Resource

This guidebook is designed to help faith communities plan and maintain a successful native plant community garden. It was created by our Greening Sacred Spaces Toronto Chapter in 2018 with the assistance of the North American Native Plant Society.

 Download PDF (2.7 MB)

Growing food, growing community.

Abstract

This research examines the enabling conditions and reported impacts of community gardens hosted by faith communities. Community gardens are one way for faith communities to demonstrate good stewardship of their land and contribute to local food security. In the context of declining membership and financial hardship, faith communities might be concerned about their capacity to take on such a project. Through semi-structured interviews, participant observations, and document review, ten Canadian faith-based community gardens were studied to identify
factors contributing to their success. The results highlight that community gardens and faith communities are mutually beneficial. Faith communities can provide many prerequisites for community garden development, and the presence of a community garden provides exposure and neighbourhood connections for the faith community. Based on participants’ experiences and the existing literature, recommendations are made regarding best practices for faith communities considering community garden projects, with particular emphasis on sustainable leadership structure.

Gardens Built by Love: Faith-Based Community Gardens, by Karla Winham, 2021.

Breton Books
Tompkins Institute
Faith & the Common Good

DOWNLOAD RESOURCE HERE.

Recorded October 2020

Description: Why our Energy Benchmarking Program is so useful for Faith Communities Now more than ever? Looking at the impact of COVID-19 on building energy efficiency and why we need programs like the Energy Benchmarking program more than ever.

 Watch and listen to the webinar

This toolkit has been created to empower and engage faith communities in building a safe, healthy and sustainable future. This inaugural edition of the toolkit focuses on three topics: water, biodiversity and food waste. We hope that it serves as a meaningful resource to educators, organizations, and others who are engaged in building healthy and sustainable communities. Community Environment Alliance, our Greening Sacred Spaces partner in Brampton, ON, created this guide in 2015 as part of their grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. 

Download a PDF of the Toolkit (6.5 MB, 44 pages)

Recorded April 16, 2020

How to access you Faith Building Data

View Webinar (55 minutes)

Learn more about saving energy at your faith-building, by reading our 62-page practical "Do-It-Yourself" Faith Building Energy Audit Guide DIY Walkthrough Guide

Climate, Faith and Action: Presentation to Chinese Pastoral Council
Feb 19, 2020

Presenter: Kirthan Sathananthan

 Download PDF (1.2 MB)

Our Energy Benchmarking Program

Understanding your current energy use is the first step in reducing it. Launched in 2017, our Energy Benchmarking Program is helping faith communities take practical and economical climate action by lowering their energy use and emissions. 

The Energy Benchmarking program:

1. Supports stewardship of environmental and financial resources. 
2. It allows you to target carbon consumption (buildings account for about 42% of a typical faith community’s carbon footprint).
3. Saves time and money, allowing you to target the lowest hanging fruit. 
4. Assists future reporting requirements. 

View our Case Studies of the places we have worked with.

Recorded November 20th, 2019

Runnymede United Lighting Case Study Webinar: Costs, Savings and Payback Periods from Energy Conservation in your Faith Building.

Watch and listen to the webinar (59 minutes)

Download Don Dewees' PowerPoint presentation

To provide learning and ways to reduce your building footprint, we have created a 62 page Do It Yourself Faith Building Energy Audit Guide.

We would like to thank Enbridge Gas Inc. for providing funding to Faith & the Common Good. 

Enbridge Gas Inc. has a more than 170-year history and is Canada's largest natural gas distribution company. Enbridge Gas delivers safe, reliable natural gas in more than 100 communities across Ontario and is a leader in promoting energy efficiency programs.

For information about Enbridge incentives, contact your Enbridge Energy Solutions Consultant, Jeffrey Blunt, at 416-795-8346 or email [email protected] to learn more about their programs and incentives or visit enbridgesmartsavings.com/business

This easy-to-use 62-page guide is intended for decision-makers in faith communities who wish get to know how their buildings work and reduce the amount of energy they use in their buildings.

Energy audits of religious buildings show that 80 to 85 per cent of the energy used in places of worship is for heating and ventilation. Operators of religious buildings can take advantage of that finding to reduce their operating costs by making sure their heating and ventilating equipment is working as efficiently as possible, and by reducing heat loss from their facilities.

This guide discusses low or no-cost measures to give operators of religious buildings a range of options they can apply to reduce their energy bills while adding comfort and attractiveness to their facility. It includes a 14-page DIY energy audit.

 Download PDF (3.9 MB)

Kendra Fry of Faith & the Common Good, National Trust for Canada, and Trinity-St. Paul's Centre for Faith, Justice, and the Arts discusses the potential of collaborations between faith spaces and the arts to foster "spaces for people not profit".

With host Jessa Agilo.

 Listen to the podcast.