The Center for the Environment at Catawba College was named one of three finalists today for the Green Non-Profit Action Program of the Year Award from the Charlotte Business Journal.
The award was for a non-profit’s action program to educate its employees, students and/or community on environmental sustainability. The center’s conference on Faith, Spirituality and Environmental Stewardship, which brought more than 300 people to the center last May, was the program that won acclaim.
Frank Levering, co-producer of PBS’s “Simple Living” TV series, nominated the center for the honor. He lauded the center for its response to “the challenge of steep environmental decline and the public’s thirst for more knowledge ó and tools ó to effect positive change.
“With eyes on the global picture but with feet on the ground of our region, the center has worked to educate not only its students, faculty and staff but also the community and region on matters of sustainability and environmental stewardship,” Levering wrote.
“A catalyst for sustainable solutions, the center helps people make connections that reach beyond headline issues to root causes.”
The conference on Faith, Spirituality and Environmental Stewardship spurred considerable change in congregations and individuals.
As a result of the conference, a number of churches have indicated they increased their commitment to environmental stewardship through everything from completing energy audits and teaching Care of Creation classes to expanding recycling programs and planting community gardens.
“By building a bridge to the faith community, the center has helped galvanize a group that might not have considered the impact of individual and collective actions on sustainable growth in North Carolina,” Levering said.
“It has once again increased awareness and catalyzed action in an ever-increasing circle of sustainability advocates.”