Social Justice Tag: Earth

By Matthew Hansen, Coordinator of the Community Garden of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Baden, Pennsylvania

Composting takes time! The pile on the right is located on the property of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Baden, PA. It has been building for over a year and a half, and we’ve been using the finished compost across the grounds and gardens. A lot of the “green” comes from kitchen scraps, which we empty here every day to every other day. The brown mostly comes from leaves and straw we use in our garden beds. . Along with adding the “green” and “brown” to the compost pile , we’re also mixing it around – keeping it loose and allowing air to reach all the parts. Without mixing in air, you create an anerobic environment which promotes the growth of bacteria, which will produce a sour smell. . There is a lot of matter in these piles, so we use a tractor with a bucket loader to both turn the pile and transport the compost around the grounds. 

The fresh “greens” coming from the kitchen are stored in 5-gallon buckets in a walk-in cooler (shown above in the picture on the right). Notice how we are covering two full buckets to keep in the smell/odors. The cooler temperatures in the cooler also help reduce the smell before we’re able to pick up the buckets and bring them to the pile.  

For reference, the chart below represents a general guide of what to compost. 

By Jason Giovannetonne, Climate and Sustainability Director 

The next step when beginning a compost pile is to gather the materials that will be used to create the compost pile.  Four components are required to make a basic compost pile: greens, browns, water, and air.  Greens consist of moist and fresh kitchen scraps, which are a rich source of nitrogen.  Browns consist of dry leaves and twigs that provide the required carbon.  The microorganisms that break these materials down into soil require a balanced diet of nitrogen for protein and carbon for energy.  The ideal mix is to add twice as much brown material as green. Then layer them like lasagna.  To minimize odor and unwanted critters, always cover the greens with the browns when adding material.  Finally, if you would like to speed up the composting process, you can mix the pile once every few weeks. Even without mixing, the pile will decompose in about 10 to 12 months. 

Here are some examples of greens and browns. 

Greens: grass clippings, weeds, manure, vegetable and fruit scraps, coffee grounds, eggshells, tea bags  

Browns: grass clippings, dry leaves, saw dust, shredded newspapers, brown grass clippings, cut-up cardboard 

Green Tip 

Continue discussing the potential of locating a compost pile at your property and considering what type of bin or structure you would like to use to contain your pile. Happy composting! 

By Jason Giovannetonne, Climate and Sustainability Director 

 Composting is important to waste reduction.   For the next few weeks, we will outline simple steps for composting. The first step is to locate your compost pile and select the bin or type of structure you would like to use.  The following video does a great job providing a detailed overview of how to start composting. 

Compost Pile/Bin Location: Select a location that is in the shade and at the top of a slope if there is one. Planting in the shade prevents plants from growing on your compost pile. The uphill end of a slope is recommended because compost is much more dense and heavier than the ingredients you use to create the pile; it will be easier to haul the finished compost downhill when needed. Your compost pile should not be too far from where you will be using the compost.   

Bin Type: You can use a simple open structure such as the wooden one shown in the video or a more elaborate (and typically plastic) option that facilitates mixing and aeration to increase the speed of the compost process.  There is no correct answer here; it really comes down to individual preference.   

Green Tip 

Identify a good location on your property for a compost pile. Determine which type of bin you prefer.  A quick internet search should provide many options to consider. 

By Marianne Comfort, Mercy Justice Team 

On March 24^th we marked the eighth anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’. In this document the pope invites us to ecological conversion and action flowing out of the realization that everything is connected; we can’t address social injustices without also addressing environmental degradation, and vice versa. 

“Our goal is …to become painfully aware, to dare to turn what is happening to the world into our own personal suffering and thus to discover what each of us can do about it,” Pope Francis wrote (paragraph #19). 

This year the Laudato Si Movement chose “Hope for the Earth. Hope for Humanity” as the theme of Laudato Si Week, the days immediately leading up to and following the encyclical’s anniversary. 

Pope Francis himself speaks to this theme: “Human beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good, and making a new start.” (#205) 

He writes that there is “a nobility in the duty to care for creation through little daily actions” and that “we must not think that these efforts are not going to change the world. They benefit society…for they call forth a goodness which, albeit unseen, inevitably tends to spread.” (#211-212) 

Green Tip: 

Watch The Letter, a film that explores Laudato Si’ through the perspectives of five people who travel to the Vatican to meet with the pope. They include a young man struggling with both climate change and poverty in Senegal; an Indigenous leader in Brazil defending the rainforest from extractive industries; a teenage girl committed to climate activism; and two marine biologists from Hawaii. Renew your commitment to living more sustainably in light of their stories. 

By Mike Poulin, Justice Resource Manager

Capitalism is another significant obstacle to sustainability. Companies focus on profit to gain wealth and fuel growth. Many companies’ profits rely on selling products. Making products that are disposable or irreparable that quickly become obsolete or unstylish means that companies sell more products to make more profit. We can resist the pull of capitalism by declining to buy single-use items, repairing possessions when they break and resisting the latest trends and fashions so that we aren’t always purchasing the latest thing. 

By Mike Poulin, Justice Resource Manager

Consumerism is a significant obstacle to sustainability. Especially in the U.S., we exist in an economy and a culture that is constantly providing new things while also telling us “More is better.” For the next month, before buying something new, ask yourself the question, “Do I really need that?” Keep track of how many times the answer is “no.” See if you can get in the habit of reducing your consumerism. 

By Sister Rose Marie Tresp 

The clothing we wear has an unseen price on the lives of workers and the environment.  

In the effort to produce clothes more cheaply and quickly, companies often turn to workers in underdeveloped nations, where they are paid unfair wages and may work in slave-like conditions that contribute to the cycle of poverty. In garment factories, children may be put to work at any or all stages of the supply chain, from the production of cotton, to the yarn spinning, to the final cuts and sewing stages.  

Clothing production also creates a significant environmental impact. There is a massive amount of waste created as newer fashion trends push older ones into landfills. Modern textiles also rely heavily on petrochemical products that come from many of the same oil and gas companies driving greenhouse gas emissions. Today, in fact, fashion accounts for up to 10% of global carbon dioxide output—more than international flights and shipping combined, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. It also accounts for a fifth of the 300 million tons of plastic produced globally each year. 

Green tip: 
Buy secondhand clothing to keep textiles out of landfills and reduce the demand for plastics in fashion. If everyone bought one secondhand item of clothing a year instead of new clothing, this would be the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent of taking ½ million cars off the road. 

By Jason Giovannettone, Climate and Sustainability Director

As we enter the month of May, I hope that you have enjoyed your time outdoors, including gardening. One important aspect of gardening that I have learned is to add native plants to my yard. 

There are many benefits to incorporating native plants. Because they are accustomed to the local climate and the potential predators that may feed on them, native plants are generally easier to grow and tend to be more resistant to our deer, rabbits, and other wildlife. Even better, they are beneficial to a host of wildlife, especially birds. Many native trees, shrubs, and flowers will support a large number of caterpillars. In fact, native plants support about 35 times as many caterpillars as non-native plants on average.  Did you know that an adult chickadee bird needs to catch approximately 100 to 150 caterpillars to feed a single baby bird? As such, these birds search for places where they can find enough caterpillars. Planting native plants is a great way to fulfill this need and attract many birds to your yard. Native trees that are especially good at supporting caterpillars include oak, cherry, willow, birch, and poplar. Other types of caterpillar-friendly native plants are goldenrods and asters.  Additional information on this topic can be found in the following video. 

To find out which native plants may thrive where you live, visit the National Audubon Society and National Wildlife Federation. 

Green Tip 

Plant a native tree or shrub on your property or request that whoever is responsible for the grounds of your facility do so. Local nurseries typically have sections devoted to native plants.  Also, some states may have a coupon you can use to support native plants (e.g., Maryland –https://dnr.maryland.gov/forests/Pages/MarylandersPlantTrees/Print-Your-Coupon.aspx).  

By Mike Poulin, Justice Resource Manager

We know that for many, one tip a week is a good pace for living more sustainably. But if you get on a roll and want to explore a larger variety of options here are two helpful tools to check out: 

Sister Elaine Lopez Pacheco, RSM, recommends My Ecological Footprint. This extensive checklist, created by Christine Rochester, was inspired by the Green Women Leadership Training, a program of www.HealthyWomenHealthyEarth.org.  

The Catholic Climate Covenant guides the U.S. Church’s response to climate change by educating, giving public witness, and offering resources. Their Abundant Living Worksheet provides an inventory for personal and community growth.