October 8, 2023
Care for Creation
Green Space for All
Laudato Si urges us to follow Saint Francis of Assisi’s example learning to know creation and all creatures and seeing God’s reflection everywhere. Pope Francis believes that spending time in green space is essential.
“Neighbourhoods, even those recently built, are congested, chaotic and lacking in sufficient green space. We were not meant to be inundated by cement, asphalt, glass and metal, and deprived of physical contact with nature” LS 44
The Holy Father points out that the human right to enjoy the gifts of creation is especially lacking among the poor. He decries places where access to outdoor space is reserved for the rich and where investments in parks and nature preserves are missing from lower income neighborhoods.
He says that “a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” LS 49
Bringing Pope Francis’ teaching to life, this summer, the REI corporation launched its Outside in 5 initiative at Anacostia Park in Washington DC. REI announced the nationwide program with a $200,000 a-year grant to Friends of Anacostia Park for the next three years for environmental restoration programs and events at the park. REI’s overall goal is for everyone in the country to have access to green space within five minutes of their front door.
The focus of Outside in 5 is on inner cities and areas where people have the least access, the most need and where there are no resources for green space; exactly the places mentioned by the Holy Father in Laudato Si’. In addition to supporting local community groups, such as Friends of Anacostia Park, to rehabilitate, maintain and create green space for all, REI is also urging Congress to pass the Outdoors for All Act to create more green spaces and get everyone closer to fresh air, trees and time outside.
As we treasure and enjoy our green McLean, let’s think about how we can support access to green space for those not so lucky. There is a video about the Anacostia Park on YouTube; search video outside in 5.
Care for Creation
Green Space for All
Laudato Si urges us to follow Saint Francis of Assisi’s example learning to know creation and all creatures and seeing God’s reflection everywhere. Pope Francis believes that spending time in green space is essential.
“Neighbourhoods, even those recently built, are congested, chaotic and lacking in sufficient green space. We were not meant to be inundated by cement, asphalt, glass and metal, and deprived of physical contact with nature” LS 44
The Holy Father points out that the human right to enjoy the gifts of creation is especially lacking among the poor. He decries places where access to outdoor space is reserved for the rich and where investments in parks and nature preserves are missing from lower income neighborhoods.
He says that “a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” LS 49
Bringing Pope Francis’ teaching to life, this summer, the REI corporation launched its Outside in 5 initiative at Anacostia Park in Washington DC. REI announced the nationwide program with a $200,000 a-year grant to Friends of Anacostia Park for the next three years for environmental restoration programs and events at the park. REI’s overall goal is for everyone in the country to have access to green space within five minutes of their front door.
The focus of Outside in 5 is on inner cities and areas where people have the least access, the most need and where there are no resources for green space; exactly the places mentioned by the Holy Father in Laudato Si’. In addition to supporting local community groups, such as Friends of Anacostia Park, to rehabilitate, maintain and create green space for all, REI is also urging Congress to pass the Outdoors for All Act to create more green spaces and get everyone closer to fresh air, trees and time outside.
As we treasure and enjoy our green McLean, let’s think about how we can support access to green space for those not so lucky. There is a video about the Anacostia Park on YouTube; search video outside in 5.