ASSISI Formation Opportunities
You are invited to express your interest in participating in the formation opportunities available during the season of autumn.
Two Animators for Sustainability programs will be held in March and May. Click here to read more.
*Only 9 places remaining on the March 14th-16th program
A Creation and Reconciliation immersion program will be held in partnership with The Broken Bay Institute and the Diocese of Broken Bay Catholic Schools Office in April . Click here to read more.
Revised set of Prayers of General Intercession
An updated library of Prayers of General Intercession is now available. This resource is intended as a guide and springboard for the preparation of intercessory prayers with an ecological and eco-justice flavour.
Read more
People and Planet Diary & Wall Calendar 2012
Make this diary and w
all calendar a part of your plan for 2012. Catholic Earthcare are delighted to be a part of the People and Planet: Social Justice and Environment Diary and Wall Calendar 2012. Please click here for an order form
The 2012 Diary & Calendar feature extraordinary images of people and places from around the globe, selected from over 4,000 entries to the People & Planet International Photography Competition from 84 different countries. Each beautiful image is accompanied by a unique story highlighting one of the planet's social or environmental challenges.
Perfect for daily use, both the diary and calendar also make great gifts for Christmas!
Read more
Order form
ASSISI Formation - Animators for Sustainability - Castle Hill, Nov 2011
Catholic Earthcare facilitated the formation program for Animators for Sustainability at Marymount Mercy Conference Centre, Castle Hill November 22-25. Below is a smattering of comments from those who participated.
- I came to the workshop ready to be engaged and this happened.
- My expectatons were more than met.
- I valued the theory and information regarding systems approach to mission.
- My overall appreciation for the workshop is high. You are doing a central and crucial work for our Church, society and planet. You bring a holistic approach, which is sound and theory based.
Participation opportuinties available in 2012 -
Click to read more
The Murray-Darling Basin Plan
The draft plan for the Murray-Darling Basin has been released. The statement, 'The Gift of Water' which Catholic Earthcare Australia released in 2004 was endorsed by the Bishops of the Murray Darling Basin. You are invited to revisit this document in the light of the current proposals.
Murray-Darling Basin Statement: "The Gift of
Water"
A Statement from Catholic Earthcare Australia endorsed by Bishops
of the Murray-Darling Basin.
Click
here to download a PowerPoint presentation (16.4MB) which
summarises the main points of the Statement.
Click here
to download The Gift of Water in PDF format (3MB)
A number of environmental and community groups are working towards a brighter future for the River and all the human and non-human communities which depend on it.
For more information visit the Murray Darling Basin Authority website www.mdba.gov.au
The Friends of the Earth offer several ways to be involved.
Catholic health care leads the way in caring for the environment
St John of God Health Care recently took out the Corporate Business Leading by Example award at the WA Environmental Awards with its innovative ‘Safeguarding Our Environment’ program acknowledged as the best in the State.
The award reflects the depth and breadth of the organisation’s environmental sustainability strategy and its commitment to excellence in care, both for patients and the environment.
St John of God Health Care’s forward-looking environmental fund allocates $1.2 million annually for priority initiatives not covered in normal budget processes. This ensures that bright environmental ideas can come on stream immediately resulting in rapid benefits for the hospital or other operating division.
In addition, the organisation is the first health sector employer to have implemented and used
Energy Carbon Information System (ECIS) to electronically gather utility and waste data for
performance measurement and National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER).
Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr Michael Stanford, said the award reflects the hard work and dedication of the environmental teams and, critically, senior management buy-in that is vital to the success and sustainability of any corporate environmental program.
Dr Stanford said: “From our Board members and executives, who are pitching in by phasing out paper through the widespread use of tablet computers and taking part in sustainability leadership retreats, to our hospitals and other divisions who are enthusiastically embracing a number of environmental initiatives, we are determined to minimise the impact of our activities wherever and whenever we can.”
Some of the many success stories include the installation of solar hot water heating at our Murdoch hospital, with an anticipated 13% annual energy saving and the Travel Green program at our Subiaco hospital, which offers a daily allowance to those who use green modes of travel such as public transport, cycling or walking to get to work. So far, it has enticed 13% of the hospital’s caregivers to leave their cars at home and is now being extended to other operating divisions.
The Garden Planet is now on 
You Tube
The Garden Planet has made the transition from VHS format to DVD and is now available on You Tube.
Click here to access The Garden Planet on You Tube
ASSISI Formation - Animators for Sustainability
A three day intensive formation program has been developed for those who are passionate about and have responsibilities for bringing about ecological sustainability in their organisations.
Your next opportunity to participate is scheduled for the evening of March 13th to late afternoon March 16th in South Australia or May 15th to 18th in Tasmania
General information available now; new brochures and registration forms coming soon.
Read more
Ecological Calculator
At Catholic Earthcare Australia we believe that everybody has a role to play in creating a sustainable world. Our individual actions, whether large or small, have a collective impact that will ultimately determine our future.
By combining our efforts we can help reduce humankind's impact on the planet and be part of the solution for a sustainable future.
This tool will calculate your ecological footprint for a 12-month period (your 'baseline footprint') by asking you questions about your energy use, travel, waste, and food consumption. Your 'baseline year' is counted as the 12 months prior to the date of you first use the calculator. If you don't have all 12 months of data for some questions don't worry - the calculator will estimate your annual emissions based on the data that you do enter.
Each part of the calculator has help available. Hovering over the label for each question will provide you with information on what data to enter, and clicking on the "Help" button for each question will provide you with additional information.
To navigate through the calculator just click on the tabs at the top. You can navigate between these tabs at any time. Information on your total footprint and tips on how to reduce it are displayed at the end of the calculator in the 'Summary' and Recommendations tabs.
Click here to LOGIN to the personal calculator.
Groundbreaking Ecological Vision for Catholic Schools in South Australia
Catholic Earthcare Australia and Catholic Education South Australia are today launching "On Holy Ground", an ecological vision for Catholic Schools in South Australia. The purpose of this document is to provide a foundation, a framework and a suite of resources for schools and the education system to become sustainable.
Catholic Earthcare Australia is delighted to be launching this document, the third state in Australia following NSW and Queensland. Work with other states is soon to follow. This document is a collaborative work between Catholic Earthcare Australia and the Catholic Education Office staff of Adelaide and Port Pirie. The intention of the document is to enable ecological conversion through education.
Please click here for the full PDF (10.5MB) version.
How to host a Sustainable Event and/or Conference with the Catholic Earthcare Checklist
Catholic Earthcare invites you to host environmentally sustainable events on a sustainable budget.
Please use this guide to host environmentally sustainable events at your school, parish, congregation or church organisation that will lead to reduce the ecological footprint of your meetings, events and conferences.
This information can be implemented today with immediate results. Click here to download the guide.
