A journal of Earthcare thought and action for Eugene Friends Meeting
“A concern for the Earth and the well-being of all who dwell in it is not new, and we have not now received new information which calls us to act. Rather we are renewing our commitment to a sense of the unity of creation which has always been part of Friends’ testimonies. Our actions have as yet been insufficient.”
From the Canterbury Commitment, Britain Yearly Meeting, 2011
Queries:
What does it mean to be in Unity with Nature?
How might our lives change if we applied our Quaker Testimonies to the entire Living World?
Editor and writer: Cynthia Black; all photos and artwork by editor unless noted.
December 2024: Hope in the Darkness
Archive:
- December 2024: Hope in the Darkness
- November 2024: Gratitude
- October 2024: Plastics
- September 2024: Pollinators
- July-August 2024: Oregon Forests
- June 2024: Life-Giving Light
- May 2024: Sustainable Transportation
- April 2024: Sustainable Food continued
- March 2024: Sustainable Food
- Feb. 2024: In Relationship with the Natural World
- January 2024: New Year for Nature
- December 2023: Unity with the Nurturing Darkness
- November 2023: Unity with Indigenous People
- October 2023: Unity with Forests
- September 2023: Unity with Pollinators
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Active Hope
Trusting the Spiral Active Hope is not wishful thinking. Active Hope is not waiting to be rescued by the Lone Ranger or by some savior. Active Hope is waking up to the beauty of life on whose behalf we can act. We belong to this world. The web of life is calling us forth at this time. We’ve come a long way… (read…
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The Hope that Anchors the Soul
Those “light glib words of hope” that Thomas Kelly refers to – like wish, desire, expectation, and anticipation – are based on wanting things we do not currently have, and trusting that life will give them to us. This kind of hope can help us to cope in the short term, but often leads to the disappointments of unmet expectations,… (read…
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Darkness and Hope
To go in the dark with a light is to know the light. To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight, and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings, and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings. “As the days get shorter and winter sets in, we each experience the darkness of… (read…
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Thanksgiving Every Day
One of the reasons that early Friends tried to abolish the celebration of holidays was because they believed that every day was a holy day: we shouldn’t need a special Thanksgiving Day because we are giving thanks every day. Quaker songwriter Jon Watts wrote a blog post titled, “We Don’t Need A Holiday To Give Thanks!” In it… (read…
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Testimony of Gratitude
Our North Pacific Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice section on Harmony with Creation begins: “The mystery and beauty of the universe reveal their Source. Spiritually and physically nourished by our home, the Earth, we are filled with gratitude and wonder.” Being filled with gratitude and wonder is a start, but where does that good feeling carry us? In November… (read…
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The Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address
This First Day at 10:45 a.m., during the outdoor Meeting for Worship, we will recite the Haudenosaunee (pronounced who-DIN-oh-show-nee) Thanksgiving Address Greetings to the World. Please join us! The Haudenosaunee people (also known as the Iroquois) have said that the words of the Thanksgiving Address are their gift to the world and are meant to be shared…. (read…
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Gratitude for the Earth
The harvest season has traditionally been a time to express gratitude for the bounty and benevolence of nature – for the abundance of food and beauty that the natural world supplies us with. And it’s easier to feel true gratitude when we feel a sense of connection to the source of what we receive – when… (read…
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Plastic solutions:
It is clear that we cannot solve the plastic crisis simply by changing our buying habits or by recycling “better”. We need legislation. Environmentalists and lawmakers in some states are pushing for legislation that bans single use plastics, and for “bottle bills” which pay customers to bring back their plastic bottles. Oregon and Michigan’s bottle… (read…
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Plastic recycling
As I said earlier, over 90% of the plastic we produce is not recycled. But why is that? We have all the recycle symbols, and we are all doing our part to sort out plastic and find places to recycle it, so what’s the problem? An Oregon Public Broadcasting article explains: Waste management experts say the problem with… (read…
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Pledge to reduce your plastic waste
On January 22, 2023, Eugene Friends Meeting approved a Minute on Reducing Plastics in the World, and we agreed to “educate ourselves, witness, and take action, as led with efforts in these directions: Reduce, re-use, and recycle our personal and Meeting House plastics: We will encourage and educate each other to reduce our purchase of new plastics, re-use what we purchase when… (read…
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The Problem with Plastics
On January 22, 2023 Eugene Friends Meeting approved a Minute on Reducing Plastics in the World: Eugene Friends Meeting acknowledges that plastic waste in the Earth’s environment adversely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat, and humans, and that reducing plastic production, consumption, and waste is crucial if we are to overcome the problem of plastic pollution on our planet. Reducing the production and… (read…
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Planting Native Gardens
Native pollinators need appropriate native plants, those that are indigenous to our specific geographic area: Here in the Willamette Valley, we live in the Pacific Lowland Mixed Forest ecosystem (same as the Puget Sound Valley). Before cultivation, we had dense coniferous forests, prairies that supported open stands of oaks, and wetlands with swamp or bog communities. The original, natural… (read…
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A Wild Garden
“What if each American landowner made it a goal to convert half of his or her lawn to productive native plant communities? Even moderate success could collectively restore some semblance of ecosystem function to more than twenty million acres of what is now ecological wasteland. … we can create this country’s largest park system. It… (read…
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Unity with Native Bees and Butterflies
The concept of ‘unity with nature’ is still unsettled in Friends’ minds. Our commitment to the exploration of this concept … is alive and growing. But how to nurture it? Where will it lead us? Is it an aspect of our deepest spiritual selves, to be integrated into our whole being by quiet contemplation of wilderness and… (read…
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Pollinators Are In Trouble
“We are at a critical point of losing so many species from local ecosystems that their ability to produce the oxygen, clean water, flood control, pollination, pest control, carbon storage, etc, that is, the ecosystem services that sustain us, will become seriously compromised.” ~ Doug Tallamy Bees, butterflies, birds, bats (and more) are critical to… (read…
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Forests and fires
Forest fires are natural and important. They shape our ecosystems. Meadows and grasslands often exist because past fires kept trees and shrubs from growing there. Many species are dependent on fire’s natural role. Fires shape plant and animal communities and ecological processes, including water and nutrient cycling. Fire on the east and west sides of… (read…
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Forests and Climate
When it comes to reversing climate change, trees are a big deal. Globally, forests absorb nearly 16 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, and hold it in their branches, leaves, roots, and soils. This makes them a valuable global carbon sink, and makes preserving and maintaining healthy forests a vital strategy in combating… (read…
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Federal Advisory Committee Recommendations to the U.S. Forest Service
Last week I wrote about the Northwest Forest Plan of 1994. While the Plan was innovative at the time, it didn’t consider some important issues we now face, such as global climate change, the role of Tribes and Indigenous knowledge in land management, and the need to protect communities from uncharacteristic wildfires. The Forest Service… (read…
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The Northwest Forest Plan of 1994
As I said last week, President Biden has signed an executive order on Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities, and Local Economies, which calls for a review of forest management practices on federal lands, especially the mature and old-growth forests. This executive order pertains to National Forests, not state or private lands, and specifically calls out the… (read…
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What is Forest Management?
Last October I wrote On the Importance of Forests: “Our world’s forests are one of the most effective nature-based solutions to climate change and the wildlife extinction crisis. Forests are home to 80% of all land-based wildlife species. They function as a massive carbon sink for Earth and are also key to maintaining regional rainfall patterns. Despite this, forests are undervalued… (read…
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Holding Nature in the Light
Quakers share a common practice of “holding someone or something in the light”. If you ask Friends what that phrase means you will get many different interpretations, because we each practice holding in our own peculiar way, and even the interpretation of the light varies: The light we refer to is described as an immense force, as a transcendent… (read…
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Sun Power
End the oil age. Salvage paradise. Now we must live in the grace of the sun. Grace of the Sun is a solar powered light poem created by Scottish artist Robert Montgomery, for the UN climate conference (COP26). The artwork was constructed using 1,000 solar powered Little Sun lights and stands 11 metres wide and… (read…
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Children of Light
In December I wrote about the nurturing darkness, so now, as we near the summer solstice, it is only fitting that we give attention to the light. Light from the sun makes it possible for life on this planet. Natural light from the sun is vital to the health of every living thing – either directly or… (read…
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Advocates for Ethical Transportation
We can probably most agree that we (people on this planet) need to reduce fossil fuel use – and many of us are personally working on doing that – by installing solar panels, trading in our gas lawnmowers, and reducing our dependence on gasoline-powered cars. Every trip you make by walking, biking, or car-pooling is… (read…
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Are Electric Cars Sustainable?
We should all be aware by now that transportation accounts for around a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, and that we need to transition away from fossil fuels. And millions of people around the world have embraced the electric car as the answer to that problem. However, even such an obvious and necessary solution deserves critical… (read…
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Car Culture
Americans have a vast and insatiable love of cars. Cars define coming of age for many young people, and symbolize freedom and prestige. They seemingly make our lives simpler and more efficient… But they also have an enormous cost: They determine the use of our streets, affect the quality of the air we breathe, cost us time and tension with traffic jams,… (read…
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May is National Bike Month
May is National Bike Month, sponsored and promoted by the League of American Bicyclists, and celebrated in communities from coast to coast. Established in 1956, National Bike Month is “a chance to showcase the many benefits of bicycling — and encourage more folks to give biking a try.” I like to include all active modes of… (read…
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Sustainable Meat and Dairy?
Quakers have become vegetarians for many reasons throughout history. Some Quaker abolitionists in the 1700s, for example, were deeply committed to vegetarianism as an integral part of their spiritual path at a time when vegetarianism was very rare in the broader culture, because they had a commitment to respecting all of God’s creatures. (Read more in… (read…
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So … What IS Sustainable Food?
I’ve been writing about sustainable food for a month already, but it’s such a complex topic, I don’t feel like I’ve made a start. Let’s go back to basics: Sustainability means something can be maintained without depletion. When we talk about sustainable Earthcare practices we are talking about those that don’t deplete the earth’s resources, or damage… (read…
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Organic Quakerism
In the 2019 Friends Journal Article The Ministry of Quaker Farmers, Rachel Van Boven interviewed Quaker farmers to find out how their Quakerism informed their farming practice. Among other things she talks about their choice to farm in an organic and regenerative way – a way that emphasizes building up the soil, not using it up as a… (read…
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Buy Local Food – and Get to Know Your Farmer
Local food includes any foods grown, harvested, raised, and processed within our area. We naturally think of fruits and vegetables, but we can also buy locally grown herbs, dairy products, eggs, grains, and a variety of meats and seafood. Many locavores use a 100-mile rule. One of the biggest benefit of buying and consuming locally sourced food… (read…
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Sustainable Food Systems
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has a vision of U.S. agriculture: We have a safe, nutritious, affordable food supply that is ample for feeding everyone; Our food supply is produced by a legion of family farmers who make a decent living pursuing their trade; We protect the environment with farming systems that restore and conserve natural resources; And our fair and competitive agricultural… (read…
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Food and Our Testimonies
Food unites and food divides. It both marks us into tribes and gives us opportunities to reach past our societal limits. From chicken barbecues to vegetarian-dominated potlucks, what we put on the table says a lot about our values, and how we welcome unfamiliar food choices is a measure of our hospitality. How do kitchen-table spreads of… (read…
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RECIPROCITY WITH THE EARTH
In a culture of gratitude, everyone knows that gifts will follow the circle of reciprocity and flow back to you again. This time you give and next time you receive. Both the honor of giving and the humility of receiving are necessary halves of the circle. … The earth gives away for free the power… (read…
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LOVE AND ADVOCACY
What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anaemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Martin Luther King Jr., Where Do We Go From Here? (1967) My love for the planet, and for every being on it,… (read…
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TRUE RELATIONSHIP WITH BIRDS
Besides their intrinsic value as members of the Natural World, birds play many crucial roles in our ecosystems — including pest control, pollination, and seed dispersal — and are essential to human welfare. With an estimated 1,200 species facing extinction over the next century, and many more suffering from severe habitat loss, we must feel the impulse… (read…
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MUTUAL CARE
We are showered every day with the gifts of the Earth, gifts we have neither earned nor paid for: air to breathe, nurturing rain, black soil, berries and honeybees, the tree that became this page, a bag of rice and the exuberance of a field of goldenrod and asters at full bloom. Though the Earth provides… (read…
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TAKE ACTION FOR THE EARTH
Revolutionary change does not come as one cataclysmic moment (beware of such moments!) but as an endless succession of surprises, moving zigzag toward a more decent society. We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world…. (read…
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BECOMING THE QUAKERS THAT NATURE NEEDS
“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.” —Jane Goodall We’ve been talking about discernment and clarity for Earth-care in the new year; after you have taken… (read…
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CLARITY IN THE NEW YEAR
In winter, one can walk into woods that had been opaque with summer growth only a few months earlier and see the trees clearly, singly and together, and see the ground they are rooted in. … Winter clears the landscape, however brutally, giving us a chance to see ourselves and each other more clearly, to… (read…
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OPEN TO DISCERNMENT
As we begin a new year, let us put the earth first in our priorities, because without a well-functioning planet all our other loves, dreams, testimonies and leadings will spin off in to chaos. Everything we honor, value, and work towards depends on the ecosystem around us. If we follow the threads of war and poverty… (read…
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RETURN TO THE LIGHT
For the last few weeks I’ve been writing about the nurturing power of the darkness, and now it is time to return to the light – but very slowly. We’ve just experienced the winter solstice, when the northern hemisphere of the earth reaches its furthest tilt away from the sun; now it is beginning to… (read…
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UNITY WITH ROOTS
Roots are the foundation of a tree, supporting the tree and holding it in place while also taking up water and nutrients from the soil. Many people imagine tree roots as a mirror image of the branches, but tree roots actually grow mostly horizontally from the base of the tree, rather than downward. Buttress roots right… (read…
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UNITY WITH SEEDS
Only when we see that we are part of the totality of the planet, not a superior part with special privileges, can we work effectively to bring about an earth restored to wholeness. Darkness is no less desirable than light. It is rather, a rich source of creativity … First there is the darkness of… (read…
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UNITY WITH THE DARK
To go in the dark with a light is to know the light. To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight, and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings, and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings. -Wendell Berry As the days get shorter and winter sets in, we each experience the… (read…
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LANDBACK
Through the process of colonization, Indigenous people were forcibly removed from billions of acres of land that they depended upon and belonged to, and relocated to ever-diminishing reserves. We all know that Indigenous people have signed treaties to share the lands and waters that the U.S.and Canadian governments have failed to honor, and that, in many… (read…
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THE HAUDENOSAUNEE THANKSGIVING ADDRESS
This First Day at 12:30 p.m. after Meeting for Worship, we will recite the Haudenosaunee (pronounced who-DIN-oh-show-nee) Thanksgiving Address Greetings to the World. Please join us, in person or on zoom! The Haudenosaunee people (also known as the Iroquois) have said that the words of the Thanksgiving Address are their gift to the world and are meant… (read…
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WHY LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ARE IMPORTANT
A land acknowledgement is a statement, often at the start of a meeting or other gathering, that recognizes the Indigenous people who are the original caretakers and inhabitants of the land upon which the event is taking place. Acknowledgement means to accept and admit the truth of something, in this case, the complicated and fraught history of people… (read…
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WHY WE MUST LISTEN TO INDIGENOUS VOICES
According to the United Nations, land areas managed by Indigenous Peoples are among the most biodiverse and well-conserved on the planet. The cultural stories of Indigenous People have embraced sustainability long before the term entered public discourse. Modern environmentalism has been deprived of Indigenous knowledge because our early environmental thinkers, like John Muir, saw nature as something apart… (read…
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FOREST BATHING for QUAKERS
Shinrin-yoku is the Japanese practice of bathing your senses, or immersing yourself, in the forest; it’s a process of slowing down to pay attention to nature. Research shows that forest bathing reduces anxiety, strengthens your immune system, and helps you sleep better. And it will also help you to develop a stronger connection with nature. … (read…
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WILLAMETTE VALLEY OAK SAVANNA
Eugene rests in the Willamette Valley Oak Savanna ecoregion. Oak savannas are landscapes characterized by widely spaced oak trees and a prairie-like ground layer vegetation. The white oaks of this ecoregion are considered keystone species because “they support more life-forms than any other North American tree genus including fungi, insects, birds and mammals.” (U.S. National Park Service)… (read…
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OREGON FOREST DEFENSE
I talked about intact forests last week, but we hear more about old-growth forests in Oregon. Oregon Wild says, “generally speaking, old growth means a forest that has not undergone any major unnatural changes (such as logging) for more than 100 to 150 years, contains a diversity of tree species and structures, and provides a home for a diversity of wildlife species. Natural disturbances like… (read…
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ON THE IMPORTANCE OF FORESTS
Our world’s forests are one of the most effective nature-based solutions to climate change and the wildlife extinction crisis. Despite this, forests are undervalued and largely unprotected. More than 75% of the forests on the planet have been damaged or destroyed by roads, mining, logging, oil extraction or industrial farming. The remaining 25% of our planet’s forests are what we… (read…
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PLANTING NATIVE GARDENS
Native pollinators need appropriate native plants, those that are indigenous to our specific geographic area: Here in the Willamette Valley, we live in the Pacific Lowland Mixed Forest ecosystem (same as the Puget Sound Valley). Before cultivation, we had dense coniferous forests, prairies that supported open stands of oaks, and wetlands with swamp or bog communities. The original, natural… (read…
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A WILD GARDEN
“What if each American landowner made it a goal to convert half of his or her lawn to productive native plant communities? Even moderate success could collectively restore some semblance of ecosystem function to more than twenty million acres of what is now ecological wasteland. … we can create this country’s largest park system. It… (read…
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UNITY WITH NATIVE BEES AND BUTTERFLIES
The concept of ‘unity with nature’ is still unsettled in Friends’ minds. Our commitment to the exploration of this concept … is alive and growing. But how to nurture it? Where will it lead us? Is it an aspect of our deepest spiritual selves, to be integrated into our whole being by quiet contemplation of wilderness and… (read…
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POLLINATORS ARE IN TROUBLE
“We are at a critical point of losing so many species from local ecosystems that their ability to produce the oxygen, clean water, flood control, pollination, pest control, carbon storage, etc, that is, the ecosystem services that sustain us, will become seriously compromised.” ~ Doug Tallamy Bees, butterflies, birds, bats (and more) are critical to… (read…
