'Tis the season to recycle...

This time of year, as houses get slowly fuller and fuller of 'stuff', there's a need to know where you can dispose of everything leftover.

The Norfolk Country Council have provided several links to help us be more sustainable this Christmas....

http://www.recyclefornorfolk.org.uk/content.asp?pid=243

 #christmas  #recyclingnorfolk

Highlighted Campaign - Sowing Pesticide Reaping Sickness

We've added a new section on our notice board at NCBC which is to highlight a campaign cause which we think is particularly relevant to eco-congregation concerns. 

Our current highlighted campaign is concerned with the use of toxic pesticides in Brazil.  Many of the pesticides which are being used in Brazil are deemed ‘Extremely Hazardous’ by the World Health Organisation and have been banned here in the UK.  A petition has been set up which call on the Brazilian government to ban the use of particular pesticides and for an end to 'crop dusting’, which involves dropping pesticides from a plane.  If you would like to sign the petition, you can do this online by clicking on this link: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Sowing_Pesticides_Reaping_Sickness_1/.  You can find out more about the background to this issue at SPEAK's website - http://www.speak.org.uk/blog/sowing-pesticides-reaping-sickness

Bird boxes

Keep your eye out in the next few weeks and months for some bird boxes on site at NCBC!

We want to provide more living spaces for birds such as Starlings, blue-tits and other small birds!

The bird boxes will be made by Christopher Erskine.

Save the bees!

Have you ever thought about how important bees and other insects are in our eco-system?

Why don't you take a look at the following website to find out more:

http://www.helpsavebees.co.uk/index.html

Here are 10 things you can do to help save bees:

P.S. Our very own Steve Genders keeps bees, perhaps you can have a chat with him and see how it's going!?

1   Stop using insecticides 2   Plant Bee-friendly plants 3   Create natural habitat gardens 4   Find out more about bees 5   Support your local beekeepers 6   Make you own 'Wild bee' house 7   Become a beekeeper 8   Lobby your local MP or MEP 9   Sign petitions banning pesticides 10 Encourage your local authority      to do more to help bees

The future of carbon cutting commitments

The Guardian has an interesting article today outlining the government's possible rethink of their commitment to cutting carbon. Read more here...

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/07/nick-clegg-energy-carbon-budget-speech

WWF Virunga Campaign

WWF are campaigning to prevent a UK oil company (Soco) from exploring for oil within Virunga National Park - Africa's oldest National Park and a World Heritage Site.  There's lots of further information including Q+A and information about the location, as well as an opportunity to sign a petition on the WWF website at http://www.wwf.org.uk/how_you_can_help/virunga/.

Interesting stuff coming out of the IPCC report today - global warming is "unequivocal" and humans are the "dominant cause" of it since the 50's...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24292615

All the more reason to help do our bit!

And What Are We Doing?

So you’ve heard a bit about why we should take good care of the earth, I’d now like to go through the Eco-Congregation initiative and what we’re doing about it.

Eco-Congregation is an international scheme run by a Christian organisation called A Rocha. 

Eco-Congregation is an ecumenical programme helping churches make the link between environmental issues and Christian faith, and respond in practical action in the church, in the lives of individuals, and in the local and global community.

EC recognises practical steps taken within a church through an award, which we’re hoping to achieve, by following a series of stages set out by the scheme.

The first part of the process was to assemble a team of church members with a heart for ethical issues and the environment. 

We then undertook an audit of all aspects of church life, to establish our current position. The areas covered were:

• Corporate Worship
• Theology
• Children's Work
• Youth Work
• All Age & Adult Education
• Church Property
• Church Management
• Church Land
• Personal Lifestyle
• Community Outreach

We were really please with the results - NCBC is already doing really well in many areas. Initiatives such as the Fairtrade fudges and coffee, prayer for global issues, and existing recycling area are great to see.

We then created an Action Plan of proposed improvements, ranging from easy short term changes, to long term aspirations.

We’ve then implemented a few of the short term actions. These include: 

• Sourcing ethical cleaning products
• Some eco-themed Youth Church sessions making bird feeders and bug hotels
• Renovated and expanded the recycling areas
• Instigated a lift share scheme
• Started collecting food waste in the kitchen
• Listed eco-tips on the service sheets
• Set up this blog to let people know what's going on!

It's now almost a year since the EC group first formed. It feels like we’ve come a long way already. We’d like to say a huge thanks to the Leadership Team and the office and cleaning staff for supporting us in this so far.

So what about future? There are some definite changes we’d like to make, such as: 

• Improving the ‘green space’ of the church (particularly the rear courtyard - volunteers welcome!)
• Opportunities to explore the biblical context for this initiative
• Investigating grey water recycling and compost bins

There are also some other ideas which we're just beginning to look at - more on those in due course!

So how can you find out more about everything that’s happening? Three ways: firstly, speak to us in person. Secondly, the Eco-Congregation noticeboard in the church. And thirdly, this blog! We hope to keep it regularly updated with tips, info, facts, interesting articles and other eco-themed stuff.

Hopefully you can tell we’re all really excited about it all! It’s great to see the improvements being made, and to worship God through our efforts. As Psalm 24:1 says, "The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it."

So Why Are We Doing This?

This has come about because here at NCBC we want to be recognising that as Christians we have a responsibility to nurture the earth, and take a positive role in this within our community.  In this we recognise God as the creator of all things, and that he cares about how we treat the earth and other people in it.

So this is a positive thing – it’s not all about nagging about turning off taps or wearing hemp clothes (although these might be seen to be good things – and we might coming back to that!).  

However, fundamentally it’s about worshiping God more fully, growing in our Christian maturity, reaching out to our community and serving the needy nearby and far away.  

This is quite an undertaking, but if we take these steps in faith I am sure that this will be pleasing to God, as we know from the bible that this is reflecting God’s heart.