The Wellington Archdiocese Ecology, Justice and Peace Commission’s Integral Ecology Committee initiated two workshops in early August. The workshops were to offer and lead people to creative resources celebrating the Season of Creation during September. A highlight of each workshop was the inspiring presence of two women witnessing to ‘Courage’ with their lives. Amanda Joe, Young Vinnies Co-ordinator and Di Buchan, Queens Service Medal/Justice of the Peace, passionately seeing that things do not remain as they are through hopeful initiatives undertaken in their communities.
Amanda has a heart for nature, caring and living better, leading school children in three Catholic primary schools, for an hour a week, to converse with the elderly at rest homes, plant gardens, cook their own food, shop second hand and clean up beaches and waterways. Tasks carried out with knowledge from beginning to end include: the value of money, wastefulness and landfill, the art of conversation, taking concerns to councils and Government ministers. The confidence and smiling faces in the social media posts are testament to Amanda’s engaging and enthusiastic way, a building block for happy, well-informed citizens into the future.
Di is the founder of the DB Environment Trust, a philanthropic entity giving grants to tree planting initiatives across Aotearoa. Her passion for trees often leads her to join the planting with the recipients. Di is now an honorary Life Member of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand which shares knowledge across many disciplines. She is encouraged for the future by the young graduates she sees who are ‘so competent, so ethical, so dedicated’ and would like to see Councils make it mandatory for environmental workers they employ to be certified as environmental practitioners. The small town of Ōtaki, where she lives, is awarded every year for leading the way with positive initiatives through the Energise Ōtaki projects. As one of the six trustees she is co-ordinator of Ōtaki Carbon Forest project, enabling the planting of up to 40 hectares of trees on private land, 8000 trees per hectare.
Along with this live inspiration, participant handouts included ready-made quotes from Laudate Deum and To Hope and Act with Creation for parish bulletins; Prayers of the Faithful; useful websites links; copies of posters and examples of reflective material. A rich sharing from participants of the ideas and activities already in motion and taking place throughout September, rounded off the workshops.
Adrienne Gallie rsj
Integral Ecology Committee, Commission for Ecology Justice and Peace (Wellington Archdiocese), Aotearoa New Zealand