Green Sanctuary April 2025 News
A Greener Home: Sustainability Bingo and Green Geeks
One of the initiatives from last November’s Climate Justice Revival was bringing sustainability more deeply into our lives. Our team – Kylie (Wallin) Wetherell, Gare Calhoun, Miriam Kashia, and Jan Weaver – began by interviewing folks who have already expressed interest in taking more sustainability steps. We asked 1. What green actions should we encourage? 2.How can we get people interested? and 3.How can we track what people are doing? All three questions were answered with the idea of Sustainability Bingo, which also adds the element of fun.
Sustainability Bingo
On Sunday April 20, (an All Ages Service) we will have Sustainability Bingo Cards (kids and adult versions) at the tables in the Fellowship Hall after service. You try to get a row, column, or diagonal of sustainability actions checked off. Then bring your card to our Greener Home station for us to record (whether you make Bingo or not) and pick out a sustainable token for participation. You can leave the card with us or take it home to try and fill in more squares. We plan to hold Sustainability Bingo events at other All Ages Sundays and keep track of actions over time.
Green Geeks
The other thing we learned from our interviews is that people would like more information about how to get started on a particular sustainable action and, if possible, someone to talk with about starting. So the second Greener Home project is Green Geeks. We are looking for people who are currently commited to a sustainability practice and are willing to share about it. You don’t need to be an expert, just passionate. Green Geeks will fill out a form on why the practice is important, how to get started, and share a photo and contact information. We will compile these forms in a binder we will have in the Fellowship Hall and online (how exactly TBD). Interested in joining the Green Geeks? Contact Jan Weaver at [email protected]
Sustainable Skills Project
So what? No! Sew what! With the hum of machines stitching fabric, women from many countries gathered to create cloth drawstring bags at the Center for Worker Justice. Expert sewing teachers accompanied by volunteers leaned over machines to help those making stiches for the first time.
This eight-week class is the beginning of a partnership between the immigrant women community and UU Society. We hope to explore more ways we can share and exchange skills with our immigrant friends and neighbors.
March All Ages – Conservation Concentration
During All Ages Sunday, players learned about native Midwest plants and animals in grasslands, wetlands, and woodlands by playing a matching game.
April Better Together – Believe in the Work: Food
Spring’s Better Together Focus is Resilience. For April – Believe that the work we do today WILL make a difference, no matter how small. Learn about the impact food production has on our environment and look for ways to create less food waste. Here are some ideas….
- Learn about how food and climate change are linked: About a third of all human greenhouse gas emissions are linked to food. This is where small steps come in. Even small amounts of food waste mean all the emissions in the chain of production to disposal served no useful purpose. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/food
- Take a quiz to test your food waste/loss knowledge. Start with learning more about where food waste and loss happen. https://www.stopfoodlosswaste.org/international-day/take-quiz. Then check out 15 tips for reducing your food waste, like planning meals – https://www.fao.org/newsroom/story/15-quick-tips-for-reducing-food-waste-and-becoming-a-Food-hero/en
- Choose a small “Food Action” that feels doable this month:
- Eat Less Meat. Try a new, more sustainable recipe: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/actnow-food-challenge/
- Compost Food Waste – See if your community handles compost. If not, search online using: food composting home.
- Grow Food – You can begin with nothing but a container (pot, jar, mug), a bit of soil from your yard or your building’s yard, and seeds from a tomato or pepper.
- Plan Meals. Planning helps with making a shopping list, saves time in dinner preparation, and helps foster healthier eating habits. Start by listing what you are already making. Single out the easy ones and the favorites and start your plan with them. For more tips, search: meal planning
- Shop Local – Search: (name of your city) farmer’s market
Social and Environmental Justice (SEJ) Sunday April 13
Look for our table in the Fellowship hall to write a postcard, letter, or to sign a petition to promote Social and Environmental Justice.
Our April 9 Meeting Will be Hybrid!
Green Sanctuary Meeting is Wednesday April 9 at 7 pm. Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88132264216?pwd=R2hyclJWOWxJYVFUd2J0amRhZHYrQT09#success
Meeting ID: 881 3226 4216, Pass Code 184155 Contact Jan Weaver – [email protected] for more information, or to get on our email list.
