Green Action

Green Action is a UUCA's group, coordinated through a six-person steering committee, that sponsors initiatives in every area of church life, from worship services, religious education and building upgrades to educational projects on reducing personal CO2 emissions and cooperation with other churches in political action - have led to our church being formally accredited as a “Green Sanctuary”* by the national Unitarian Universalist Association.

The Church’s Strategic Plan includes a “Green” goal, which includes actions to:

Green Action continues to grow in the number of participants and the number of activities. Our listserve has over 185 participants. On it we announce not only UUCA activities, but other events, volunteer opportunities, and issues of environmental concern locally, regionally, and nationally. To join the Green Action listserve send an email to malawler0@gmail.com.

This past year a new learning community was formed to address our denomination's call in 2008 to congregations to study issues related to Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice. In June 2011 at General Assembly the UUA delegates passed a Statement of Conscience.

The goals of the group are to:

• Educate ourselves
• Educate/inspire our congregation
• Build coalitions (internal & external)
• Advocate on behalf of food issues
• Further develop the community within UUCA through/around food
• Have fun/enjoy the journey together

To join our Conscious Eating Learning Group e-mail group, or to be informed of UUCA and area environmental issues, programs, projects, and volunteer opportunities through the Green Action’s e-mail group, contact lavona.grow@uucava.org.

**UUCA "Green Lens" Policy Resolution: "We, members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Virginia, recognizing that our Green Action Committee has completed its Green Sanctuary Action Plan, authorize submission of the church's application to the UU Ministry for Earth requesting that UUCA be accredited as a Green Sanctuary congregation. We understand that the Action Plan is only the beginning of our church's ongoing work to integrate environmental awareness, sustainable practices, and environmental justice into our church community. Today, we vote our support for a formal "Green Lens" policy (previously endorsed by our Board of Trustees) to guide our decisions and actions over the years ahead. This policy commits our ministry and staff to giving deliberate and consistent attention to the environment in all areas of our church's activities and to striving to make UUCA a model of how churches can help our society move toward a sustainable future. We recognize that while some such decisions may increase costs, many are already accruing savings or are cost free. We, as a Congregation, make this commitment to environmental awareness and action with the same seriousness with which we continue to commit to promoting social justice and to welcoming people of all races, religious backgrounds, cultural origins and sexual orientations. It is our commitment to live out the 7th UU principle - respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. (Adopted in June 2008)."

UUCA - Accredited Green Sanctuary

In a letter dated October 23, 2008, the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, Office of Congregational Stewardship Services formally recognized the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, Virginia, as an Accredited Green Sanctuary.

The letter stated:“Your application makes it clear that you have educated yourselves about environmental issues and begun to incorporate those values into the way you live your faith. Your strong commitment to restore Earth and renew Spirit is well demonstrated by both the projects your congregation has engaged in as well as the recently adopted UUCA “Green Lens” Policy Resolution. By taking on this work and making it more visible, you are getting the congregation as a whole involved in "greening” efforts.”

UUCA’S Own Remnant Forest Community

Did you know that the patch of woodlands on the UUCA grounds is an old remnant of an ecological forest community known as an Upland Acidic Oak Hickory Forest?  It contains a wide variety of the original native tree, shrub, and plant species indicative of this forest community.  The forest community depends on geology and soils.

The Geology of the vicinity of UUCA

Geology%20in%20the%20vicinity%20of%20UUCA.doc

Upland Acidic Oak Hickory Forest

Acidic%20Oak%20hickory%20forest.doc

Walk on the Grounds May 2012

may%202012%20nature%20walk%20on%20the%20grounds.doc

"Seeing the world as an interconnected web challenges us to turn from self-serving individualism toward a relational sense of our selves in a global community and toward practices that help create economic structures designed to serve the common good."
— UU Statement of Conscience, 2003