WORKING TOWARDS A TRULY JUST, HEALTHY AND PEACEFUL WORLD
TREES
PLANT LOVE
A global Anglican movement to plant more trees is taking root in Canada
BY JANICE BIEHN, PWRDF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING COORDINATOR
“To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth;” Thus says the fifth Mark of Mission of the Anglican Communion. Originally, there were only four Marks of Mission, but in 1984, the fifth mark was added, with this note from the Anglican Consultative Council: “We now feel that our understanding of the ecological crisis, and indeed of the threats to the unity of all creation, mean that we have to add a fifth affirmation.”
That was 40 years ago. While humankind may have made some progress in responding to the ecological crisis over the last four decades, it could also be argued that the impact of climate change has exponentially outpaced any of that progress.
In 2022, at the Lambeth Conference of Anglican Primates and Bishops from around the world, the Anglican Communion responded anew with the launch of the Communion Forest. The idea first took root in late 2019, when an Anglican Communion eco-group (comprised of ‘Eco-Bishops’, the Anglican Communion Environmental Network, Christian Aid, the Anglican Communion Office at the United Nations and the Anglican Alliance) suggested a “Lambeth Forest”. The Communion Forest was inspired by the extensive creation care work that was already happening across the Communion.
This worldwide initiative focuses on planting trees where there was no tree cover before, known as afforestation, as well
as other practical greening initiatives.
“The environmental crisis is an existential threat to millions of people and species of plants and animals across the globe,” as noted at CommunionForest.org. Drought, rising sea levels, catastrophic flooding and wildfires can all lead to death and destruction of habitats and cherished homes. “They devastate livelihoods, cause food shortages, force migration, disrupt communities and break up families. The impacts of the crisis are costly, both financially and in terms of the trauma they create.”
In Canada, the effects of climate change can be especially seen in the notable increase of wildfires from coast to coast to coast. In 2023, the Global Forest Watch initiative found that the loss of hectares due to wildfires in Canada increased by six times the annual average since 2001.
Globally, forest fires are burning nearly twice as much tree cover today as they did 20 years ago. Hotter temperatures during
the summer and overall decreases in snow and rainfall combine to create the perfect super-dry conditions for wildfires to start and spread. Wildfires are surpassing air travel as a source of CO2 emissions, and the massive loss of trees also exacerbates the environmental impact.
In the face of climate change, biodiversity loss, profound human suffering and social inequality, the Communion Forest aims to significantly increase the number of Anglican-based activities that support tree-growing and ecosystem conservation, protection and restoration around the world, and to deepen care for creation within the life of the Church and its members. It is a practical, spiritual and symbolic response to the environmental crisis, and an act of Christian hope for the well-being of humanity and all of God’s creation. It is also a powerful signal that we need to take climate action together to make a difference.
When you push that shovel into the ground to make way for a seedling or sapling, thousands of other Anglicans are doing the same thing.
A key part of the Communion Forest is to share tree-planting and other greening initiatives spear-headed by Anglicans in Canada. Read about PWRDF’s Education Resource on page 2 to learn more.
TREES, FORESTS, GRASSLANDS AND OTHER ECOSYSTEMS HELP TO:
• stabilize the climate • protect from flooding
• sequester carbon (remove it from the atmosphere)
• sustain biodiversity
• generate food and livelihoods for communities across the world
By caring for trees we are mirroring God’s love of creation and are living out the call to Adam in Genesis 2 to have a watching protection and seek to preserve God’s gift.
CLIMATE ACTION TAKES A JOINT EFFORT
A multi-year project in Eastern and South Africa has culminated in a collaboration among international faithbased organizations
BY ANDREA CASEY, PWRDF PROGRAMS AND PARTNERSHIP FACILITATOR
INA WORLD facing a global climate crisis, cooperation and local efforts are essential. PWRDF and other Canadian ACT Alliance members have worked together to support local climate action through the Locally Led Climate Fund (LLCF). Having succeeded in its initial phase, the LLCF is now set to expand its goals in the next phase.
In 2020 and 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the interconnectedness of global challenges, ACT Canada members met online, driven by a shared commitment to have a positive impact in the communities we serve. The pressing question: how could we best focus our collective efforts to make a meaningful difference?
These discussions culminated in a two- day virtual roundtable on Climate and the Environment in Eastern and Southern Africa. Held in November 2021, following the COP26 summit in Glasgow, this roundtable marked the start of a collective effort to combat climate change in a region critically affected by its consequences.
This ecumenical consultation was a significant milestone, drawing participants from Eastern and Southern Africa and Canada. This diverse group engaged in meaningful conversations about the gendered impacts of climate change, the role of local knowledge, and climate financing justice. The consultation underscored the unique position of churches and faith-based organizations in mobilizing communities.
TIME TO DIG IN!
Creation Care: Climate Action Learning Module 3.1
PWRDF
IS a founding member of the Anglican Alliance, who has taken the lead in promoting the Communion Forest. To support and amplify this important work, PWRDF has dedicated its latest education resource, Learning Module 3.1, on the program. A webinar to launch the resource was held October 3. Here’s how you can get involved:
• Watch the webinar;
• Bring a Communion Forest activity to your church;
• Lead a presentation using our resource or share parts of it with your parish;
• Tell us what greening projects or tree planting your church has done. In the Diocese of Ottawa, the PWRDF Working Group has spearheaded “Branches of Hope,” a Communion Forest project. With a generous donation from Christ Church Cathedral, Ottawa, the working group was able to purchase locally grown tree seedlings – red maple and black spruce – that they have distributed to individuals, families, parishes and community groups. This will improve the health of communities
Insights from the gathering and subsequent consultations led to the creation of the LLCF. Canadian ACT members committed more than $275,000, with PWRDF contributing $100,000 to support climate justice initiatives in Eastern and Southern Africa, focusing on localization and community-driven approaches. The fund’s administration through the ACT secretariat was designed to ensure local decision-making and oversight, promoting collaboration and scalability.
By November 2022, the ACT Secretariat released a call for project concepts. In its first year, the LLCF supported four project concepts in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The pilot phase concluded in April 2024, with progress in tree-planting in all countries:
Parishioners of St. Aidan’s Anglican Church in Ottawa work together to plant a tree.
• Ethiopia: Training in natural resource management such as reforestation and soil conservation, which led to improved community awareness and collaboration with government stakeholders.
• Kenya: Village Savings and Loans Associations engaged in tree re-planting, crop farming, tree nursery development, agroforestry, and retail business as adaptation and mitigation strategies to climate change challenges.
• Uganda: Engaged influential faith leaders, including the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, who called for tree planting and plastic-free churches.
• Zimbabwe: Launched an afforestation initiative, raising 600 tree seedlings and establishing a plantation of 100 gum trees and 250 fruit trees.
for years to come.
The initiative also has an international goal in Uganda. Recipients of young trees in the diocese are encouraged to donate $10 per seedling to support this important work. The fundraising goal of $5,000 to donate PWRDF has been met and there is talk that the initiative may be extended.
Other dioceses have also gotten behind the Communion Forest. In January 2024, the Diocese of Niagara’s Climate Justice Niagara (CJN) group, announced that it had received funding from the diocese, and
matched by the Anglican Foundation for the Niagara Communion Forest – Inventory, Planting, and Stewardship project, assisting parishes of the diocese with tree inventories to determine the state of current trees as well as future planting.
The Diocese of Ontario’s Diocesan Green Group has created a web page about the Communion Forest that includes instructional resources for tree planting: site choice, species selection, seedlings and availability, planting methods, and the care of planted seedlings.
Building on the achievements of the first phase, ACT Canada members have committed additional funds for a second phase of the LLCF, now totaling approximately $290,000. This phase aims to deepen engagement through a localized approach, strengthen the agency of local institutions, and ensure meaningful inclusion of young people in climate action. Phase Two will also expand to include West Africa. The journey of developing the LLCF is a demonstration of the power of working collectively, the importance of local solutions and actions, and the important role of faith-based organizations in tackling climate change. Through this fund, ACT Alliance members have made real progress in helping local communities adapt to and reduce the effects of climate change.
TAKE OUR BIBLE TREE QUIZ! What kind of trees are at Mamre? Or in Lebanon? Test your Bible tree knowledge with our quiz in the Communion Forest Learning Module 3.1. Scan the QR code above to view or download the quiz. To learn more about the Communion Forest Learning Module visit pwrdf.org/communion-forest
The Most Rev. Stephen Kaziimba, Archbishop of Uganda, and clergy lead a community clean-up activity as part of the local initiatives.
GUARDIANS OF TREES, CUSTODIANS OF SEEDS
BY MAYERLY DIAZ, ILSA AND JEANNETHE LARA, PWRDF PROGRAMS AND PARTNERSHIP COORDINATOR
THE NETWORK of Guardians of Trees and Custodians of Seeds is made up of energetic women from nine different municipalities in Boyacá, Páramo de Pisba complex, who, with the guidance of PWRDF partner ILSA, are acting on ways to improve their future and that of the ecosystem.
Degradation of the soil, erosion and loss of water are an increasing problem in the Páramo area. Women became guardians to protect trees native to each territory, thus protecting soil and water. The first phase of the project promoted community forest nurseries in each municipality, as a strategy for the conservation of native flora species to be used in reforestation and revegetation of the Páramo and degraded ecosystems. The women operate a nursery operating at each municipality, which grows plants mainly for reforestation.
The tree guardians carry out campaigns, training, reforestation and other environmental activities to combat the effects of the climate crisis through the conservation and reproduction of native trees, and not of introduced species that end up damaging the soil, being invasive and thus causing other species of flora and fauna to migrate. In addition to safeguarding the trees, the guardians also recover and preserve ancestral knowledge as well as species of flora and fauna, ensuring a much-needed ecological balance.
Caring for the trees is also connected to the protection of native and creole seeds at risk of disappearing, affecting the world’s food security and sovereignty. Women engage in individual and collective activities to save, protect and reproduce native seeds (those from the territory and
PLANTING IDEAS IN YOUNG PEOPLE
BY JANICE BIEHN, PWRDF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING COORDINATOR
IN UGANDA, PWRDF partner St. Jude Family Projects is teaching young people how farming practices and tree planting can improve nutrition and income.
“Agroecology for School Nutrition Enhancement and Entrepreneurship” began in November 2023 and will continue until the end of 2026. It builds on the successes of a previous project, as well as the organization’s 25 years of community engagement in sustainable organic agriculture. The project focuses on:
• improving implementation and management of integrated land use design (ILUD) on school grounds;
• increasing sustainable use of diverse food resources at schools and students’ homes;
• improving agroecological entrepreneurship at schools.
St. Jude’s is working with agriculture and biology teachers in 15 schools to improve agribusiness knowledge and skills in approximately 4,500 young people. The students are in the lower secondary level, where practical agriculture has been rolled out in the new curriculum for four years.
“We have always taught the principles of agricultural science, conservation and
economics to the learners but most of them could simply cram and pass,” says John Ssali, head teacher at Timothy Girls High School, one of the participating schools.
“Thanks to this project, now learners are practically instructed on the demonstration plots in principles of biofertilization, landscaping for erosion control and value addition, among other principles. We have the confidence that this will translate into improved grades as well as stimulating an entrepreneurial spirit among our young people if they see the improved harvests once science is put into practical application.
Many of our parents are equally impressed with this project work and have increased confidence in the school.”
The project started with a one-day workshop on soil and water conservation techniques, followed by training sessions on manure composting and Bokashi fertilizers (a fermented organic compost). By the end of the sessions, students and teachers gained practical knowledge on composting and received materials to make Bokashi fertilizer. Students learned soil conservation techniques as a basis for crop production.
Next, 30 teachers participated in a five-day training on agro-ecology, expanding their knowledge on farming practices that support ecosystems. Each school also received training in climate change adaptation and mitigation, emphasizing
nowhere else in the world) and/or creole seeds (those from another part of the world that have been adopted and adapted in the territory). This strategy is also a way to adapt to climate change. The seeds are for the agroecological production of food, aromatics, fodder, among others.
Some are ancient seeds in danger of disappearing because the industry already produces similar ones, especially with the help of transgenic seeds which reproduce only once, and must be bought again and again, along with their technological packages that “ensure” their germination, and even “greater” production through pesticides, contaminating soils, food and ecosystems, affecting water and among other negative effects, causing the death of pollinators.
Women participating in this project have begun to see socio-cultural, political and economic changes through education, campaigns, stimulating vegetable gardens towards agroecology, fostering exchanges of trees and seeds at all activities, and establishing community seed houses for participatory research regarding exchange, conservation, bartering, and commercialization of seeds. On the one hand, contributing to address the climate crisis, on the other, to the advancement of the economic autonomy of women and their families. It also expands the collective awareness that to change practices is possible.
The work is done through the articulation and coordination of various local and regional women’s associations and networks that include everything from women entrepreneurs for the environment, agroecological associations, water and lake protectors, networks defending land and autonomy, vegetable gardens networks, seed custodians, community nurseries as well as local and regional greenhouses networks.
improved crop varieties, intercropping, soil management and drought-coping strategies. Training sessions on nutrition underscored the importance of food security and healthy eating habits among students.
Trees and gardens
Students planted fruit tree seedlings including mango, orange and lemon, as well as vegetable plantlets and seeds in the permaculture gardens. The project provided wheelbarrows, hoes, watering cans and Jerry
cans. A nursery bed was established in each school so that students could learn about seed propagation and raising trees. Schools also formed agro-ecology clubs to further encourage participation, project monitoring and ownership of the gardens.
Agroforestry as an agroecology practice was introduced to promote ecosystems interdependence and further demonstrate the principles of agricultural economics, such as farm planning and enterprise diversification.
Karolain Trujillo, a Seed Custodian and Tree Guardian, talks about the importance of planting trees at a demonstration.
Students learn about manure composting and how to make Bokashi fertilizers.
Thanks to you
BY ABDI ALI Supporter Relations Program Officer
A FEAST OF COMPASSION FOR GAZA
When the congregation of St. Thomas Anglican Church in East Vancouver learned about PWRDF’s support for Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, they knew they had found the perfect focus for their Lenten outreach project. Despite initially planning a local initiative, the urgent needs in Gaza compelled them to act.
A Zoom presentation by PWRDF Executive Director Will Postma, featuring photos and details of the hospital’s work, inspired their efforts. Through potluck dinners, bake sales and direct donations, the parish raised more than $10,840 to fund lifesaving surgeries and other services at the hospital.
LOOSE CHANGE, GREAT CHANGE
Every year during Lent, St. Matthew Anglican in Abbotsford, B.C. collects “loose change” and bills for an outreach project. In 2024, the parish chose PWRDF’s Gaza and West Bank Emergency Appeal to receive the generous gifts, amounting to $2,087.10. Parishioners were moved to support the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, which is struggling to provide care amidst severe shortages and damage. They were also inspired by Jesus’ teachings to love one’s neighbour and are thankful to be able to give support to their world neighbours in Gaza and the West Bank.
A SOUP-ER IDEA!
As part of its community outreach efforts, Emmanuel Anglican Church in Saskatoon, Sask., held a soup and bun event that raised $1,230 for PWRDF’s Indigenous Responsive Grant Fund. The event followed a service that included a video message from PWRDF Executive Director Will Postma. Then everyone gathered over a delicious meal. The funds will support initiatives for Indigenous communities, demonstrating the church’s commitment to making a positive impact in the community.
and tell us all about it. Many thanks to all of our donors.
WILD RIDE 2024 TAKES THE 65 FOR 65 CHALLENGE
This year marks PWRDF’s 65 years of supporting refugees and internally displaced people, so our Wild Ride campaign aimed to raise $65,000 for our partners supporting people who have been forced to flee their homes. By mid-September, 42 participants from across the country had embraced the Wild Ride spirit, collecting pledges to walk, cycle, swim, knit, read and more! Betty Davidson, PWRDF’s Diocesan Rep for the Yukon, crocheted 10 baby blankets for the cause. The Primate, Archbishop Linda Nicholls, walked 200 km! Read about the different participants and the final fundraising tally at pwrdf.org/wild-ride
WALKING TOGETHER IN RECONCILIATION
In Burgeo, NL, the congregation of St. John the Evangelist joined together with Burgeo First Nation to take a step toward reconciliation. With support from the Diocese of Western Newfoundland, the town of Burgeo, PWRDF’s Indigenous Responsive Grant and the National Marine Conservation Area/National Park, a new gathering space aims to educate people about Indigenous history and culture, celebrating the town’s diverse past. It features a gazebo with storyboards providing a historical narrative, translated into the Mi’kmaq language.
