Environment

Diocesan Environment Group

Purpose of the Group
The Revd Dr Rob Kelsey, the Diocesan Environment Officer, says of himself: ‘I’m not especially fired-up about environmental issues, but I believe that caring for creation is an integral part of being a Christian. Along with the Environmental Advisory Group, I try not to do things on behalf of the diocese, but to help churches and individuals to work things out for themselves. We have produced a number of resources that can be accessed from this page and downloaded as required.’

The group’s objectives are:-

To promote environmental concern, action and education within the diocese.
To encourage the diocese, deaneries, parishes and church members, both individually and corporately, to review their working in line with best environmental practice and to identify possibilities for improvement.
To be a resource for the Bishop and others.
To be a channel for information and ideas for action between the diocese and the wider world.
To be a forum in which serious theological reflection can take place.

It aims to help the diocese to be a missionary church, in line with the Anglican Consultative Council's Fifth Mark of Mission, 'to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the earth.'

The Diocesan Environment Group (Environment Task Group) exists to help the church in the Diocese of Newcastle to play its part in caring for the good earth that God has made.

Members of the Group
Rob Kelsey - Diocesan Environment Officer
tel: 01665 578250
email: Robert@josephkelsey.fsnet.co.uk

Diane Kirkup – Secretary
tel: 0191 284 4617
email: Dianekirkup@aol.com

Richard Adams
Peter Dodd
John Harrison
Janis Irvine
Margaret Patterson

All enquiries concerning the activities of the group, information, advice or any matters of an environmental nature, please contact either the Environment Officer or Secretary, whose contact details are above.

Noticeboard
From ‘Renewing Creation’ July 2010

Newcastle City Council has established a Bee Steering Group, made up of various Council officers and external representatives including Newcastle University, a range of local bee keepers, allotment holders, the Northumberland Wildlife Trust and Natural England. More information is available from www.newcastle.gov.uk/bees.
Possibly the biggest factor in sustaining bees is to ensure that they can get the adequate food supply they require. Church grounds can play a vital role in this. Newcastle City Council is in the process of creating about twenty bumblebee homes, to be installed across the city in the autumn. If your church would like provide a home for one of these sites, please contact Russell Nelson at russell.nelson@newcastle.gov.uk or at (0191) 277 8930 ext 28930.
An important part of the Bee Strategy is to find out where bees are at present, in order to establish a baseline. If you spot a bee hive you can register it at www.eyeproject.org.uk.

Farmgate prices for wool do not even cover the cost of clipping sheep.
As part of their ‘Campaign for Wool’, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is backing an attempt to get the Olympics in London to use carpets made of British Wool. To support the campaign by signing a petition and for more information go to www.nfuonline.com/News/Woolly-thinking-urged-for-2012-Olympics.

Resources
There are a number of resources for churches, communities and individuals, recommended by the group, which may be downloaded from this page or obtained by contacting Rob Kelsey or Diane Kirkup

Renewing Creation
This is a bi-monthly newsletter for Christians in Newcastle and Northumberland giving details of events, activities, useful websites and reading material. Click an issue in PDF format below to download it.

Commitment to The Environment
A one-page guide to churches seeking to draw up a commitment to the environment. It is a resource, not a set of instructions and the text can be freely adapted. Click to download PDF

Ten Steps Towards A Carbon Neutral Church
A one-page document giving churches a simple method of working towards becoming a carbon neutral church. Click to download PDF

A Simple Carbon Calculator
For churches or individuals wishing to calculate their carbon emissions. Click to download PDF

'Praying for the Earth' booklet
Booklet produced by the group in the belief that environmental concerns should be an integral part of the public and private prayers of all Christian people. The prayers are intended to 'fit in' with the usual forms of intercessions used in church. There are prayers for each day of the week and for each day of the month and could be used as they stand or as inspiration. Click to download PDF

Environmental Reading List (ECO BOOKS)
This list, compiled by Janis Irvine, gives a useful list of books on the environment theme with their individual ISBN numbers so they can be obtained for private reading from libraries and good bookshops. The list will be updated periodically. Click to download PDF

Sustainable Energy for the UK
A brief summary of energy alternatives in the UK in the context of the desire to reduce our net carbon dioxide inputs to the atmosphere. What appear to be the simplest alternatives as far as reduction in CO2 is concerned are not necessarily the most sustainable in the long-term. Click to download PDF