Photo by Marc Schulte on Unsplash
So much has been forgotten, but it is not lost as long as the land endures and we cultivate people who have the humility and the ability to listen and learn.
It is not enough to weep for our lost landscapes; we have to put our hands in the earth to make ourselves whole again.
~ Robin Wall Kimmerer
We, as the Environment Sector, believe our current ecological crisis (deforestation, loss of biodiversity, extreme weather, etc.) is linked to the loss of compassion for our Earth and all sentient beings, including ourselves. We invite you to engage with us to begin alleviating this crisis. We recognize myriad projects support a healthy global environment. We care about them all and we are eagerly applying a hands-on approach. We are specifically working toward addressing the following four United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
- Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all (#6)
- Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns (#12)
- Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (#13)
- Protect, restore, and, promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss (#15)
All seventeen Sustainable Development Goals are a call for action by all countries and all peoples to promote prosperity while protecting the planet.
Our Acknowledgement
We acknowledge and honor the interconnectedness of all beings, including the cosmos, Earth, Indigenous Peoples, our ancestors, and all of creation.
We are grateful to all who came before us as caretakers of our planet. We regret and apologize for any injustices we have caused; we are actively working to address and correct them.
We recognize, as stewards of the Earth, our responsibility to care for the land, gifts, and relationships that sustain us.
We commit to approaching every interaction with reverence, reciprocity, harmony, and compassion.
In healing ourselves we heal the world!
Mission
To live in harmony and stewardship with all beings on Earth. Through compassion we heal suffering; by treating ourselves, each other, and the natural world with dignity and respect, manifesting the Golden Rule in all relationships.
Vision
To unite as one and work toward the common goal of the healing of the Earth, humanity, and the more-than-human so all may thrive.
Goals
- To offer educational and hands-on opportunities that inspire greater compassionate action on behalf of all beings; human and more-than-human.
- To promote and nurture the nature-human interconnection.
- To engage sector partners and the global public in initiatives that work toward greater sustainability of the planet.
- To feature the work of smaller-scale, vital environmental projects worldwide.
Strategies
- Engage in and promote Heal the Waters at the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions (PoWR) and throughout the year.
- Through the Compassion Tree Project (CTP), reach out to individuals, educational institutions, faith communities, and Compassionate Cities encouraging them to plant native trees and plants and protect already existing old-growth forests. Promote this at the Parliament of the World Religions.
- Promote the ArtistTree Project as well as the Youth ArtistTree Project in Cameroon as ways to engage others in environmental issues.
- Promote bee propagation.
- Minimize paper use.
- Engage others in environmental issues through the Charter’s Global Read program.
- Collaborate with co-creative partners such as Green World Campaign, The Sacred Earth Institute, Community Green Engagement, and MACE (Manyakabi Area Cooperative Enterprises) Ltd.
- Collaborate with the RISE (Religion/Interfaith/Spirituality for the Everyone), Arts, and Social Justice Sectors of the Charter for Compassion.
- Engage in collaboration with the Board of Trustees of the Charter for Compassion.
- Consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations (Iroquois maxim).
The biggest gift you can give is to be absolutely present, and when you're worrying about whether you're hopeful, or hopeless, or pessimistic, or optimistic, who cares? The main thing is that you're showing up, that you're here, and that you're finding ever more capacity to love this world because it will not be healed without that.
~ Joanna Macy
