In light of Pope Francis’ encyclical “‘Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home,” this special section of Arkansas Catholic looks at environmental issues and Catholic Arkansans who live in care for God’s creation.
Pope Francis released his encyclical “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home” last year with a clear message: God is calling the faithful to protect creation. One way to do that is through recycling and Catholic schools throughout Arkansas are teaching students a variety of ways to mix faith and environmental awareness. Small change, big dollars For years, St. Joseph Church and School in Fayetteville has taken steps to reduce its carbon footprint. In 2007, a cage More...
PERRYVILLE — Chuck and Lucrecia Crimmins were big on organic before it was cool. The self-proclaimed hippies who met in Ecuador while serving in the Peace Corps professed a love of sustainable gardening because that is what they knew and what was affordable. “Organic agriculture is very Catholic,” Chuck proudly proclaimed. The couple who live near Heifer Ranch in Perryville have a two-acre organic vegetable farm that is worked with four of the couple’s six daughters. There is quiet More...
Mount St. Mary Academy students in Little Rock have been learning and working to aid the bee population and it’s paid off — for the bees and the school. The HoneyBelles, a team of seven science and art students along with art teacher Marianne Nolley and biology teacher Marcella Melandri, won first place in the Lexus Eco Challenge, earning $15,000 in the final challenge of this multi-layer competition. The challenge, created by Lexus and Scholastic, is More...
In the time it takes to read this article, children will die from sickness related to unsafe drinking water. According to Rotary Water Projects in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., chapter, 80 percent of illness in the world is traced to unsafe water and it claims the lives of children every eight seconds. Thanks to Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church in Little Rock in partnership with the Rotary Club of Little Rock (Club 99), students More...
Kane Webb never tires of Arkansas outdoors. The Sherwood native who grew up in the Immaculate Conception Church and School was frequently outdoors during his youth and now that he’s a husband with a daughter of his own, he’s still an outdoor enthusiast, having drifted to mountain biking as a favorite pursuit along Arkansas cycling trails. About the only thing related to the outdoors that the new director for Arkansas Parks and Tourism doesn’t like to hear More...
Kindergarteners including Ethan Herrining of St. Mary School in Paragould lends a hand April 1 with a Pollinator Habitat Project at the Forrest L. Wood Crowley’s Ridge Nature Center. The project is a partnership between the Catholic school and the Northeast Arkansas Chapter of Quail Forever. Sixty St. Mary’s students learned of the importance of pollination and helped plant seeds from a variety of pollinator plants. The project is hoped to provide valuable habitat for pollinating More...
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