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LESSON 8; STEWARDSHIP AND ECOLOGICAL EDUCATION

Genesis 2:15

15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

 

In this passage, we see God create. We see Him create intentionally and orderly. He creates for the first three days (day/night; sky/water; water/land), and fills what He created for the next 3 days (sun/stars/moon; sea creatures/birds; animals/mankind). With each step, we see the Lord create each “according to their kinds.” And with each step, the Lord sees what He made and declares that it is good.

 

God’s View of His Creation
Let us draw a few conclusions about God’s view of His creation.

  1. God Appointed Humans as Stewards of His Planet. Genesis 2:15 Links to an external site.says, “The Lord God placed man in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” He makes man’s position in relation to the rest of creation clear in Genesis 1:28 Links to an external site. as He tells man to “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Man is given a special role of authority and power over all creation. It is important to note that the “dominion” that God gives man is not a selfish mentality but an authoritative-yet-responsible mentality. He has given us great honor in this position. God has entrusted us as stewards with His creation, as we work, care for and rule over it. Let us resist the urge to merely think about creation as something to serve our individual needs.
  2. Everything God Made is Good. After creating the light, sky, earth, plants, sun, moon and stars, birds and fish, terrestrial animals, and finally man and woman, God looks at what He created and declared, it is good.” He made each and every insect, variety of grass, ape, bird, etc. with great intentionality, and He values what He has made. God affirms His creation.
  3. God Loves the World He Created.He loves the whole world. We often read John 3:16 Links to an external site. as “God loves the people in the world,” but this is not what it says. While mankind is special amongst all creation, it is clear that God loves all of His creation and all of it will one day be re-created. 
  4. What God Made Belongs to Him, Not Us. From the creation account to Psalms to Jesus’ parables, we see very clearly that everything is the Lord’s. This should give us great humility regarding our surroundings.
  5. God Told the Land and Animals to be Fruitful and Multiply, Not Just Humans. Therefore, we should be concerned with their ability to do that (i.e. not decreasing their habitats/food supplies when unnecessary or for wasteful purposes).
  6. Everything Was Created to Glorify God. The Scriptures are clear that all of creation exists to bring glory to God. Everything is expected to acknowledge and appreciate God’s power, majesty, holiness, wisdom and love.
  7. God Reveals Himself Through His Creation. God uses creation to display His own marvelous qualities and nature. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”5He uses His creation to draw people out of darkness to Himself as people see His beauty displayed on earth.

 

(1)While some things are up for debate, many are not. We can clearly see with our own eyes many of the negative effects that human activities have on creation, like factories with hazardous smoke stacks and corporations that dump chemical waste into rivers. And although there is disagreement among scientists about climate change and humankind’s impact on it, the majority clearly sees a strong correlation.7 There is great consensus that many negative effects have been had on our air, our atmosphere, our oceans, our freshwater and our land.

(2)We must admit that keeping the environment clean and unpolluted, caring for all species, leaving the earth as undamaged as possible for the next generation models reverence for our Creator, love for our fellow human beings (even those yet to be born), and the selflessness of Christ to a self-consumed world.

(3)As we grow conviction about our role as stewards of God’s creation, our view of how we interact with our surroundings should change. Our minds and hearts should increasingly see life through His lens, which should begin to shape our daily choices. Below are three suggested starting points.

 

Reduce Waste

  1. Buy Less. Recycling is good, but good stewardship begins by with careful purchasing. Analyze before you buy. Think about your purchases for at least a week before buying to make sure they are wise purchases.
  2. Choose Reusable Options. Consider using cloth diapers, cloth napkins or old kitchen towels.
  3. Buy in Bulk and Reduce Packaging.Bulk purchases save both money and packaging. It also saves trips to the store. You can split bulk items with a friend, freeze items, put into airtight storage containers, etc. Try to eliminate individual size containers (i.e. yogurt, soda, juice boxes, etc.). Nearly a 1/3 of our household garbage comes from packaging. 
  4. Recycle and Repurpose. Find new purposes for things you no longer need (i.e. old clothes as rags, jars as food storage containers, etc.).
  5. When You Buy, Buy Quality. As much as possible, try to buy things that will last a long time. This not only saves you time, but saves unnecessary disposal of cheap materials.
  6. Buy Used Instead of New.When you can, make the most of used products. Think soberly about what really needs to be “new.”
  7. Reduce Junk Mail.Do not receive catalogs that you do not need and get your name removed from junk mail. 
  8. Make your soil richer while reducing the amount of waste that needs to be hauled away from your home.
  9. Give Away Your Money. A great solution to overconsumption is being generous.

 

Eliminate Toxic Material Usage

  1. Use Healthy Cleaning Supplies and Avoid Toxic Materials.Use healthy cleaning supplies and avoid toxic materials. Most toxins in our homes are ones we brought in via our cleaning supplies. Not only do they pose health risks for some people, but they leave our houses moving down the waste stream, ending up somewhere else in creation. Use nontoxic supplies, i.e. baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, borax, etc.
  2. When Possible, Buy Organic.We often think that organic is just about not consuming chemicals and pesticides for ourselves and our families through the foods we eat. It is that but so much more. By purchasing foods from “organic” farmers, we build up the businesses of farmers who don’t spray their fields with artificial fertilizers and pesticides, which run into the soil and then as it rains get washed into our waterways.

 

Use Less Fossil Fuel and Use More Renewable Energy Sources

  1. Eat Real, Local Food.In our country., fruits and vegetables travel an average of 1500 miles. By purchasing real local food, we eat healthier (more nutrients, less artificial preservatives and ripening chemicals used), we prevent environmental damage (by requiring far less transportation), and encourage local economy by helping sustain local farmers. Buy from local farmers at the farmers market, join a CSA (community supported agriculture), or even better grow your own. Eating real food (not processed), improves health and decreases packaging and energy usage needed to convert crops into “food products.”
  2. Conserve Energy.Know how much energy your family consumes. Set goals to reduce your consumption each year. Be specific on how you can accomplish this (i.e. shorter showers, heat turned down, add storm windows, etc.).
  1. Use Less Fossil Fuel.Live close to work. Consolidate your trips. Drive a more fuel-efficient vehicle. Bike or walk when possible. Consider the impact of your carbon footprint (e.g. use carboncounter.org). 
  1. Do Building Remodels and New Builds Right.Research the latest energy efficient materials and techniques and incorporate as many as possible into your plans when re-modeling or building from scratch.

God has given us clear mandates to care for and steward His incredible creation. We must take this to heart, and we must recognize that this surfaces a huge battle in our hearts. Are we willing to give up what we want for the sake of others, creation, and our Creator?

We must learn to think and act ecologically. We repent of extravagance, pollution and wanton destruction. We recognize that human beings find it easier to subdue the earth than they do to subdue themselves.

 

Ecological Education

(1)Ecological education can take place in a variety of settings: at school, in families, in the media, in catechesis and elsewhere. Good education plants seeds when we are young, and these continue to bear fruit throughout life. Here, though, I would stress the great importance of the family, which is “the place in which life – the gift of God – can be properly welcomed and protected against the many attacks to which it is exposed, and can develop in accordance with what constitutes authentic human growth. In the face of the so-called culture of death, the family is the heart of the culture of life”. 

(2)In the family we first learn how to show love and respect for life; we are taught the proper use of things, order and cleanliness, respect for the local ecosystem and care for all creatures. In the family we receive an integral education, which enables us to grow harmoniously in personal maturity. In the family we learn to ask without demanding, to say “thank you” as an expression of genuine gratitude for what we have been given, to control our aggressivity and greed, and to ask forgiveness when we have caused harm. These simple gestures of heartfelt courtesy help to create a culture of shared life and respect for our surroundings.

(3)Environmental education has been considered an additional or elective subject in much of traditional K-12 curriculum. At the elementary school level, environmental education can take the form of science enrichment curriculum, natural history field trips, community service projects, and participation in outdoor science schools. EE policies assist schools and organizations in developing and improving environmental education programs that provide citizens with an in-depth understanding of the environment. School related EE policies focus on three main components: curricula, green facilities, and training.

(4)Schools can integrate environmental education into their curricula with sufficient funding from EE policies. This approach – known as using the “environment as an integrating context” for learning – uses the local environment as a framework for teaching state and district education standards. In addition to funding environmental curricula in the classroom, environmental education policies allot the financial resources for hands-on, outdoor learning. These activities and lessons help address and mitigate "nature deficit disorder", as well as encourage healthier lifestyles.

Green schools, or green facility promotion, are another main component of environmental education policies. Greening school facilities cost, on average, a little less than 2 percent more than creating a traditional school, but payback from these energy efficient buildings occur within only a few years. Environmental education policies help reduce the relatively small burden of the initial start-up costs for green schools. Green school policies also provide grants for modernization, renovation, or repair of older school facilities. Additionally, healthy food options are also a central aspect of green schools. These policies specifically focus on bringing freshly prepared food, made from high-quality, locally grown ingredients into schools.

(5)In secondary school, environmental curriculum can be a focused subject within the sciences or is a part of student interest groups or clubs. At the undergraduate and graduate level, it can be considered its own field within education, environmental studies, environmental science and policy, ecology, or human/cultural ecology programs.

(6)Environmental education is not restricted to in-class lesson plans. Children can learn about the environment in many ways. Experiential lessons in the school yard, field trips to national parks, after-school green clubs, and school-wide sustainability projects help make the environment an easily accessible topic. Furthermore, celebration of Earth Day or participation in EE week can help further environmental education. Effective programs promote a holistic approach and lead by example, using sustainable practices in the school to encourage students and parents to bring environmental education into their home.

(7)The final aspect of environmental education policies involves training individuals to thrive in a sustainable society. In addition to building a strong relationship with nature, citizens must have the skills and knowledge to succeed in a 21st-century workforce. Thus, environmental education policies fund both teacher training and worker training initiatives. Teachers train to effectively teach and incorporate environmental studies. On the other hand, the current workforce must be trained or re-trained so they can adapt to the new green economy. Environmental education policies that fund training programs are critical to educating citizens to prosper in a sustainable society.