Eco Church

At Holy Trinity we believe God has commissioned us to care for the wonderful world that he has given us. One of the ways we are doing this is to join the Eco-church movement, supported by A ROCHA UK. This provides a framework and resources to support us as we take practical steps to 'go green' in all areas of church life. We have currently achieved our Bronze Award.

LENT

Traditionally, Lent is a time when Christians fast and focus on God. The Carbon Fast helps us think about our carbon footprint and ask if there is any excess or unnecessary use in our lives, and if any of that excess is acting as a distraction to our relationship with God.

With a different focus each week, you’ll learn more, ask questions, and focus on what God thinks about these areas of our lives:

Week 1: Delight in and responsibility for nature
Week 2: Consumerism and shopping
Week 3: Money and investments
Week 4: Food waste and meat and dairy consumption
Week 5: Transport and driving
Week 6: Energy, electricity, and gas
Week 7: Social media

Sign up to receive a weekly email full of facts, practical suggestions and prayers to lead you through the Lenten season.
Find out more and sign up on the Climate Stewards website:

https://climatestewards.org/resources/carbon-fast-for-lent/

Things to do and try this month

Here are our top tips for the month to help you embrace your green side:

February

Empty space in your freezer uses more energy to keep it cool than if it is full. Pack any empty spaces with paper or cardboard if necessary and defrost both your fridge and freezer regularly if they don’t do it automatically themselves.
Make sure that your light bulbs are energy-saving and use lower wattage ones if you don't need a bright light in some areas of the house.
Check that your loft insulation complies with the latest recommendation as this will make a big difference to your energy use, and also check that your hot water tank and pipes are fully lagged.
Go around the house on a windy day and check the doors, windows and letterbox for draughts.
If double glazing is not an option for you, try to use thicker, lined curtains instead.

Have you looked at the A Rocha website? It is packed full of helpful hints about ways of helping the environment as well as information about some of their latest projects and events, including the T25 project which aims to help a range of declining species, taxonomic groups, and threatened habitats.

Click here to catch up on previous months tips and suggestions

Calculate your Carbon Footprint

DID YOU KNOW?

The average carbon footprint varies by country and lifestyle, but it's around 4 tons per person. In the UK, the average carbon footprint is 12.7 tons per person. Do you know what yours is? To avoid a 2% rise in global temperature, the average global carbon footprint per year needs to drop by under 2 tons by 2050.