Reflections on the Sustainability Summit

(November 8-10, 2013)

The gathering was all about sustainability! Not only was that true of the name of the conference, but I could feel it emanating from the participants as I entered the meeting room. I could sense a positive energy running very deeply in the 33 college students who had come together from 7 different institutions for the weekend.

It was fitting that the Sunday morning session I led was taking place in the Barn at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center. The sturdy oak beams of the Barn ––erected 111 years ago –– wonderful represent the enduring quality of sustainability. I often reflect on the timeframe portrayed by the beams knowing that the trees from which the beams came began to grow long before Europeans settled the landscape that is now Merry Lea.

The beams bear the marks of the axes that carved out their shape from the once living trees. These hand-hewn beams have a 111-year history of supporting the Barn throughout its many phases of use –– from cows and hay to people and hardy meals. At the same time the beams remind us of the verdant forest that once dominated the landscape. The degradation to the land caused by humans is in full evidence even as restoration activities are part of the Merry Lea mission. The Barn symbolizes the tension between human activity and the resilience of the Earth systems.

My dialogue with the students gathered in the Barn centered on how our faith commitments should be congruent with our sustainability goals – and vice versa. I believe that we each have a belief system that influences our actions – and if we haven’t thought about that intersection, it is time that we do. My personal Christian faith commitment is deeply rooted in the Christ who is Creator, Sustainer and Reconciler (Colossians 1:15-21). This threefold action set inspires me to be a creative companion with Christ in caring for all of creation.

A central theme in my presentation was the concept of regeneration –– an even higher calling than the pursuit of sustainability. This is the act of bringing life back to a system, not just keeping if from further degradation. It is a holistic term as it calls to mind actions ranging from the ecological to the spiritual. The practice of regeneration will build the common good for all parts of the Earth’s systems. Jesus named this concept many times in his earthly ministry. One of my favorites is in the Sermon on the Mount as he names birds, flowers and grass as models of regeneration and health (Matthew 6:25-34). How richly our beliefs can undergird our commitment to care for creation!

I appealed to the listeners –– and now the readers –– to examine our beliefs, values and philosophical frameworks (regardless of faith tradition) to see what the intersection is with the call to care for the Earth. I believe that naming and owning these foundational principles will inspire and motivate us when the going is hard. The synergy that emerges from this gives me a realistic and powerful hope. It is this hope that will aid me in holistically contributing to the regeneration of systems we have harmed.

It is this hope that I could see in the faces of the students and advisors as I photographed the group at the end of the conference with a restored wetland at Merry Lea as the backdrop.  Just as the wind was blowing hair in multiple directions, the energy from the gathered group was moving individuals to many hopeful actions as they departed for home.

by Luke Gascho

Fall: A Reflection on Dark and Light

Dateline October 27, 2013

The latest IPCC report on Climate Change was out Sept 30^th and it indicates that indeed we are in climate trouble.  Big trouble.  No news to many of you tuning into this blog.  But the piece that is making the most news is that the report concludes that HUMANS are largely responsible for the earth and oceans warming. 

Incredible as it may seem, it appears that releasing tons and tons of carbon from fossil fuels over the last couple of centuries has had a net effect of increasing CO2 in the atmosphere. Fossil fuels tied that carbon up for 200+ million years and we’ve released it in the geological blink of an eye.  I guess there was bound to be a complication or problem with fossil fuels.  Glaciers and arctic ice melt combine with warming and expanding water to raise the oceans, hurricanes hurl their might onto shorelines, fires rage in the tinder dry steppes of Russia, Australia has the worst drought and fires in recorded history and floods pour out of the Himalayas. For the most part, the report is a dark and troubled prediction for climate changes in the next 100 years.

Fall is an incredible time of year. When the sun shines, the warmth oozes under your skin and stellar blue skies make the lakes sparkle, fall flowers leap in color, and even the wind rattling trees and grasses is a bit more fantastic.  When the grey clouds rip across the sky they bring geese formations, migrating birds and, for a few of us, the joyful promise of winter snows.  Fall is a time to be outside. I make every excuse to get outside in the fantastic weather.

In the fall, our SSR classes are outside daily. Students need no excuse to go out into the real classroom. They go outside every day! They go out into the classroom where the wind blows, the rain sprays, toes freeze, sun warms, mud sticks, stars twinkle and the river flows onward past forest, field, fen, agriculture, industry, town and city. 

So what connects the first dark section with the light and promise of the second?

The energy and brightness of studying sustainability in a cohort of dedicated and creative students shines light on those dark predictions.  Last year as I worked with the SSR cohort, my optimism grew as the daylight shortened. Seven students tackled problems big and small.  Each one took on personal challenges to reduce their own carbon footprint while as a group we investigated ecosystems around Merry Lea, unsustainable practices and ethical choice making. We also tackled my favorite, the thorny challenges to creating policies that can guide our society into better living.

Right now there is more hope and positive vibes running around as K-12 students explore Merry Lea. Our master of environmental education program fills me with light as our students share their passion to preserve and protect the environment. Whether the students are giggling and running with 1^st graders, or pushing and prodding 7^th graders to make connections and learn about the natural world, I am buoyed to the surface of hope and optimism.   Our world, all the people, all the animals, all of creation is going to need the light that shines from each student. Every day I am reminded of that light and Fall is a great time to soak it up.  Cool, bright, refreshing Fall.

These weeks of fall remind me of the beauty that is all around us.  In fact fall carries me into the beautiful coldness of winter and the life-giving grey rains of early spring.

-Dave Ostergren