Faith communities –
creating sanctuaries for the living world
Coming into right relationship with the rest of the living world includes making room on the land we occupy for other creatures to thrive. Faith communities can provide wildlife habitat and demonstrate environmental stewardship on the land around their buildings as public witness to their devotion and care for Creation.
Let your life speak: Join the movement in Northern Virginia.
We invite all faith communities to join us
as we strive to be stewards of the Earth:
1. Request a free site visit from a volunteer
Request a free site visit here (Fairfax only for now) from a volunteer to help you evaluate your current practices and consider options for achieving your landscape priorities in environmentally friendly ways. The visits will focus on preserving existing trees and habitat on your property by eliminating invasive plant species, seeking opportunities to add canopy trees and reduce unneeded lawn, and starting on the process of educating members of the community on the glory of native plants and home habitat.
2. Apply the principles of Earth stewardship to your landscaping practices.
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Plant native plants to feed the wildlife.
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Click here for landscaping ideas for faith communities (or other institutional settings).
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Plant native canopy trees to cool the environment, capture carbon and stormwater, clean the air, and reduce A/C costs.
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Remove invasive introduced plants.
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Protect the creatures you are attracting: go pesticide-free.
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Reduce your lawn. Use it only where it is actually needed.
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Reduce storm water run-off.
3. Educate yourselves and your community.
Share the good news about how we can each play a part in rescuing the birds, frogs, butterflies, and all the threatened wildlife of Northern Virginia. Find suggestions here.
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Playgrounds
Give them a play space
that connects them to nature
Help us help each other
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Join the monthly Tree of Life Zoom meetings
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Get on our email list for periodic updates about this movement. Use the form on the footer below to sign up.
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Share your ideas and progress on our Facebook forum, Sowing Seeds of Stewardship (NOVA).
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Let us know of your plans so we can report on and coordinate this effort in Northern Virginia.
June 2020 Faith Community Symposium
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Herndon Friends Meeting
Need help?
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Grants are available from the state and elsewhere
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Get free advice on landscaping for habitat from Northern Virginia Bird Alliance Wildlife Sanctuary Program volunteers.
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Websites which can help you connect your ministry to Care of Creation.
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Get inspired by the stories and photos from other faith communities.
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Sample maintenance contract
Goals for 2035
Time is passing. Where should faith communities be in 2035 if we are to save our trees and birds before it is too late?
90% have increased the number of canopy trees.
100% of properties with woods have eliminated any invasives that are threatening native trees and are implementing a long-term invasives control plan.
90% have
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Replaced invasive plants in the formal landscape with natives.
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Eliminated outdoor insecticides except to address immediate hazards.
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Reduced lawn acreage and enlarged planted spaces around trees
25% have become Northern Virginia Bird Alliance Wildlife Sanctuary (formerly Audubon-at-Home) certified.
Native plants for the sanctuary
Members of the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Arlington have been decorating the church with native plants - cut flowers in the growing season, and berries and seedheads in the winter.
