Connections Quarterly Spring 2016 - Environment | Page 24

E NGAGING THE INTERSEC TIO N O F R E L I G I O N , E T H I C S A N D N AT U R E

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and weaknesses of these efforts. If there are no efforts being made, students can imagine
what actions a religious group might do, plausible from that given group’s worldview.
• Have students connect via email or through a field trip to the religious community, and
learn from the community about tools or resources, embedded in the tradition, that could
be drawn upon to creatively and collaboratively address a part of the issue/problem.
• After an interview, have students draft an action plan including a background section and
a rationale for what might be done and how/why it might work. Share in a symposium
format, or submit to the religious group as part of the final project.
• Examples might include interviews with Buddhist Monks in the Northwest who chant
and participate in the restoration of wetland areas, work with local Protestant Churches
who might sponsor “Bike to Church Days,” Church food banks who grow food in gardens,
or larger scale efforts such as the work of Episcopal Power and Light in San Francisco.

3. Have the students develop a travel narrative or brochure connecting sacred religious
sites with the ethics and practices of Ecotourism.
• This project requires research about important religious sites, and how tourists impact
the environment/local cultures when visiting abroad. Topics could be narrowed to focus
on religious sites found within one tradition or expanded to include multiple religions.
• Examples might include a brochure about how to make the Hajj a more environmentally
friendly experience, or how those participating in Buddhist pilgrimages in Japan might
consider the impact on resource use in temple communities.
4. Organize a mock Parliament of World Religions with your students as a larger project.
• Provide reading X]\