Many spritual and religious groups practice environmental education as part of a movement towards stewardship. Here are some resources for the spiritual EE community - if you know of others that should be included here, please contact the webmaster to add them.
Index: Christian | Interfaith | Jewish | Native American Spirituality | Other Spiritual Paths
California Environmental Education Providers with a Spiritual emphasis or component
In the stillness of the mighty woods, man is made aware of the divine.
--
Richard St Barbe Baker
Earth Day-in-a-Box for Religious/Spiritual Communities (pdf-377 k) - from the Earth Day Network
The Forum on Religion and Ecology
The Forum on Religion and Ecology is the largest international multireligious project of its kind. With its conferences, publications, and website it is engaged in exploring religious worldviews, texts, and ethics in order to broaden understanding of the complex nature of current environmental concerns. The Forum recognizes that religions need to be in dialogue with other disciplines (e.g., science, ethics, economics, education, public policy, gender) in seeking comprehensive solutions to both global and local environmental problems. Institutional support for this project includes: The Harvard University Center for the Environment, the Harvard-Yenching Institute, Bucknell University, and the Center for Respect of Life and Environment of the Humane Society of the United States.
“The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis,” by Lynn White (pdf-161k).
This article was first published in 1967 in Science (155: 1203-1207). This article was mentioned by Scott Smithson (Director of Mission Springs Outdoor Education) in his Spring 2005 AEOE workshop, "How to Convert Christians to Environmentalism." Here are Scott Smithson's comments:
"You might be wondering why I would choose that article to make a case for Christian stewardship of the Earth, when the article clearly blames Christianity for ecological problems. I used it because White also makes some interesting statements that to me, are a great springboard into talking with Christians about how creation stewardship has become such a foreign concept, at least in the West, even though it’s clearly spelled out or inferred in many places in the Bible. I listed some key quotes from the article below:
- "More science and more technology are not going to get us out of the present ecologic crisis until we find a new religion, or rethink our old one."
- "Since the roots of our trouble are so largely religious, the remedy must also be essentially religious, whether we call it that or not."
If you search for the article online, you can also find commentary from a variety of sources - let the conversation begin!
Here's a good follow-up article to that one:
Bad
Theology Creates Bad Ecology, by John Shelby Spong. A
leading voice for progressive Christianity says that either traditional
theism goes, or the earth goes. From SoMA
- a Review of Religion and Culture
“I have watched the trees when they pray and I’ve watched them shout and sometimes they give thanks slowly and quietly.”
- Bessie Harvey
(Inclusive of Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical and other various branches of the Christian Faith - thank you to Mark McReynolds and Scott Smithson for many of the links included here)
Alternatives for Simple Living: http://www.simpleliving.org/
Alternatives is a non-profit organization that equips people of faith to challenge consumerism, live justly and celebrate responsibly. Started in 1973 as a protest against the commercialization of Christmas, our focus is on encouraging celebrations that reflect conscientious ways of living.
Throughout our 30-year history, we have led the movement to live more simply and faithfully. We have developed many different resources, organized an annual Christmas Campaign ("Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway?"), held the Christmas Gift Contest, led numerous workshops, and reached countless people with the message of simple, responsible living. Voluntary Simplicity is based on five life principles, not a list of rules.
- Do Justice
- Nurture People (Not Things)
- Learn from the World Community
- Cherish the Natural Order (Care for Creation)
- Nonconform freely
Au Sable Institute: http://www.ausable.org/
The mission of Au Sable Institute is the integration of knowledge of the Creation with biblical principles for the purpose of bringing the Christian community and the general public to a better understanding of the Creator and the stewardship of God's Creation. All of its programs and activities are structured to allow, and are conducted for, promotion of Christian environmental stewardship. This includes persistent dedication to exemplary Christian stewardship in its planning, operations, programs, and outreach.
Excellent On-Line Resources for Christian Environmental Stewardship, including Biblical Principles for Respecting the Integrity of Creation; Caring for Creation: Awareness, Appreciation, Stewardship; Caring for Creation: An Introductory Bibliography; Loving Rembrandt. . . but Despising His Paintings; Seven Degradations of Creation; Three Biblical Principles for Environmental Stewardship; Who and Whose is Behemoth
Christians and Climate - Evangelical Christian Climate Initiative: http://christiansandclimate.org/
Read their statement on climate change, which offers the rationale, both Biblical and Scientfic, behind four primary claims in their call to action:
- Claim 1: Human-Induced Climate Change is Real
- Claim 2: The Consequences of Climate Change Will Be Significant, and Will Hit the Poor the Hardest
- Claim 3: Christian Moral Convictions Demand Our Response to the Climate Change Problem
- Claim 4: The need to act now is urgent. Governments, businesses, churches, and individuals all have a role to play in addressing climate change—starting now
The Creation Care Study Program: http://www.creationcsp.org/
An undergraduate semester abroad program serving Christian universities. The Creation Care Study program is a high-caliber academic semester abroad connecting Christian faith with the most complex, urgent global issues of the coming decades. We offer two programs during both fall and spring semesters: one in Belize, Central America and one in the South Pacific (New Zealand and Samoa).
Earth Care: Caring for God's Creation: http://www.earthcareonline.org/
EarthCare is a Christian organization that exists to promote creation stewardship within the Christian community. It seeks to raise environmental awareness and encourage participation in church and community projects through various educational and advisory programs (such as holding an annual conference, distributing resource materials and lists, maintaining a speaker bureau, and helping churches establish creation care ministries), as well as by being actively involved ourselves as a model for others to follow. EarthCare also exists to provide a medium for fellowship, interaction, and inspiration for Christians concerned with the biblical mandate to be stewards of God's creation.
Great Resource Guide, including: Bible Verses on Creation Care; Book lists on "Theological Perspectives on the Environment" and "Popular Books on the Environment of Interest to Christians"; and Eco-Friendly Shopping Tips
Earth Ministry: Helping Individuals and Congregations Connect Christian Faith with Care for the Earth: http://www.earthministry.org/
Annotated Bibliography of books dealing with Christian environmental ethics, theology and spirituality. Also included are books on environmental studies and on nature writing.
Curricular Aids and Activities - Resources for Children and Youth - includes information and ordering for books such as Caring for God’s Creation: A Five Section Curriculum for Children with 101 Nature Activities, Loving Our Neighbor, The Earth: Creation-Spirituality Activities for 9-11 Year-Olds, and Your Will Be Done on Earth: Eco-Spirituality Activities for 12-15 Year-olds,
Eco-Justice Programs of the National Council of Churches: http://www.nccecojustice.org/
The Eco-Justice Programs office of the National Council of Churches works in cooperation with the NCC Eco-Justice Working Group to provide an opportunity for the national bodies of member Protestant and Orthodox denominations to work together to protect and restore God's Creation.
Earth Day Sunday includes resources and even sermon starters for Earth Day: "Each year, the National Council of Churches' Eco-Justice Working Group focuses on a particular environmental theme and highlights a number of ways individuals and congregations can celebrate and protect God's creation. We hope these ideas inspire further thoughts, conversations, and actions in answering God's call to be faithful stewards of creation."
Earth Letter, Earth Ministry's informative, inspirational, and acclaimed mini-journal is published quarterly. Its articles, stories, and book reviews highlight Christian environmental spirituality, theology, and action and reflect on the Christian call to care for all creation. Earth Letter has published works by, among others, Wendell Berry, Pattiann Rogers, Terry Tempest Williams, Barry Lopez, Bill McKibben, and Rosemary Radford Ruether.
Evangelical Leaders Adopt Landmark Document Urging Greater Civic Engagement
National Association of Evangelicals unanimously voted at its annual Fall Board Meeting to adopt an historic document on public engagement called For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility. Read the Environmental part of that Call here: http://aeoe.org/resources/spiritual/christiancivicresp.html
Evangelical Environment Network
An Evangelical Declaration on the Care of Creation
Evangelical Environment Network page on climate change/global warming provides a briefing for religious leaders identifying climate change as a Christian challenge, as well as fact sheets on environmental issues: http://www.creationcare.org/resources/climate/
NEW: Floresta
Working in places where poverty is caused by deforestation, Floresta restores the environment and empowers the poor. Floresta restores forests and farms by teaching innovative agricultural methods to poor farmers. We help farmers get the most from their land, without destroying it for future generations. Floresta works in challenging areas where farmers toil on steep, barren and eroded hillsides. We help farmers plant trees and implement agroforestry techniques, dramatically improving their livelihood and multiplying the yield of the land. Our website has additional resources for the public on deforestation and the environment and poverty.
National Council of Churches of Christ – Earth Day Sunday Page
Each year the National Council of Churches' Eco-Justice Working Group focuses on a particular environmental theme and highlights a number of ways individuals and congregations can celebrate and protect God's creation.
Restoring Eden - Christians for Environmental Stewardship: http://www.restoringeden.org/
Restoring Eden makes hearts bigger, hands dirtier and voices stronger by learning to love, serve and protect God's creation. Restoring Eden lives out the biblical mandate to, "speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves" (Proverbs 31:8) as advocates for natural habitats, wild species and indigenous cultures. Our goal is to make environmental stewardship a core value of the Christian community. Our message is simple: "God is a good God. God made a good earth. God calls us to be good stewards." In fact, we chose the name, “Restoring Eden” because of what it implies--the restoration of humanity to harmonious fellowship with God AND nature. It is the return of walking with God in the garden. "Eden" is a Hebrew term for a "place of special delight." It is our prayer that other Christians see environmental stewardship as harmonious, not contradictory to their core values.
Check out the great resources on the Restoring Eden website:
Target Earth - "Serving the Earth, Serving the Poor": http://www.targetearth.org/
Christians are called to live with excellence. To be those people who chart their futures by what they can give to the next generation-not by what they can take from it. To be men and women whose lives are defined by the courage and compassion to make a difference on the earth. Target Earth is a national movement of Christians who reflect this commitment to care. It's a movement of individuals, churches, college fellowships and Christian ministries motivated by the biblical call to be faithful stewards of everything God created-to love our neighbors as ourselves and to care for the earth.
United Methodist Women's Green Team: http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/green_team.cfm
The concept of Green Team’s work on environmental advocacy has the goal of realizing “environmental justice.” Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people – regardless of race, ethnicity, income or education level – in environmental decision-making. Environmental Justice work promotes the protection of human health and the environment, empowerment via public participation, and the dissemination of relevant information to inform and educate affected communities. At the core of this work is a simple proposition: a person’s access to clean air, water or soil should be a human right. The environment is not our environment. It is the Creator’s. Being “…whole persons through Jesus Christ…” (United Methodist Women’s Purpose) includes restoring our Creation to its original balance. There is no peace without justice and integrity of Creation. There can be no integrity of Creation without peace and justice.
NEW: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
The USCCB is an assembly of the Catholic Church hierarchy who work together to unify, coordinate, promote, and carry on Catholic activities in the United States. To read their statement on global climate change, go to: http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/globalclimate.htm#introduction.
Web of Creation: http://www.webofcreation.org/
Earth Bible: Reading the Bible from the Perspective of Earth
Transforming your Congregation through Education
Links to Websites on ecology and environmentalism from a religious viewpoint
Ecology and spirituality are fundamentally connected,
because deep ecological
awareness, ultimately, is spiritual awareness.
-- Fritjof Capra
The Alliance of Religions and Conservation
ARC is a secular body that helps the major religions of the world to develop their own environmental programmes, based on their own core teachings, beliefs and practices. We help the religions link with key environmental organisations – creating powerful alliances between faith communities and conservation groups. ARC was founded in 1995 by HRH Prince Philip. We now work with 11 major faiths through the key traditions within each faith.
Drawing on their traditions, faith communities are working in countless ways to care for the environment. Each faith has its own distinctive history and teachings, and its own unique relationship with the natural world. The ARC Faiths and Ecology Section outlines the basics of each faith's history, beliefs and teachings on ecology. At the end of each faith section are links for further information.
NEW: Climate Crisis Coalition Interfaith Initiative
The Climate Crisis Coalition is working with faith communities to broaden the circle of individuals, organizations and constituencies engaged in the global warming issue. Read the CCC Interfaith Call to Action at: http://www.climatecrisiscoalition.org/mayer-call-toaction.html and find out about their broader campaign at http://www.climatecrisiscoalition.org/.
EarthLight is ecumenical and spiritually inclusive in content and published by an independent non-profit organization with links to its Quaker heritage. It was first published in 1988 by the Pacific Yearly Meeting Committee on Unity with Nature (now known as Quaker Earthcare Witness).
Equal Exchange Interfaith Coffee Program
“Equal Exchange is like drinking a cup of justice... And justice can taste outstanding.” - Pastor Timothy Bernard, Redeemer Lutheran Church
The Forum on Religion and Ecology
The Forum on Religion and Ecology is the largest international multireligious project of its kind. With its conferences, publications, and website it is engaged in exploring religious worldviews, texts, and ethics in order to broaden understanding of the complex nature of current environmental concerns. The Forum recognizes that religions need to be in dialogue with other disciplines (e.g., science, ethics, economics, education, public policy, gender) in seeking comprehensive solutions to both global and local environmental problems. Institutional support for this project includes: The Harvard University Center for the Environment, the Harvard-Yenching Institute, Bucknell University, and the Center for Respect of Life and Environment of the Humane Society of the United States.
NEW: Interfaith Climate Change Network
A resource for communities of faith interested in global climate change with climate change statements, resources and links. http://protectingcreation.org/
NEW: Interfaith Power and Light (IPL)
The Interfaith Power and Light (IPL) program is working nationally to mobilize religious communities to promote renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation. IPL is working to establish Interfaith Power and Light programs in every state. Interfaith dialogues on Climate Change Solutions will take place in communities across the country this Earth Day. To find an IPL program in your state, go to: http://www.theregenerationproject.org/ipl/index.html
Interfaith Works is a non-profit organization that partners with religious organizations to do good works by integrating environmental stewardship with community outreach. IW works with congregations to help connect their faith, their community and the environment.
The National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE)
The National Religious Partnership for the Environment seeks to weave care for God’s creation throughout religious life in such a way as to provide inspiration, moral vision, and commitment to social justice for all efforts to protect the natural world and human well-being within it. It calls upon multiple resources to enact a comprehensive vision. Its four founding partners include: The U.S. Catholic Conference, the National Council of Churches of Christ, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, and the Evangelical Environmental Network. These organizations have come together drawing on both common biblical beliefs and their own traditions to offer religious resources for the protection of the Earth.
Quaker Earthcare Witness is a spiritually-centered movement of Quakers and like-minded people seeking ways to integrate concern for the environment with Friends' long-standing testimonies for simplicity, peace, and equality.
Religious Witness for the Earth
Religious Witness for the Earth (RWE) is a national interfaith network dedicated to public witness in defense of Creation. Seeing climate change and environmental devastation as issues of justice, RWE invokes the loving spirit, selfless courage, and moral authority of the civil rights movement. Through prayer, education, and nonviolent action, we join hands to protect the Earth, our beloved home.
NEW: Unitarian Universalist Ministry for the Earth
Resource for Unitarian Universalists on environmental issues, particularly global warming. This page has extensive resources on becoming a green sanctuary.
The Jewish Environmental Fellowship is a three month leadership training program for Jewish young adults - ages 20-29 -that integrates organic farming, sustainable living, Jewish learning, teaching, and contemplative spiritual practice. Fellows spend much of their time learning and practicing sustainable agriculture and animal husbandry on the four-acre ADAMAH farm and in small gardens throughout the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center. Fellows also participate in leadership training, community living, ecological and Jewish seminars with visiting faculty, and more. www.isabellafreedman.org/adamah
Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL)
The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) deepens the Jewish community’s commitment to the stewardship of creation and mobilizes the resources of Jewish life and learning to protect the Earth and all its inhabitants. COEJL identifies ways individuals, schools and synagogues can address global warming. Under the “Celebrate” section there are links to The Earth Day/Passover connection and Why Earth Day is a Jewish Holiday. A How-To Manual for Greening Local Synagogues, Schools and Offices is included as well as Action Alerts. http://www.coejl.org/action/ss_globalw.php
EcoJew - Defending Creation Along The Monterey Bay
This site contains a blog and hosts several other sites, including the Guide to Judaism and the Environment and the Eco Kosher Network, which works to educate and assist people and Jewish institutions to make responsible consumer choices.
NEW: Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA)
Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) focuses on reasons why vegetarianism is part of Jewish teachings. There are links on the impact of industrial agriculture on the planet and its connection to global warming at: http://www.google.com/u/JewishVeg?q=climate+change+and+industrial+agriculture&sa=Search.
The Shalom Center is a network of American Jews who draw on Jewish tradition and spirituality to seek peace, pursue justice, heal the earth, and build community.
Spirituality is so infused into traditional Native American views of the Earth that it is sometimes hard to separate spiritual environmental education resources from others... perhaps as it should be.
I was born a thousand years ago, born in the culture of bows and arrows ...
born in an age when people loved the things of nature and spoke to it as though
it had a soul.
-- Chief Dan George
Approaches to Environmental Education by Indigenous Cultures in North America "Since the long term goal of environmental education is to change behaviors so that waste of natural resources can be prevented, it is important to share and exchange information as well as learn from the teachings of these indigenous cultures, namely Native Americans." A publication from the EETAP Resource Library, in pdf format.
Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message, by Chief Jake Swamp, illustrated by Erwin Printup, Jr. Teacher's Guide from Lee and Low Books Multicultural Literature for the Classroom. Mohawk parents have traditionally taught their children to start each day by giving thanks to Mother Earth. "To be a human being is an honor, and we offer thanksgiving for all the gifts of life," begins the Thanksgiving Address. This Native American good morning message is based on the belief that the natural world is a precious and rare gift. The whole universe–from the moon and the stars to the tiniest blade of grass–is addressed as one great family It is a celebration of the beauty of Mother Earth, which Chief Jake Swamp of the Mohawk Nation, who is also a founder of the Tree of Peace Society, has adapted especially for readers of all ages.
In the Light of Reverence - screening held at the 2003 AEOE Spring Conference at Jones Gulch. Earth Island Institute’s Sacred Land Film Project produces a variety of media and educational materials — films, videos, DVDs, articles, photographs, school curricula materials and Web site content — to deepen public understanding of sacred places, indigenous cultures and environmental justice. Our mission is to use journalism, organizing and activism to rekindle reverence for land, increase respect for cultural diversity, stimulate dialogue about connections between nature and culture, and protect sacred lands and diverse spiritual practices. For the last decade we have focused on the production and distribution of the documentary film, In the Light of Reverence.
Indigenous Environmental Network "A network of Indigenous Peoples empowering Indigenous Nations and communities towards sustainable livelihoods, demanding environmental justice and maintaining the Sacred Fire of our traditions."
Maidu
Stewardship Project - "Saving Maidu Culture, One Seedline at a Time." A
restoration project using traditional Maidu land stewardship practices in
cooperation with the Plumas National Forest. The Maidu Stewardship Project
focuses on the understory of the forest, the oaks, shrubs and flowering plants
that have traditionally provided the necessities of Maidu life. It is the
first place in the nation where Native Americans have begun applying traditional
stewardship methods to national forest land. Read
this article from High Country
News for more information. Contact: Lorena Gorbet / P.O. Box 426, Greenville,
CA 95947 / (530) 284-1601 / E-mail:
Native Americans and the Environment a website full of resources, references, articles and more: This non-profit project has three goals: to educate the public on environmental problems in Native American communities; to explore the values and historical experiences that Native Americans bring to bear on environmental issues; to promote conservation measures that respect Native American land and resource rights.
The Red Road: The Indigenous Worldview as a Prerequisite for Effective Character Education (pdf), Don Trent Jacobs. (Paths of Learning Magazine, Summer 2001, Issue #9, pp. 6-9).
(Feel free to submit any sites you think might fit here to the webmaster!)
There is no better way to please the Buddha than to please all sentient beings. -- Ladakhi saying
Article: A HEART FULL OF WONDER - The union of science and spirituality reflects
the transformation
that is occurring in individuals. From Resurgence Magazine
Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF)
Buddhist Peace Fellowship's open-hearted engagement with the world is expressed through expanding programs in the United States and Asia. Through BPF, Buddhists of many different traditions are developing individual and group responses to socially conditioned suffering.
Located on the coast north of San Francisco and surrounded by protected lands belonging to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Mount Tamalpais State Park, and Marin County Water District, Green Gulch Zen Center is a residential Buddhist retreat center that combines spiritual practice with land stewardship. In addition to environmental awareness and education, Green Gulch is cultivating an ecological ethic of institutional responsibility. This ethic encompasses various kinds of practices (e.g., tree planting, composting, organic farming, organic gardening, water conservation, and waste recycling) and ritual celebrations (e.g., ceremonies of gratitude for the earth and its many gifts). In addition, traditional elements of Zen Buddhism, such as work-practice and an aesthetic of simplicity, help to foster ecologically sensitive attitudes and behaviors in a rural setting conducive to spiritual practice.
Ordinary Dharma and Manzanita Village
Ordinary Dharma is a Buddhist Community rooted in the meditation traditions of Vipassana and Zen and committed to the teachings of Deep Ecology, Nonviolence, Engaged Buddhism, and movements for social justice. Based in Southern California, Ordinary Dharma offers meditation instruction, workshops and trainings, retreats, tapes and CDs, Aikido and Iaido training, Hypnotherapy, and Counseling. Retreats and workshops are held at Ordinary Dharma’s rural retreat center, Manzanita Village, in Warner Springs, as well as in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and various other North American locations. Manzanita Village is located on nineteen acres of land west of the Anza Borrego desert in San Diego County. Surrounded by National forest and public land, Manzanita Village offers a remote and wild setting for retreats, and the resident teachers—Caitriona Reed and Michele Benzamin-Miki—consider the land itself to be a teacher. The teaching and practice at Manzanita Village are rooted in the belief that spiritual practice is inextricably related to issues of social, economic and environmental justice. Workshops and retreats integrate traditional Buddhist teachings and mindfulness practice with deep ecology, social justice, nonviolence, peace-making, and the creative arts. As well as traditional approaches to Buddhist Meditation, other practices geared towards awakening a sense of connectedness with the earth include: contemplative bowing called “touching the earth,” earth-centered Gathas (short poems to support mindfulness) for walking meditation, and deep ecology process work. The retreat center has a strawbale hermitage for personal retreats as well as room for approximately thirty-five formal retreat participants and serves organic, vegetarian, and non-genetically modified food.
Many of these programs also provide public school programs, and can adjust their curriculum accordingly, but can include a spiritual component if desired.
(The 
icon
means these are current AEOE Institutional Members - see their listings on
our California
EE Provider Pages)
Alliance Redwoods was the site of the 2005 Christian Outdoor School Conference:
Hope you didn't miss the Oct 28-30, 2005 ACROS (Association of Christian Residential Outdoor Schools) conference at Alliance Redwoods in Occidental. For only $45, participants enjoyed two nights lodging in YURTs or tents, workshops and other activities, and 5 meals. Some also enjoyed a pre-conference birding trip to the Pt. Reyes area all day Friday. Contact Scott Smithson at
() Camp Pendola (summer) and Creature Camp (fall), Grass Valley, California - Catholic. A two-day or four-day outdoor education program designed and operated by the Diocese of Sacramento. Creature Camp meets educational and faith formation needs of fifth and sixth-grade pupils. Set in the Sierra Nevada’s Tahoe National Forest, the camp serves an average of 65 children from different schools each session. The word “Creature” is a theological term that describes a relationship we people share with all of creation -- we are all Creatures of God. Creature Camp is operated by the Diocese of Sacramento’s Pendola Center in cooperation with the Catholic Schools Department.
"Unfortunately, we have had to lay down the Coastal Redwood Environmental School after three years. Even though the elementary school children who participated, as well as their parents and teachers, found the program worthwhile, there were never enough numbers to make it a self-sustaining concern. Our thanks go to Lisa Murphy, the school's director for the past two years, and to the committee members who worked with her." Here is the program description, just for the sake of history: CORE provides a unique approach to experiential environmental education. Our mission is to nurture life-long relationships between young people and the environment by offering an educational, spirit-infused experiential encounter with our coastal redwood habitat. It is our hope that naturalists, teachers, and students will come away with a connection to the land and ecosystem from a deep place, brought about by small-group, hands-on learning in a beautiful natural place. The curriculum focus is on the science of the Coastal Redwood ecosystem, including: hands-on flora and fauna study, examination of water systems, discovery of the forest life cycle. Students are also given designated times throughout the program to specifically foster deep connections with the environment, themselves, and others. CORE School is located on 80 acres of Redwood forest in the Santa Cruz Mountains at the Quaker Center in Ben Lomond, California.
() Hume Lake Outdoor School (aka Hume Lake Christian Camps) - Evangelical Christian. Hume Lake’s Outdoor Education program has been continuously growing for over a decade. We have been striving to improve the quality of the program as well as the quantity of interesting classes. Throughout the week, we present fun and educational classes where the students can look at the world around them and see how God’s hand plays an awesome part in everything.
• Mission Springs Outdoor Education, Scotts Valley, California - Evangelical Christian. Mission Springs has offered a 5th-8th grade outdoor education program since 1978. We currently serve approximately 3,500 Christian and public school students annually. Schools attend from all over the Bay Area, as well as Sacramento, Stockton, and Fresno. Mission Springs' outdoor classroom consists of 300 acres of redwood forest and oak/chaparral. Also, there are beautiful state beaches and parks nearby that are used as field trip sites.
• Mount Hermon Outdoor Science School, Mount Hermon, California - Evangelical Christian. Mount Hermon Outdoor Science School offers an exciting, academic, hands-on science program based on the California Science Framework. Students in 5th-8th grades actively participate in one week of outdoor science exploration. Numerous opportunities are given for students to increase their awareness and understanding of our physical environment while encouraging good stewardship of our natural resources. The beautiful coastal mountains of Santa Cruz provide a setting for diverse studies including creek research, soil digs, plant and animal identification, nighthikes, habitat restoration, and more. Come to a Mount Hermon Outdoor Science School and you will discover that it is "more than just a nature program."
Remember...
>>Grin<<
(Found on the Restoring
Eden site - Now available
in a poster!)
If you know anyone who needs "reorientation," refer them to the wonderful Christian Environmental Stewardship organizations and resources listed on this page!
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