Caring for God’s Earth – Reducing plastic and reliance on fossil fuels
Eco Church
To get our Silver Eco Church Award, as many of our congregation as possible need to take action. So far only three people have responded to the request to check their family’s carbon footprint. It only takes five minutes, please go to www.footprint.wwf.org.uk, do the questionnaire and let Rachel know you have done it.
On 21st April, Tearfund are holding a ‘No Faith in Fossil Fuels’ service in London, before joining the protest rally in Parliament Square, to signal to the government the urgent need to reduce the use of fossil fuels. Please pray for everyone involved.
Plastics are made from fossil fuels: we all need to reduce our dependence on plastic and recycle as much as possible. The Co-op has a soft plastic recycling bin inside the store, please use it. In other parts of the world, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, plastic waste is causing huge problems as there is no formal waste collection. People living near rivers often throw their waste into the river, or use the plastic to make flood defences for their homes. When the rains come, the rivers are blocked with this waste and the water cannot drain away, creating massive flooding. The plastic is eventually swept out to sea and degrades over time to micro plastic granules which are ingested by fish, turtles and a host of other creatures. These build up in the bodies of birds, whales, dolphins and other predators and eventually end up in the human food chain. We have to stop using plastic for the sake of the whole planet, ourselves included!
On a positive note, in the next few weeks Swift nesting boxes will be installed behind the louvres on the west side of St Mary’s tower. Swifts are one of our most iconic summer visitors from Africa and are in steep decline due to loss of nesting sites and the reduction in the aerial insect population on which they feed. A huge ‘thank you’ to Alan Dixon who came up with the proposal and is making and installing the boxes, with the help of skilled friends. You may hear Swift calls around the tower, as calls will be played to help the birds find the new nest boxes. Please watch out for any Swift activity when they arrive back at the beginning of May.