The Religious Campaign for Forest Conservation

Santa Rosa, CA

The Religious Campaign for Forest Conservation, based in Santa Rosa, California, is surrounded by the awe-inspiring grandeur of the California Redwoods forest, and has not taken the beauty of its environment for granted. In 2000, the efforts of the group, which manages and coordinates the voices of seven self-supporting religious programs, were among those acknowledged by President Bill Clinton when he cited religious voices as part of the rationale for declaring the “roadless rule.”

The Religious Campaign for Forest Conservation has long been at the head of such religious efforts of preservation, holding events in forest and wilderness areas, launching denominational statements that have been taken to Congress and the White House, and inspiring Christians to recover the lessons from creation.

In one of the group’s unique programs, “Opening the Book of Nature,” participants are reminded of the lessons of creation and the responsibility they have in stewardship of their environment. The Opening the Book program conducts an annual Leadership Training Seminary as well as between 20 and 30 additional events nationwide each year.

The Religious Campaign for Forest Conservation has organized a critique of World Bank policies regarding its forest loans to poor countries, and with its challenge, won a $61 million grant and non-repayable loan for the government of Mexico. The group’s offices also serve as the North American liaison office for Mexico’s Interreligious Council’s Environmental office.

The group continues to instill appreciation for the environment in its members and among youth with its Religious Campaign for Wilderness program, which takes young people into nature and teams with environmental groups to articulate the spiritual values of wild areas. Another program run by the RCFC also incorporates youth, taking children from inner cities into the Sierra Mountains for reforestation efforts, managing email discussion groups to maintain interest in the environment, and recruiting lobby visits for a number of religious groups on key environmental issues and to organize conferences.

Besides programs, the RCFC has a number of publications to its name, operating a publication department to provide resources for churches and synagogues in the form of twenty distinct papers and books. In 2004, in conjunction with the Vatican Film Library, the group helped produce the first video of the late Pope John Paul II giving his environmental message.