As we have reported recently, the Environmental Stewardship group has re-formed as a Creation Care team. All are welcome to join as part of the team or to participate through donations to such projects as our Butterfly Garden. We have plans for other projects that express our goals of caring for God’s creation (see below).

 

The garden is a pollinator garden (see photo above) that we hope can be certified to be included on the North Carolina Wildlife Federation’s Butterfly Highway. Tom Pohlman, Lizabeth Collins, and Carol Haven created the garden in the raised beds on the south side of the Sanctuary. Lizabeth Collins researched the requirements of a pollinator garden, Tom Pohlman delivered new soil, and Lizabeth joined Carol Haven in weeding and prepping the area. They planted more than three dozen butterfly/caterpillar friendly starts that came from Carol’s garden and purchased at the Master Gardener Plant Sale.

 

Last Sunday, Kristine Nelson introduced children to the garden. They planted seeds and burst seed bombs.

 

A later phase of the garden may see us adding other butterfly-friendly shrubs and small trees. Perhaps we could expand the garden to include vegetables, blueberries, raspberries, and fruit trees to feed people, another level of caring for God’s creation.

 

Meanwhile, we need help with additional volunteers and donations of some equipment and money. We need a rain gauge, a hose nozzle that changes or stops the flow of water, and more plants that attract butterflies.

 

We will accept plants out of your own garden if they are butterfly/caterpillar friendly. Some of these are: butterfly weed, bee balm, curly parsley, alyssum. Or you can purchase one or more at a garden center to donate. The new plants will need one inch of water every week for 8-10 weeks so we hope that some of you will volunteer to water when there has been no rain. The church has a hose we can use.

 

Please email Lizabeth, the project leader for the Creation Care Butterfly Garden, if you would like to help in any of the ways we have described.

 

Just as the new Butterfly pollinator Garden was an outgrowth of our first meeting, our meeting yesterday (May 29) inspired the following activities:

  • Visit the folks from the Conference dedicated to Creation Care who will be present and have information at Annual Conference here in Greenville on June 13 and 14.
  • Conduct an energy audit of the campus — a professional will evaluate our energy use and recommends ways to improve efficiency and save money.
  • Establish a Creation Care section in the Curriculum Library.
  • Explore becoming a “green church” through the North Carolina Green-Church initiative. For more information, click HERE.
  • Promote upcoming educational opportunities through the Conference and here at St. James UMC. For example, the Conference’s Lay Servant Ministries is sponsoring a seminar, “Loving People and Planet in God’s Name,” at Elon First UMC on July 27. Click HERE for more information and to register. The course book is the same we used during TGIW — Climate Justice: A Call to Hope and Action.

 

The group decided Creation Care will meet on the third Tuesday of every month at 2:00 p.m. All are welcome!

 

Creation Care has a core leadership team instead of a single chairperson. The team includes Tom Pohlman, Dave Schwartz, Lizabeth Collins, Carol and Andy Haven, and Jim Hix. You may reach out to any of them for more information.