Church of the Good Shepherd’s Good & Green Team
Members: Becky Ryder, Christine Dwyer Newbold, Hilary Greene, Jan Barton, Jean Nyman, Jo-Ann Finn, Joella Cruz, Judy Govoni, Karen Clark, Kelly Churbuck, Michelle Murray, Peter Johnston, Scooter Holcombe, Sheryl Facchetti, Ginny Eldridge and Vivi Marty-Paquin.
Want to join our team? Just let Deacon Hilary know: hgreene78@comcast.net or 508-737-4542.
Our Mission: To follow the “three R’s” of caring for creation: REDUCE your use of non-sustainable products; REUSE those products as often as you can before the final option: recycle.
Formed in the Spring of 2023, the Good and Green Team works together to care for God’s creation because as God says over and over again in the book of Genesis: God saw what God had made and said it was good, very good. The Good people of Good Shepherd care very deeply about serving God and our community and are working together to collect information, raise money to implement green initiatives at our parish and in the wider community and to pray together to bring environmental justice to God’s world.
Information & Resources: The Good Green Team bulletin boards in the parish hall is where members post articles, tips and flyers about environmental stewardship, updated monthly.
Fundraising: On the 3rd Sunday of every month, the Good and Green Team collects redeemable cans and bottles for redemption and sneakers to be recycled via GotSneakers.com or donation the new/good condition sneakers to Turning Point to help the arriving immigrants living in our community or our unhoused neighbors.
The funds raised will go to fund our efforts in our parish- for example purchasing a recycle bin for the parish hall to be used for our coffee hours, Good Shepherd’s Table and other community events; buying more sustainable dinnerware, cups and utensils for our meals and community gatherings; a water bottle filler purchased and installed to replace the overuse of single use plastic water bottles; a dishwasher and other kitchen renovations.
Tips and Guidelines: Below are the tips and resources our team has compiled each month and shared on our bulletin boards or in the weekly Good Shepherd newsletter.
April 2024
It’s Earth Month! Earth Day was started on April 22, 1970 and has grown over the decades to expand into a month, not just a day. Learn about the history of Earth Day: https://www.earthday.org/history/
AmeriCorps is hosting their Annual Canal Clean Up on Saturday, April 20 from 10-2. You can find out more or sign up here: https://www.capecod.gov/2024/03/29/lets-keep-the-cape-cod-canal-clean/
To honor Earth Month, the Good Shepherd Good and Green Team theme for this month is “Plastics & Micro-Plastics” and the impact they can have on our environment, our health, the health of fish and mammals in our world and how we can cut down on our use of plastics. Check out the bulletin boards in our Parish Hall to see some of what we found. Here are some links to information on plastics:
The Science of Plastics: https://www.sciencehistory.org/education/classroom-activities/role-playing-games/case-of-plastics/science-of-plastics/#:~:text=Plastics%20are%20polymers.,or%20monomer%20(single%20unit)
Breaking the Plastic Wave: https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2020/07/23/breaking-the-plastic-wave-top-findings
Plastics in the Ocean image: https://blog.marinedebris.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/inline-images/orr_plastic_in_the_ocean_infographic_final_small_0.jpg
Microplastics and Cardiovascular Health: https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2309822 and https://www.emergencyemail.org/newsemergency/anmviewer.asp?a=35809&z=58#google_vignette
Massachusetts first state to ban single use plastic bottles for state agencies: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/massachusetts-becomes-first-to-ban-purchase-of-single-use-plastic-bottles-by-state-agencies
Creation Justice Ministries “Plastic Jesus”: https://www.creationjustice.org/plasticjesus.html
March 2024 Theme: “Confused about Recycling? You’re Not Alone”
Each town, each state and every private housing development or community has their own rules and even the most “good and green-hearted” person can get frustrated and give up. Below are links to the web sites about recycling for our state and many of the local towns our parishioners come from. If you have more info to share, please let us know!
Recycle Smart MA: https://recyclesmartma.org/where-does-it-go/?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgbuBovfahAMVr3JHAR1RLAHlEAAYASAAEgKrjfD_BwE
“Recyclopedia”- Is this recyclable? https://recyclesmartma.org/results-materials/#
Town of Wareham: https://www.wareham.ma.us/recycling-department
Wareham Recycling Center flyer: https://www.wareham.ma.us/recycling-department/news/2023-recycling-flyer
Town of Bourne: https://www.townofbourne.com/recycling-committee/pages/recycling-in-bourne
Town of Rochester: https://www.townofrochestermass.com/trash-recycling
South Shore Recycling Cooperative: https://ssrcoop.info/
Town of Fairhaven: https://www.fairhaven-ma.gov/board-public-works/pages/recycling-center
Town of Mattapoisett: https://www.mattapoisett.net/trash-recycling
Town of Marion: https://marionma.gov/463/Single-Stream-Recycling
February 2024 Theme: Food
To learn more about where your food comes from and how it is packaged and distributed, visit the South Coast’s Marion Institute web page on the components of the food system: https://www.marioninstitute.org/programs/sfpc/the-food-system/
What’s in plant based meat and how is it made? https://earth911.com/food-beverage/how-is-plant-based-meat-made/
How to Eat Less Plastic:
https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-contaminants/how-to-reduce-exposure-to-plastic-in-food-everywhere-else-a9640874767/
and
https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-contaminants/the-plastic-chemicals-hiding-in-your-food-a7358224781/
Food Recovery Chart: https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-recovery-hierarchy_.html
Wasted Food Scale: https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/wasted-food-scale
“You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment” on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81133260
January 2024:
Target carries deodorant in cardboard tubes now – push pop style dispenser and Grove Collaborative offers a metal container push up one: https://www.grove.co/catalog/?category=deodorant . Raw Sugar is one brand. So, for sustainable shopping, just check your everyday stores for better containers! They’re coming out with them.
Another Donation Location:
My Brother’s Keeper, 1015 Reed Road, North Dartmouth, right off Route 195 going north at exit 19B.They take in all usable furniture, household items, stuff like that and they give them for free to any family in need who have either lost a home through fire and must start over again or immigrant families coming in to relocate in their first apartment who need to be able to get all the stuff to begin a household. While they don’t go to a donor to pick up items, once a donor brings items to them they donate to the needy for free and also even deliver locally. They also are sometimes in need of volunteers who have pick-up trucks who might be willing to help them deliver a load of stuff to those starting out again in their new location.
Massachusetts junk removal: https://www.gogreenteamjunk.com/ they recycle, reuse and donate 80% of everything they haul. The Green Team is an eco-friendly Junk removal company that prides itself on providing the most environmentally conscious junk removal services in Massachusetts.
Episcopal Church offerings: Our diocese has the Creation Care Justice Network https://www.diomass.org/creation-care the Western MA diocese has a Creation Care team also (Sharing Margaret Bullitt-Jonas with us https://www.diocesewma.org/creation-care ; our Anglican Communion has resources https://acen.anglicancommunion.org/ and our national church, The Episcopal Church has resources too https://www.episcopalchurch.org/ministries/creation-care/resources/
2023 GOOD AND GREEN TIPS