| The Wyoming Association of
Churches (WAC) and the Wyoming Conservation Voters Education
Fund (WCVEF) are pleased to announce Wyoming’s first-ever
faith-based environmental gathering: “On Sacred
Ground: Faith and the Environment.”
This statewide conference Sept. 27-29
in Lander seeks to inspire, educate and
activate people of faith and conservationists, and build
partnerships between them to care for the natural world.
Participants can expect thought-provoking dialogue, inspiring
speakers, practical conservation techniques and an opportunity
to build partnerships.
Activities planned include keynote addresses
by Peter Illyn, founder of Restoring Eden, and Peter Sawtell,
founder of Eco-Justice Ministries, both national leaders
in creation-care and environmental justice; numerous workshops
with topics ranging from energy usage, local foods, environmental
justice, to civic collaboration; local field trips to
sensitive ecosystems; and collaborative planning of future
cooperative projects.
In addition to keynote speeches, field trips
and a topical art display, participants will also have
a dozen interactive workshops to choose from. Highlights
include:
-
A wildlife stewardship session led by
Wyoming Game & Fish Director Terry Cleveland,
Wyoming Wildlife Trust Fund Director Bob Budd,
and Harold Bergman of the University
of Wyoming;
-
An exploration of youth involvement, “Creating
Kids who Care,” led by Susan McGuire
of the Wyoming Association for Environmental
Education, with participation from Lander youth involved
in the “Sustainable Lives” community garden
program;
-
Rebekah Simon-Peter of
BridgeWorks, a certified presenter of The Climate
Project, a movement to educate and challenge citizens,
and governments into action against the growing crisis
of global warming; and
-
A discussion of the challenges and rewards
of choosing local food sources, with Andrea
Malmberg, co-owner of Twin Creek Ranch, famous
for its grass-fed native rangeland beef as well as
its holistic management.
“On Sacred Ground: Faith and the Environment”
grew out of groundbreaking collaboration by 15 religious
organizations and congregations and 15 conservation and
sportsman organizations to establish a working partnership
in support of mutual goals – earth stewardship.
While these communities had not worked together
formally in the past, we discovered during the planning
process that our communities are in fact very closely
integrated in ways we did not anticipate. Several delegates
from congregations had professional or volunteer experience
in on-the-ground conservation work, and many of the participants
from conservation groups were already active in their
local churches.
Gathering this diverse group of participants
was a deeply rewarding experience which quickly produced
agreement that this partnership deserved close study,
careful nurturing and significant resources from both
communities.
A generous grant from the Turner Foundation
made the planning retreat and a summer-long collaborative
planning process possible, while support from two donor-advised
funds of the Wyoming Community Foundation provided the
needed resources to invite the general public and national
experts to the conference.
An additional gift from the Wyoming Arts Council,
made possible by support from the National Endowment for
the Arts, brought in the arts community to further deepen
the conference’s multidisciplinary approach.
In addition to the workshops, field trips
and fellowships, participants will be actively involved
in planning future collaborative projects between the
faith and conservation communities. Depending on feedback
and volunteers’ own interests, we expect an array
of new efforts ranging from energy audits of church and
conservation organization facilities to habitat restoration
work.
Participants can register online at www.wcvedfund.org
for $75, including all meals, or for selected portions
of the event. A block of rooms has also been reserved
for conference attendees. For more information, contact
Darci Jones at (307) 335-8796 or darci@wyovoters.org.
Darci Jones is a former wilderness
guide for the National Outdoor Leadership School, and
has five years’ prior experience with other Outdoor
Education schools. A University of Montana Masters Graduate
with an undergraduate degree from Prescott College, Darci
is an experienced outdoor educator and social worker.
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