Ecological Sustainability Trinity College

Education for Ecological Sustainability based on the Way of Jesus leading to conversion Build relationships based on honesty, respect for dignity and mutuality Confront people with their actions Offer a positive alternative Witness to this vision

Building Relationships Students will feel that their life experience and opinions are valued and respected Beginning from where students are at each level of education and building gradually with age appropriate learning opportunities Creating experiences which encourage students to become involved in actions for change

Challenge people with their actions Students will be challenged with the reality of leading an unsustainable life In his Encyclical Letter on Ecology and Climate to the world in 2015 “LAUDATO SI” On Care for Our Common Home, Pope Francis uses the inspiration of Francis of Assisi who saw all of creation as part of our family In the introduction to the document Pope Francis writes “Our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us… This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will” (1)

Quoting Patriarch Bartholomew, Pope Francis writes “ For human beings…to destroy the biological diversity of God’s creation; for human beings to degrade the integrity of the earth by causing changes to climate, by stripping the earth of its natural forests or wetlands; for human beings to contaminate the earth’s waters, its land, its air, and its life, these are sins”. For” to commit a crime against the natural world is sin against ourselves and a sin against God” (3)

“The present world system is certainly unsustainable from a number of points of view, for we have stopped thinking about the goals of human activity. “If we scan the regions of our planet, we immediately see that humanity has disappointed God’s expectations”(17)

Offer a positive alternative Students will be inspired by an alternative vision of a sustainable life Students will understand that the Catholic Church has a vision of an ecological sustainable future based on the Catholic Social Teaching principle of Stewardship Students will be motivated by hope for the future and a sense of responsibility for the environment to live more simply and make decisions in their working and social life which respect the earth

Laudato Si “Creation is of the order of love. God’s love is the fundamental moving force in all created things…Every creature is thus the object of the Father’s tenderness, who gives it its place in the world. Even the fleeting life of the least of beings is the object of his love, and in its few seconds of existence, God enfolds it with his affection”p66 “There is a relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature. Each community can take from the bounty of the earth whatever is needed for subsistence, but it has also a duty to protect the earth and to ensure its fruitfulness for coming generations” p59

Witness to the Vision Staff and Students will be aware of practices in the school which reflect ecological sustainability Staff and Students will participate in activities which are based on making changes in their lives to live more sustainably Staff and Students will be aware of ways that governments, businesses and social organizations are responding to the challenges of ecological sustainability and involved in this process in practical ways

Small steps toward an Education for Ecological Sustainability Year 7 Sustain Our Swan Year 10 RE Term 4 Program based on Laudato Si Trinity College Environmental Committee: a committee which meets to discuss ways to educate our students for a sustainable future, as well as looking at ways to become more environmentally friendly through reducing, recycling and reusing within our community. Recycling bins and other practices on school grounds Sustainable practices in new buildings: solar panels and movement sensors for lighting