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Franciscan Earth Corps/Franciscan
Earth Club cont.
St.
Thomas More Campus Ministry
Syracuse, NY
Since its inception, the Franciscan Earth Corps
has offered training workshops for college students
regarding Catholic approaches to the environment,
augmented by numerous sermons about Catholic responsibilities
to care for creation. In addition to the theological
education, the Corps has sponsored weekly meetings
and environmental education sessions, as well
as field trips to learn about ecosystems first-hand.
The Franciscan Earth Corps involved approximately
12 college students and the campus minister in
an effort to implement a Franciscan Earth Club
program to promote greater understanding of the
call to care for creation, and help promote specific
areas of awareness and service at Bishop Ludden
Jr./Sr. High School in Syracuse, New York.
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During the first year, nearly 80 high school
students participated in club activities, which
included field trips to learn about the human-nature
connection; urban and rural environmental service
projects; and even an overnight camping retreat
to plant trees and restore wildlife habitats.
They participated in a community-wide Earth Day
project with a local church that involved neighborhood
clean-up, pruning, and restoration of an urban
green lot in the area, gathering over 40 bags
of trash from the lot. Additionally, the group
planted over 100 trees and restored four small mammal
microhabitats at the rural Alverna Heights Franciscan
Nature Center east of Syracuse.
Contact person: Riobart E. (Rob) Breen at rbreen@syr.edu
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