Many hands make ecology work
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There are many ways to show support for the environment, and no better time to do it than the Season of Creation, an annual Christian celebration that calls people together to pray and respond jointly to the cry of Creation.
That’s what happened when 140 students from 12 Catholic secondary schools converged on Adelaide’s Victoria Park for a tree planting day held by the Catholic Office for Youth and Young Adults (COYYA) in the Archdiocese of Adelaide as part of Rise Up 2024!
Nimble hands made light work of planting 2000 trees on the morning of September 13, adding to the 1500 planted last year.
For the Years 10 to 12 students involved, the productive experience in the fresh air was profound.
“Today was a really fun experience,” said Mary MacKillop College student Anna Porrobecchio.
“I did it last year as well, so it was great to come back again and see how much the plants had grown. We’re in Year 12 so today has been a fun break from everything. It also reminded us of what we have and the positive impact we can have on the world.”
St Mary’s College students Rylee Conroy, Natalia Nguyen, and Laurianne De Jesus also participated in the Rise Up 2024 activity.
Year 11 Kildare College student Varu Choudhary was also moved by the act of eco-kindness.
“Today was a really lovely way to help the environment,” Varu said.
“Beautiful is the word I’d use to describe it. I’ve never experienced something like this before and I hope to take part again next year.”
Varu is keen to explore more ecological causes and is part of Living Justice and Peace at her school.
The Season of Creation began on September 1 and concludes on October 4, the feast of St Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology.
This year’s theme, ‘Hope and Act with Creation’ and symbol ‘first fruits of hope’, inspired by Romans 8:19-25, provided inspiration for community groups and parishes across the nation.
Sanjay Mohanaraj, Pastoral Support, Justice, Healing and Inclusion, was thrilled with the response and heartened by schools involved in the ecology space.
Sanjay and members of the Council for Integral Ecology created resources and organised events aimed at celebrating the Season of Creation.
“These included an online brochure as a guide for parishes to get involved with actions/initiatives to celebrate the season,” Sanjay said.
“This resource is being shared on our social media every week for the rest of the month.”
In addition to the COYYA tree planting day, an Adelaide Planetarium event was held on September 6.
Gleeson College students helped plant 2000 trees at Adelaide’s Victoria Park Wetlands.
The 60-minute experience showed footage of stars, constellations, the galaxy and ‘wild weather’ on the planets of our solar system.
“The event was a great success with tickets selling out in the first week of advertising, and lovely feedback provided from attendees,” Sanjay said.
A bush liturgy was also held at the Mercy Grove site of Belair National Park on September 22.
Sanjay and Sarah Moffatt, executive director, Pastoral Life and Mission, presented at the Caritas Catholic Earthcare Convocation.
Across the State, members of the community were also encouraged to celebrate Seasons of Creation by hosting a community viewing of the movie, The Letter: A Message for our Earth, which discusses Pope Francis’ encyclical letter Laudato Si’; to reflect on music video A Prayer for the Earth by Steve Klaper; undertake an ‘Ecological Examen’ to help deepen commitment to care for creation; encourage poetry submissions on creation, or explore the variety of resources available on the Caritas Catholic Earthcare and the Season of Creation websites.
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