local producers, and greening their environment. Dr Magdalene’s recommendations for individual action was “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” that is to: buy less; use recyclable products; buy bulk to reduce packaging; buy second-hand; compost; eliminate toxins at home; buy organic; conserve water and energy and learn to think ecologically. She reminded us that already 600,000,000 people in India alone were at risk because of extreme weather and drought associated with climate change, in particular in the 12 states of the Himalaya Region. Dr Helen spoke on global warming and recommended: use less electricity; improve public transport; walk or cycle where possible rather than drive; plant more trees and forests; eat less meat and more vegetables; recycle more; pray for wise leaders locally and nationally who understand the issues and act on them.
Diocese of Vellore schools have been active in promoting Eco concern (Voorhees College came third in the CSI Green School Project at the Chennai conference mentioned above). Actions included: Eco Clubs; nurturing plants on campus; creating biodiversity registers to evaluate the green cover, insect wealth and medicinal use of plants on site (Voorhees had 35 species of tree, 13 types of grass and 33 different herbs on campus); auditing energy and investing in solar panels; rainwater harvesting; separating recyclables and arranging for their collection; honouring visitors with gifts of plants rather than shawls; using waste water from hand washing to water plants; clearing plastics out of the classrooms; planting a sapling on a child’s birthday and giving them responsibility to care for their tree; having electricity free days and powering down the smartboards. The schools represented at this conference were all secondary schools, and it is the intention of the Diocese of Vellore to involve their elementary schools in Green School Projects.
The Vellore Diocese Eco Convenor, Pastor Robert, outlined how CSI resolutions on Eco Issues will be forwarded in the Diocese, including refusing to use plastic, and asking congregation members at the forthcoming Eco Sunday to donate any items they had not used in the last year to sell and raise money for the poor. A sapling distribution initiative is already well underway and churches would be encouraged to take up the same kinds of practices as the Eco Schools. In response, Reverend Paul Whittle, Chair of Cambridgeshire Ecumenical Council, explained some of the actions being taken by English Churches, including Operation Noah and Eco Congregation Awards, as well as using video conferencing to avoid unnecessary travel, and influencing the policies of major organisations who contributed to climate change.