Mother Earth Community

Mission Statement

We share in the life of the Spiritus Christi Community by organizing opportunities around outdoor activities and by cultivating our connections to the Earth and each other. We increase awareness of the interrelatedness of life, further inspiring us to protect the natural world through stewardship, education, and action. Our monthly meetings are currently held on Zoom.

Green Spots

An inspiring and informative message on an environmental topic, delivered monthly to the Spiritus community after the weekend Masses, and through the bulletin. An archive of past Green Spots can be accessed HERE

Blog

Occasional postings on the Spiritus website, written by members of the community about environmental topics, meant to inspire action and discussion. CLICK HERE

Earth Day

A day to inspire and connect with the larger Spiritus community about caring for the earth. MARK YOUR CALENDARS! The Mother Earth committee will be hosting a coffee hour after mass on April 21st, 2024. There will be some special Earth Day activities too.

Outdoor Events

Past events have included hikes at Mt. Hope Cemetery and at Ganondagan, a Tree Walk in Highland Park, and participation in Community Clean-Up events sponsored by Seneca Park Zoo.

Community Action

Spiritus Christi is a proud member of the Climate Solutions Accelerator, an inclusive, nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and facilitating a large-scale climate mobilization in the nine-county Genesee-Finger Lakes Region.

The Mother Earth Community also partners with Rochester Area Interfaith Climate Action, a group of individuals & organizations of faith in the Rochester metropolitan area seeking to create a meaningful response to Climate Change.

There’s no better place for you to take action than in your own town, village or neighborhood. When you act locally, you make a direct impact on behalf of people you know – your fellow residents and neighbors. Make change happen in your own community by joining Color Your Community Green. Successful CYCG efforts have launched in several municipalities throughout the Genesee-Finger Lakes Region.

Nobody is too young to make a difference. Thanks to some dedicated, determined young people in our Genesee-Finger Lakes Region, Color Your School Green (CYSG) was created to inform, inspire and engage youth at their schools for impactful climate action.

VIDEOS

COMPOSTING

Did you know composting can have a huge impact on the amount of methane gas released into the atmosphere? Food that is thrown into the garbage and ends up in landfills, emits methane gas as it decomposes in the absence of oxygen. When you compost, those same food scraps can be decomposed naturally and turned into rich, fertile soil.

nielsen house Community garden

With the help of a grant this summer, the Mother Earth Community and Nielsen House (NH) planted a community garden at NH!

ARTICLES

Hamlin participating in Nex Trex school and community recycling challenge program

by Dan Krist

The Town Clerk of Hamlin, Patty Jo Groenendaal signed the town of Hamlin up for Nex Trex’s “recycling challenge” designed for schools and communities to collect plastic bags to be recycled and used for creating park benches that can be used by the community or school. Plastic bags used in this program must have some elasticity. Common bags that cannot be used in the program are ones that crinkle such as ones that are used for colored peppers in grocery stores. If you live or work in Hamlin or near Hamlin, bags can be brought to the Hamlin Public Library, Life Solutions of Hamlin or the Hamlin Town Hall when they are open for business. Please do not bring the plastic bags to be recycled in black plastic trash bags. The bags should be clean and not have dirt, food or other debris on or in them. Below are the hours and addresses of the drop off locations:

Hamlin Town Hall, 1658 Lake Road, Hamlin, NY 14464. Hours: Monday – Friday 8am – 4pm
Life Solutions of Hamlin, 1696 Lake Road, Hamlin, NY 14464. Hours: Thursday & Saturday 10am – 4pm
Hamlin Public Library, 1680 Lake Road, Hamlin, NY 14464.
Hours: Monday & Wednesday 10am – 6pm; Tuesday & Thursday 10am – 8pm; Friday 10am – 4pm; Saturday 10am – 2pm

For more information on the Nex Trex recycling challenge for schools & communities, CLICK HERE.

Go All Electric – Sounds Great! How?

With an estimated 40% of the United States carbon emissions coming from our homes and the vehicles we drive, switching to all electric will reduce emissions. Rewiring America, an electrification non-profit, recently released a guide to going all electric and making the most of the Inflation Reduction Act.For questions about home electrification, contact Heat Smart Finger Lakes and request a 15 or 30 minute conversation with an unbiased expert in the field who can answer your questions about available incentives (state and federal) and various technologies. Schedule anytime at this link. Nationally, all this electrification without major grid upgrades through permitting reform means that we’ll have to burn coal in the coming years, reducing the climate benefits. The Bipartisan Policy Center has these 23 recommendations and Solar advocates have these 20.

PLASTIC

Plastic likely takes some form in most of the things we buy every day. It has been well documented that plastics pose one of the most serious threats to our Earth’s environment. Arguably the greatest single threat is single-use plastic, that is, plastic we use once and throw away: plastic wrap, plastic cups, packaging, etc.

Click on this link to find out how we consumers can do our part to keep single-use plastics out of our environment. And click on Good, Better, Best — Eliminating Plastic Waste to learn even more. And as you welcome 2023, please remember, REDUCE – REUSE – REPURPOSE – RECYCLE!

HOW DO WE MAKE OUR HOUSE GREENER?

Are you thinking you’d like to make some changes at your house to be greener but don’t know where to start? The organization HeatSmart is a good place to start. You can arrange for an energy audit and they will give you unbiased feedback on improvements you can make.

Governor Hochul’s 2023 Climate and Environmental Achievements: COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE AND PREPARING FOR FUTURE DISASTERS

Directed State agencies to create a cap-and-invest program to accelerate climate action and fund a sustainable and affordable future for all New Yorkers.
Achieved a historic milestone with the successful delivery of clean power to Long Island from the first operational wind turbine at South Fork Wind, the first utility-scale offshore wind farm to begin delivering power in the United States.
Announced the first rounds of available Bond Act funds, including $200 million for water infrastructure and $100 million for zero-emission school buses.
Invested $500 million for clean water infrastructure.
Created the $200 million EmPower+ home retrofits program to reduce energy costs for 20,000 low-income New York families.
Secured $200 million in relief for high electric bills for 800,000 households.
Completed a 10-stop listening tour across the State, a key step in creating a collaborative and transparent process in the delivery of Bond Act funds.
Announced the creation of New York’s State Weather Risk Communication Center (SWRCC) at the University of Albany, a first-of-its-kind operational collaboration between university researchers and State emergency manager.

CLIMATE ACTION PLAN

Susan Hughes-Smith, Monroe County Legislator, reports of the County”s Climate Action Plan Advisory Committee and the changes in the legislature:
As Vice-Chair of the County’s Climate Action Plan Advisory Committee, I’m particularly pleased that in September, the legislature adopted Phase 1, which outlines the steps needed to reduce the climate impact from our government facilities and operations.I then worked to turn that plan into immediate action, and was pleased with the unanimous passage in December, of my referral committing 1 million dollars to:accelerate the cost-saving transition of streetlights to LEDs, add 2 additional EV charging stations to each of 9 locations across the county, begin the transition to electric maintenance equipment, purchase the geothermal unit for the zoo expansion, and complete a study on organic waste diversion and composting.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US!

To contact a member of the Mother Earth Community, to be added to our mailing list, and to receive Zoom meeting links, email motherearth@spirituschristi.org or call our office at 585-325-1180.