At St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi, MN, the Environmental Stewardship Team is a tiny little team in a very large church.  For many years, we have worked to rid the church of Styrofoam, made it easier to recycle and compost, added rain gardens and bike racks to our campus, brought in guest speakers, sponsored film nights, etc.  We also host an annual Caring for Creation Sunday in the spring.  When we host such a large event, we must enlist the help of many others within the church as well as outside organizations.  Sometimes, people are willing to help with events like this even though they don’t like to attend regular meetings.  :o)

To help with ideas for your own congregations’ celebration of Earth Day and God’s Creation, I thought I’d share some of the information tables we had this year.  I hope this helps you with ideas for hosting your next Creation Care event.  Please feel free to contact me if you have questions about any of the groups. Lawind6@gmail.com

• Costa Farms talked about CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) and how they work.

• Washington County Master Gardeners’ Milkweed, Monarchs and Pollinator team hosted a table to educate about their importance and actions we can all take to protect them, but also helped any gardener with questions.

• White Bear Lake’s Bamboo Store had a selection of products to show ways to reduce plastic use in your home.

• Citizen’s Climate Lobby (CCL) helps people understand how a carbon tax would help mitigate climate change and encourages letter-writing.

• NE Metro Climate Action hosts monthly speakers on various topics related to climate action.

• East Metro Water Resource Education Program spoke about Adopt-a-Drain program.

• Washington County Dept. of Public Health and Environment - Recycle/reuse/repair/reduce. 

• Sustainable Stillwater works to create and support local initiatives that promote sustainability in our community.

• Belonging and Inclusion Ministry talked about climate justice issues.

In the gym for the Sunday School kids:

We are lucky to have a renowned naturalist on our team.  Jim Malkowski brings a mini zoo of creatures each year that always captivate the audience.  He has plenty of snakes, turtles, salamanders, and frogs, but one year he even brought a possum loaded with 13 cling-on babies!

Garbage Sort Game to help kids understand which bins to throw waste into

Beekeeper Margot Monson 

“Get the Lead Out” -Minnesota Pollution Control Agency explained the importance of lead-free fishing tackle.