Creation Care Fond du Lac Retreat

Creation caregivers from eleven Wisconsin Conference congregations met on March 15 in Fond du Lac to support one another and further build momentum for the Kairos Call to Action.

Fourteen of us represented our Conference Creation care team and congregations in Erin (St Paul’s), Fond du Lac (Pilgrim), Green Bay (Union), Jackson (New Hope), Merton (St John’s), Milwaukee (Bethel-Bethany and Christ), Oshkosh (First Congregational) and Two Rivers (Grace). As we did in the fall in Tomah, we brought regional environmental activists together to connect, face-to-face, and explore the challenges before us as we “turn up the heat” on efforts to “turn down the heat” of global climate change in a politically discouraging time.

We began with worship using an Earth Day prayer, “From Which the Body Rises” by Heartland Conference Minister, Rev. David Long-Higgins, and a creation-centered hymn to the tune of “Fairest Lord Jesus.” We shared our own creation origin stories about where in nature we find our inspirational “happy place.” We do our work with the understanding that we cannot care for what we do not love. Adapting the “land ethic” of Aldo Leopold: “When we see nature as a community to which we belong, we will treat it with love and respect.” 

Bradlee Fons, who heads up the Creation Care team at New Hope UCC in Jackson, reminded us that the world’s transportation sector is the largest contributor of planet warming greenhouse gases. He offered his “Drive$mart” program as a way to educate congregations and their communities about how we can reduce emissions and save money. 



After viewing the YouTube video of Brian McLaren summarizing his book Life After Doom, we shared our responses, building on our experience in our congregations. These included introducing “No Mow May,” becoming “Bike-Friendly” (with bicycle blessings, racks and rallies) and using Focus on Energy’s free walk-though energy audit program to reduce buildings’ carbon footprint. 

Creation Care Mobilizes in Fort Atkinson 

Fort Atkinson’s First Congregational UCC now has an active Creation Care Team which began meeting last fall. With support from the church’s Facilities Ministry, the group's first project was to place recycling bins in convenient locations around the building. In collaboration with the local Lions club, over 1,000 pounds of plastic bags were then collected, resulting in the church receiving a weather-proof Trex bench made of recycled plastic. Sustainability tips and awareness-raising articles are being placed in weekly bulletins and the monthly newsletter. A graphic display showcasing important eco-issues and the group's mission is in development. Fort UCC’s Creation Care Team is growing in membership and an Earth Day cleanup event is in the works. Future projects may include a plastic reduction initiative, an energy audit of the church facilities, and more.

Bird Habitat Forest Edge Garden - Union Church, Green Bay

Union Church UCC, Green Bay set out to do a restoration of bird habitat in an oak/hickory forest edge with the help of Wisconsin Conference UCC Grants. Here is their story along with the budget. 

Project story

This project got off to a slow start. Although we had cleared the 59 autumn olive shrubs before beginning work, the site analysis was not thorough enough. River rock buffers exist in other places on church property but none were as deep or wide as what we discovered when we began removal. In the end on the west side, we took out eight cubic yards of river rock (dump truck’s worth) along with a ground layer of 360 square feet of landscape cloth. Doing this work by hand, it was easy to see the effects of the landscape cloth plus the six per cent slope on drainage and rock migration. Frankly, it took all summer to move it to congregation members, church neighbors, a business site, other places on the church property and several cubic feet to Heritage Hill State Park, with the last load finding a home the first week of November. We were determined not to make our problem someone else’s but to find uses for this unwanted resource and keep as much as we could onsite.

Because development of the west bed was going to be delayed, we combined the Wild Ones and Wisconsin Conference grants into one bed on the east side. The purpose of both was the same: restoration of bird habitat in an oak/hickory forest edge. After checking with Digger’s Hotline, the bed was stump ground using funds from the Conference grant and planted with shrubs we had purchased from the Wild Ones Fox Valley sale in May. By the end of June, twelve shrubs were in the ground and showing water stress. We watered deeply every week but did not continue to plant until mid-October when an additional nine understory shrubs were installed. About half of the forest floor plants survived the summer including Pennsylvania sedge, Solomon’s plume, and golden alexanders. Though the look is spindly now, we expect to have a varied and useful border next year.

Continue reading here.

Photo caption: Stone Removal. Union members (l to r) Jeff Carels, Deb Rose and Larry Rose were part of a six person team removing river rock to prepare a sunny 50 by 9 foot bed for planting

Enbridge Line 5 Updates: Will Trump Administration Energy Emergency Executive Order Affect Line 5?

Prepared by Nancy Larson, Wisconsin Green Fire Water Resources Specialist

Inter-Related Regulatory Decisions 

Existing pipeline on east end of the Bad River Reservation, 2022, photo by Jenny Oren, WGF

On February 11, 2025, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians issued a determination that the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline re-route construction proposal would not meet the Band’s standards to protect water quality on the reservation. This determination, under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, impacts federal permitting to cross waterways and wetlands.

The Bad River Band’s letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) conveys its detailed evaluation of how the project would impact specific rivers and streams as well as its projected effects on wetlands and hydrology. The Bad River Reservation is just downstream of the proposed re-route. The Band sued Enbridge to remove the pipeline from the reservation.

The Bad River Band received federal “Treatment as a State” under the Clean Water Act (CWA) in 2009. Upstream project applicants must demonstrate that the Band’s water quality standards would be met at the reservation boundary. In order to issue federal permits, the USACOE needs certification from the state of Wisconsin and the Bad River Band that the project would meet water quality standards of their respective jurisdictions. Read more here.

Rewilding – Resting in the Grace of the World

In The Peace of Wild Things Wendell Berry entreats us to seek spiritual respite by intentionally venturing into the wild. Doing so, he “rest(s) in the grace of the world and am free”.

Barbara Mahany, author of The Book of Nature, also writes about finding that grace in nature. She shared her book and wisdom during a visit to Mineral Point last spring. The enthusiastic reception she received inspired the creation of this spring’s Rewilding Series.  

With the generous support of a UCC Creation Care Grant and other donors, an ecumenical group of churches and area organizations put together this series. The events are modeled on the Wild Church concept, a movement that turns to nature as a spiritual practice. “Wild Church gatherings offer opportunities for contemplation, grief and praise, movement and song, solo wandering and wondering, advocacy, ecological restoration and activism on behalf of and in collaboration with the beloved others in our watersheds.” (The Wild Church Network)  

Three Mineral Point churches, Congregational UCC, Trinity Episcopal and Hope Lutheran along with the Driftless Area Land Conservancy and the Republic of Letters bookstore collaborated in creating the series. Recognizing that not every interested individual may be able to comfortably access early spring “wild” settings, the series includes three indoor creation care themed services as well as three outdoor wild church services and a book talk.

This type of spiritual practice is a new venture for the organizers. Fortunately, a couple experienced guides have offered to help. Madison-area based UCC Rev. Daniel Cooperrider, author of Speak with the Earth and It Will Teach You will conduct two wild church outings and the book talk. Eric Anglada of the Catholic Worker Farm will lead the third wild church service.

The first outing will be held during the spring equinox season on March 22 at Sardeson Preserve just outside of Mineral Point. Events run through mid-May and conclude with a creation care themed service on Sunday, May 18th at the Congregational UCC. Our hope is that these events may spark countless additional opportunities for participants to “come into the peace of wild things.”

Spring Creation Care Series poster

Earth Day Events

Earth Day Every Day Sustainability Fair

Saturday April 26, 2025 from 10 am – 2 pm at Middleton Community Church UCC, 645 Schewe Rd, Middleton (off Old Sauk Road on the west side of Madison)

This family-friendly event includes free admission, free popcorn, free drawings, live music, and activities for the kids, along with exhibitors from dozens of environmental organizations and eco-friendly businesses, and owner-shown electric cars!  Speakers will talk about various topics including what people can do about climate change, and our own Nancy Vedder-Shults will be offering a climate stories workshop. Madison’s brand new electric fire truck will be there, along with displays of electric yard equipment. This year there will be a zoo animal show, the Middleton Library Bookmobile, and also the Madison Children's Museum. Lunch & ice cream will be available for purchase from local food trucks.

If you have gently used adult athletic shoes you’d like to pass on, please bring them along for the MORE Foundation, which uses proceeds from reselling shoes to fund reforesting work in Africa.

A Conversation on Climate Action with Brian McLaren

Brian McLaren is well-known for his books that deal with the intersection of religious faith and contemporary culture. In “Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart,” he engages with the catastrophic failure of both our religious and political leaders to address the dominant realities of our time: ecological overshoot, economic injustice, and the increasing likelihood of civilizational collapse.

We are very fortunate to have Brian joining us over Zoom on Wednesday, April 30th, at 6:30-8:00 p.m. Central Time. He will discuss his four major scenarios:



• Letting Go: A Path of Descent
• Letting Be: A Place of Insight
• Letting Come: A Path of Resilience
• Setting Free: A Path of Agile Engagement
• 
  

Then he will engage with us in a Q&A format.

You do not need to have read the book to join this discussion! Brian wants to engage us in this work, saying that to address aspects of our climate crisis, whatever we do matters. Connect with others, focus on a key area, and create an action plan! 

Please join us, either in person at McFarland UCC (5710 Anthony Street, McFarland) or on Zoom: Join Zoom Meeting, Meeting ID: 820 6589 1503.

Focus on Energy - Focus on Your Organization’s Mission

Nonprofits like places of worship, food banks, and charities can reduce energy usage as much as 30% by implementing energy savings practices. Focus on Energy can help you redirect energy costs toward your organization’s mission, meet conservation and environmental stewardship goals, and contribute to a healthier community.

Your top opportunities for savings:

• HVAC 
• Lighting
• Commercial Refrigeration
• Food Service Equipment

• Through Focus on Energy, you can earn incentives when you make energy-saving improvements. Places of worship resource sheet. 

Good News

Check out Ocean Cleanup’s River Interceptors that keep trash from entering oceans, and 350 Wisconsin’s advocacy work to stop oil pipelines from leaking into our waterways. Both those groups are happy to accept donations to help their work continue.

Ocean Cleanup (video about cleaning up trash in rivers before it gets to the oceans)

350 Wisconsin: (video about their advocacy to stop pipelines for Canadian tar sands oil from crossing Wisconsin & endangering our rivers). Protect All the Water  350 Wisconsin: Protect All the Water

Marsh Marigold

These wildflowers should be blooming along streams in late April to early May, but everything seems earlier this year. 

From Kathy Bartilson

Editor: Susan Webb

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