Bill Hayes – Chair (serves on Finance
& Social Action Committees)
Arlene Sweeting – Vice Chair (serves
on Social Action, Sunday Service and
Religious Education Committees)
Jack Gardner – Buildings and Grounds
Peggy Dickson – Religious Education
Lorraine Berry – Board Representative
Dolly Russell – Organic Garden Project
Bill Newman – Webmaster
Mindy Simmons – Music Committee
Drew Hudson – Sunday Service Committee
Grace Hirsch – Membership Committee
WE, the members of the Green Sanctuary
Committee, seek the sanction of the Board and membership of the Manatee
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (MUUF) to coordinate the work necessary to
achieve Green Sanctuary Certification from the Unitarian Universalist
Association (UUA). The Committee will
develop MUUF’s Action Plan with input from the entire congregation. We will oversee implementation of the plan
and document the progress that is made.
The committee will encourage participation of the entire congregation as
we work together to build a more sustainable community. When the congregation has completed the steps
outlined in the action plan, committee members will make a presentation to the
congregation and ask for an affirmative vote from the membership to apply for
accreditation as a Green Sanctuary.
Florida Power and Light was asked to
come in to do an Audit of the electrical usage/energy efficiency of the
building and to make recommendations for improvement.
The Congregation has held two Green
Sanctuary services, one in 2006 to gather input from the membership on what
ideas they had for the building and beyond in relation to the Green
Sanctuary. The service in 2007 was more
of a recommitment to move forward with the guidance of our newly hired
part-time minister. The youth in the RE
program performed a skit written by one of our members called “Sponge Bob
Squarepants Doesn’t Go to the Mall” which highlighted the many reasons we
should strive to be a Green Sanctuary.
They did an awesome job and received a standing ovation.
Following the service in 2007, the
Green Sanctuary Committee circulated a survey to collect input from the
different committees in the fellowship on what they were currently doing in
terms of environmental practices and what they would like to commit to as we
move forward with the Green Sanctuary.
Information collected appears below:
Referencing the "five goals"
listed as underpinning the Green Sanctuary program, here are activities that we
regularly do with our MUUF kids in our RE program, or that we've done once or
twice:
1) Each year for the past 10 years,
our RE kids have taken part in an Annual honoring ceremony of our Earth Totem,
during April which ties in with Earth Day, with natural decorations,
Earth-centered songs, and a pledge to sincerely work harder to educate people
about the importance of taking care of our planet. Last year, as a rededication (after the totem had to be
relocated), we had a special ceremony
expressing regret and--in a symbolic gesture to ask for forgiveness--some
unusual items were "given back" to the Earth and buried beneath the
totem -- an elephant skin purse, a seal-skin souvenir, black coral earrings,
and fetishes of endangered or extinct animals.
2) Eco-awareness time in class
includes conservation messages around not wasting water or energy, picking up
and properly disposing of trash that injures animals (plastic 6-pak rings,
styrofoam that breaks up and kills turtles & fish, etc). Our children have participated in several
Coastal Clean-ups during September over the past decade.
3)
Yearly we discuss the Earth Charter principles, and 2 years ago after a
field trip to attend the Earth Charter festival, RE was inspired to build our
Earth Scouts garden. Last year we grew
herbs and vegetables and flowers.
Everyone shared in the bounty -- especially the basil!! Pesto was enjoyed by all! The beds have been weeded recently, and
Dolly Russell will lead us in replanting in the next few weeks.
4)
Under guidance of Drew Hudson and Arlene Sweeting, students helped built
the compost bins near our Green space and painted instructions. The first batch of compost was used to plant
our spring garden.
5)
In class we have learned about Earth-centered and Nature-centered
spirituality -- cycles and seasons, the Green Man and Gaia, as well as songs
both in class and with Family Singers.
Many of the songs are from our UU hymnal: Rising Green, The Earth is Our Mother, This Pretty Planet
(Raffi), Earth Air Fire & Water, Chant for season, Colors of the Wind, and
many more...
6)
RE has sponsored many celebrations & observances over the years to
celebrate and Earth and cycles of Nature and the seasons -- including May Pole
celebrations, Solstice observances, Day of the Dead, and more. Thus RE responded to a need expressed by
Pagan parents. In Fall/Winter 2006 we observed Samhein and Winter Solstice with
the Women's Spirit Group.
7)
We have had guest teachers who shared concepts from Native American
spirituality with our RE children & youth.
We have read and discussed the words of Chief Seattle and other Native
Americans.
8)
Our 2005 Mother's Day program included a dramatic & musical
presentation of "The Great Kapok Tree," the story of an important
tree in the rain forest. The children
each made masks of different animals to play their parts.
9)
Children, Youth & Parents helped set up and run the two Fair Trade
Festivals held at MUUF, and this year
the youth added a Youth Coffee house.
10)
RE has traditionally planned at least one camping trip to bring together
not only RE families, but other adults in the MUUF congregation who have become
wonderful extended family and role models for our RE children & Youth.
11)
The Family Singers (including RE families and other MUUF adults) sang
for the opening of a presentation by Dr. Helen Caldicott at Manatee Community
College, Spring 2006, when she came to speak on the dangers of nuclear energy
on the environment and people.
Recommendations from RE: Continue Annual Camping
Trip, Organic Garden & Composting, Earth Day Celebration and other
activities; potential for Earth-related field trips
The Building and Grounds Committee has
been working toward improving the efficiency and performance of the church
facility and grounds for the past 4 years.
The following list summarizes the major accomplishments and those still
planned for the next several years:
1) All access points to the church
have been reviewed and improved for lighting, handicap accessibility, and safe
egress, including exit notification and automatic, motion sensor/day/night
lighting (still inprogress).
2) All lighting has been inspected and
is being updated to fluorescent where applicable.
3) The vegetation and floral
decoration surrounding the church has been carefully and systematically
developed to meet and receive Florida Native Yard Certification.
4) Plans are in progress to cover all
sanctuary windows with clear impact resistant rigid plastic covers to prevent
windows from being opened and to seal the windows from heat/air/dust leak.
5) All air distribution/A/C units are
numbered and serialized to interior controllers for operational guidance.
6) Kitchen appliances and cabinetry
are being reviewed for best effective use and operation based on FPL
guidelines.
7) Where appropriate, window covers
are planned to be tinted to reduce sunload on upper floors.
Recommendations from Buildings and
Grounds: follow up on FPL recommendations, install bike rack, continue to
update lighting
SOCIAL ACTION COMMITTEE
We started purchasing organic, fair
trade coffee for use in the church and to sell to members in 2005. We have held two fair trade gift festivals
at the fellowship in conjunction with Ten Thousand Villages.
We obtained recycling bins from the
City and have started a recycling program at the fellowship. A special bin is in the kitchen for
recyclables and signs are posted to let people know what is and isn’t
recyclable.
We have scheduled a number of guest
speakers to raise awareness among the membership of environmentally issues that
affect us locally: red tide, global
warming, vegetarianism, etc. We took a
field trip to The Venus Project, a futurist vision for the planet.
Recommendations: continue and build on
what we’re already doing. Host a
Vegetarian Share-a-Dish dinner, institute a green purchasing policy
The choir always puts out extra effort
to find music appropriate to the service and has a fairly good environmental
repertoire.
Energy Usage patterns and current conservation practices:
1) Keep thermostats set at ____ in the
summer and ____ in the winter. Turn
thermostats up to ______ when no one is in the buildling.
2) Currently working to replace
incandescents with fluorescents.
3) For further information, see
Buildings and Grounds report above.
We have started recycling at the
fellowship. But we could do more to
make the congregation aware of it and have a greater number of people
participate. We have started composting
food waste from the kitchen and some members even bring in compostable material
from home. We do not currently have a
policy for the use of non-disposable materials and non-toxic cleaning supplies.
We do not currently have a policy
governing purchasing and investing.
We have a certified Florida Yard,
which means that plants are Florida natives requiring a minimum of care, little
water and no fertilizer or chemicals.
As you can see from the list above our
RE program for our youth is excellent at addressing environmental
concerns. At this time our congregation
participates in the Great Decisions Discussion Series which at times covers
environmental issues, but there is room for additional study circles,
workshops, etc.
The Sunday Service committee has done
a good job of bringing in a wide range of speakers on a diversity of issues and
they have not neglected Earth Wisdom.
Our Social Action Projects the past
few years have been more focused on issues of peace and nonviolence, which
although inextricably linked to a sustainable future are not the focus of the
Green Sanctuary program. The Green
Sanctuary program will give us a chance to really put our principles into
practice and we look forward to being active participants.
We plan to follow-up on the
recommendations of the committees and incorporate them into our action
plan. Members will be kept informed of
the progress of the Green Sanctuary and encouraged to make changes in their own
lives through our newsletter, our website, our membership materials, and our
bulletin boards.
1. Earth Day Celebration – annual rededication of the Earth Totem
with prayer and song
Lead Coordinator: Peggy Dickson
Timeline: Celebration every April
2. Annual Intergenerational Camping Trip to a State Park.
Lead Coordinator: Lisa Bohn
Timeline: October 2007
3. Incorporate readings/songs that celebrate our connection to nature
and recognize the cycles of the Earth
Lead Coordinators: Ann Rogers
and Arlene Sweeting
Timeline: continuous
1. Organic Gardening/Nutrition Education – Continue to tend the
Children’s Garden. Make one
Share-a-Dish Dinner a year vegetarian.
Try to use as many locally grown and organic foods as possible. Invite local growers to participate.
Lead
Coordinator:
Dolly Russell
Timeline: Hold first Vegetarian Share-a-Dish in the Fall of 2007. Invite a speaker on Sustainable Agriculture.
2. Start Northwest Institute Discussion Courses – 1 per year
Lead Coordinator: Bill Hayes
Timeline: Start course in __________ 2008
3. One Book/One Community concept – select one book and order 10
copies for UU members to read and discuss.
Then donate books to other UUs or to local libraries.
Lead Coordinator: _________________________
Timeline: start in 2008
4. Annual Field Trip to organic farm, solar house, power plant, recycling facility, etc.
Lead
Coordinator:
Lois Ruliffson
Timeline: First field trip will be
schedule to Lee and Carol Ann Breyer’s Solar House on the Manatee River in the
Fall of 2007
1. Reach out to other local organizations with Environmental Concerns and co-sponsor an Environmental Forum every year
Lead coordinator: Arlene Sweeting
Timeline: Hold first forum in 2008
2. Long Term Social Justice Project - A Commitment to Fair Trade and Local Economies – We have held two Fair Trade Gift Festivals in past years. We would like to expand these Festivals to include other groups in a Celebration of Fair Trade, Local Foods & Crafts, and Energy Efficiency. We would include members of the Sarasota Green Connection, the Florida House, Sierra Club, Audubon and other environmental groups and environmentally conscious businesses. We would include displays of electric vehicles, hybrids, and biodiesel vehicles. Presentations on Energy Efficiency and Environmental Justice Issues would be made throughout the day. The one significant environmental issue we have in the area deals with groundwater contamination from the American Beryllium plant. We would involve the Citizen’s Group working on this issue in the event and donate a portion of the proceeds from the event to their work.
Lead
Coordinator:
Lisa Bohn
Timeline: Ist expanded event to be
held in Fall 2008
1. Adopt a Green Purchasing Policy
Lead Coordinator: Arlene Sweeting
Timeline: Have policy adopted by the end of 2007
2. Adopt a policy on the use of non-disposable materials and
non-toxic cleaning supplies.
Lead Coordinator: Grace Hirsch
Timeline: Have policy adopted by the end of 2007
3. Continue to maintain a Florida Yard landscape.
Lead Coordinator: Jack Callahan/Bill Hayes
Timeline: continuous monitoring of outside plantings
4. Install a bike rack outside the church and encourage alternative modes of transportation. Sponsor a Bike/Walk to Church Week
Lead Coordinator: Drew Hudson
Timeline: Have bike rack installed by the end of 2007, plan first
Alternative Transportation Celebration in 2008
5. Have members take the 1-2-3 pledge. Develop a brochure for members
that familiarizes them with The Green Sanctuary Program and encourages them to
take the 1-2-3 pledge to increase energy conservation. This information will be included in every
New Member packet.
Lead Coordinator:
_________________________
Kick off the pledge program on Earth Day 2008
We will use the following avenues to
share information about environmental issues and sustainable living strategies
with the congregation and encourage their participation:
1) A monthly GREEN Column in the
newsletter
2) A section of the Social Action
Bulletin Board will be designated for Green Sanctuary events and postings
3) Green Sanctuary Page on our Website
will describe our program and invite people to become involved.
4) All members will be given a New
Dream Wallet Buddy to house their credit card.
Wallet Buddies help to promote conscious shopping by having consumers
answer a series of questions before making a purchase.
We have a number of strategies we plan
to utilize to reach out to other groups, organizations, and communities.
1) Tabling at Earth Day community
events
2) Producing an Environmental
Directory that lists local faith-based groups, environmental groups, student
groups and government agencies that work on environmental issues.
3) Using our three non-profit
community radio stations to get information out about what the fellowship is
doing.
4) Networking with other UU Green
Sanctuary candidates in Florida.