As a child, my family always had piles of plastic and cardboard ready to be recycled. My grandparents kept a compost pile where they’d stash the autumn leaves. We drove instead of flew and always turned the lights off when we left a room. These are small things, of course, but they helped me grow up with a sense of responsibility for the planet we call “home.”

It’s well into the fall now in Seattle, and we even are looking towards freezing temperatures overnight. Creation care seems to come into vogue in the spring, surrounded by Easter lilies and Earth Day and Arbor Day…but there’s a lot we can do in the autumn, too!

1. Compost

   Yayyyyyyy compost. Y’all I LOVE composting. In my pre-pastor life, I worked with an awesome organization in Nashville, Tennessee that did environmental education with preschoolers. It is as cute as it sounds and it was POWERFUL. We did a lot of work with compost, whether it was outside in our school garden or our vermicomposting boxes in the classroom. Composting the appropriate food waste is one way to reduce the waste you put in the garbage dump. And then you can use the compost mixture to fertilize your garden!

   Check out this easy method for beginning composters if you have outdoor space. Have indoor space? This method is for you.

   Think Theologically: Compost is about resurrection. Something that nurtures life comes out of things that decay. Woah. I’ll never get over it. I’ve preached about it before, and will again.

   Ritual: Empty your compost bin regularly and give thanks for the cycle of life.

2. Let your lawn lie…grass clippings and leaves and all

   Lawns are….the worst. They take up so much water and valuable space that could be used to grow food. Am I biased? Yes. Do I have a lawn space of my own? No. But here are some tips if you DO have a lawn you call your own.

   Don’t bag your grass clippings and raked leaves. They are natural fertilizer…so leaf (I mean, leave) them on your lawn so they decompose and give back nutrients to your soil. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to put them in big plastic bags (even the ones with the jack’o’lantern faces on them) and leave them to be put in the garbage dump.

   Think Theologically: Decomposition is a part of life. And often, people care for their lawns to keep up with their neighbors or because an HOA says they have to. If possible, allow nature to do her thing and fertilize the ground. Then in the spring, watch the land flourish anew.

   Ritual: Bless your lawn and give it permission to decay, knowing something new is coming in spring.

3. Get to know your watershed

   This kinda feels like cheating, because you can get to know your watershed all year round! Don’t know what your watershed address is? Find out here. What I mean by “get to know your watershed” is that you should get to know where the water coming out of your tap comes from and where water going down the drain goes. Knowing this helps us be more conscious of how the elements move in the land on which we live…and also be more conscious of who is our neighbor and how our lifestyles affect each other. I grew up in the Upper Grand River Watershed (part of the Great Lakes watershed), went to college in the Black River watershed, lived in the Cumberland River watershed, and now reside in the Puget Sound watershed. I think of those places and those people when I think of who my neighbors are. Check out watersheddiscipleship.org for more information on this concept!

   Think Theologically: Who is your neighbor? Read the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) and consider it related to how you live in your watershed.

   Learn: Read about how “Little Miss Flint” became an environmental activist when Flint’s water was contaminated.

   Ritual: Take a family walk through your watershed. Where is it clean? Where is the water dirty? Where is the water hidden from view by pipes or concrete? Trace your watershed on a map.

4. Reduce and Reuse (and Recycle, of course!)

   Be aware of what you consume! That doesn’t mean just what you eat, but what (and how) you buy. If possible, reuse containers and cloth shopping bags. Limit how much plastic packaging you buy by specifically searching for items that use recyclable materials. And buy local, if you can! Local producers are less likely to use materials that are hard to recycle.

   If you do have plastic in your home, as pretty much everyone does, do some research on how to reuse it or recycle it. Your local government might have some good resources. Or maybe there’s a program like Ridwell near you!

   As we talk about consumption habits, it’s important to remember that earth care movements have been whitewashed, making it expensive to live sustainably and buy all the “right” products or shop at the “right” sustainable stores. But sustainability is not only for white people…actually, white folks are REALLY late to the party, as Black, Indigenous and People of Color have been caring for the planet a lot longer than northern Europeans and USAmericans have. For example, check out how the environmental justice movement in the USA was closely linked with civil rights.

   Think Theologically: Earth care is for everyone. Full stop. Humans are part of this planet, we are not outside of nature. What we do affects not only the trees and insects and animals, but humans, too. Care for each other.

   Ritual: Set aside time each week to collect recycling from any elderly or homebound neighbors. Ask them for other ideas on how you can help your neighborhood be sustainable.

5. Advocate for Climate Positive Policies

   Individual actions are all well and good…and they are really important in terms of getting people to change how we think about our lifestyle and the impact humans have on the world. But still, corporations are responsible for most of the carbon and greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. A couple years back a report was published showing that only 20 companies are responsible for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions.

   Organizations like Interfaith Power and Light, Earth Ministry, the Sunrise Movement, and 350.org provide resources for education and opportunities for political advocacy. There are even some youth-led orgs, such as Zero Hour and GotGreen.

   And, engage in advocacy that’s not directly related to the environment, too. Racial justice, economic justice, immigration justice…all these and much more are deeply intertwined. It is important that we are working always to make the world a more just and safer place for all people.

   Think Theologically: Advocating for justice is a foundational principle in the Bible…and in most major world religions. There is a place for righteous anger and demonstrations against injustice—and I encourage YOU to find your place in social movements today.

   Ritual: Make a list of faith statements (claims about God, Bible verses, words of wisdom from faith leaders) that encourage creation care. Make some signs with these statements. Put them in your windows, your yard, or save them for a protest.

Let’s Chat

How are you actively engaged in creation care? How is your faith community engaged?

Where is there a gap in your knowledge about creation care? Make a plan to learn more!

What theological questions come up for you around creation care? Around climate change? Environmental justice?

What questions do your kids have? How are you encouraging children to be active in combatting human-caused climate change?