Care of Creation Class Trip

Jambo!

One of the things I have learned while in Kenya is the broad range of missionary and other non-government organizations (NGOs) that try to make life better for the Kenyans. As my previous posts attest - it is a continuing struggle - one that will never end as long as the culture of corruption in the governmental structure of the country remains as it is. There is hope however, by impacting the lives of individuals through enabling them to affect positive change in their lives and community. I am not qualified to criticize or find fault with where Kenya is in its develpment, or why it seems to be faultering, that would take a lifetime of study - but see my post on the Museum Trip for other observations.

A ministry that Linda and I support is called Care of Creation (see http://www.careofcreation.org/). The ministry is run by a friend of ours in Madison, WI - Ed Brown. Craig Sorley runs the Kenyan extension of that ministry and is also a friend of ours. Both Ed and Craig stayed with us last year when they came to speak at WBU. Craig lives here at Brackenhurst, but is preparing to move to an area about 45 minutes away where his two sons will attend a school for children of missionaries, etc. (more on that in a later post). What follows is a series of pictures and narrative of Craig speaking to my class followed by a walking tour the class took of the indigenous tree nursery Craig runs with the able assistance of Winnie and George - two local Kenyans who I found to be extremely knowledgeable of botany and nursery techniques.

Craig has developed a very effective understanding of biblically-based principles of environmental stewardship that he (and many others) prefer to call creation care. While this understanding of a scriptural mandate calling for Christians to be environmentally responsible is not new - its basis goes back to the very first leaders of the Christian church - we have been led away from this practice of our faith by our desire to aquire wealth of various kinds, which in turn has led to a degradation of God's creation.

In Kenya, there has been an absence of a creation care ethic in the mesage brought by missionaries over the years. Hence, while Christianity is statistically the most prevalent belief-system in the country, very few people have drawn attention to how faith and environmental responsibility are linked. Or, by extension how restoring a degraded environment and reducing human suffering are linked.

Of the topics Craig emphasizes through his ministry is application of farming methods that preserve and restore soil fertility, and replanting the forests that have been clear-cut for fuel and building materials. He teaches his biblically-based principles of caring for creation through workshops presented to churches and schools. The demonstration shown to the left illustrates the value of mulching the soil to reduce soil erosion and improve water quality.

The students were completely enamored by the demonstration and many of them described how they had experienced the kind of landscape degradation that Craig is trying to reverse through his teachings.

The pictures are probably not clear enough for you to see the difference in amount and clarity of water running off the mulch covered vs. bare soils in the demonstration - but the differences are quite striking.

Craig has an intersting background - he grew up as the son of missionaries in several countries in Africa. After schooling in the US in forestry and environmental science, and surviving treatment for a rare form of brain cancer, he returned to Kenya where he and his wife and two children continue in the mission field. He has been here at Brackhurst for the last 7 years. He is very much a part of the local culture and interacts very effectively with the Kenyan people. Indeed, I know of no one who can communicate the principals of creation care to either American or Kenyan audiences as well as he can.

After Craig's lecture and in-class demonstration, the class went on a walking tour of Care of Creation's indigenous tree nursery, which is located on the grounds of Brackenhurst. There are two local Kenyan's - Winnie and George - who manage the nursery. Although it looks primitive - it is a very successful and well-run operation supplying churches, schools, and local landowners with valuable tree seedlings that they plant to try to restore the native forests that have been removed for fuel, etc.

Although I have not captured this in an image yet, it is not unusual to see older women in particular carrying large bundles of sticks and small limbs on their backs. The bundles would have to weigh 60 - 80 lbs. They will sell or use the wood for cooking. In some areas where deforestation is severe, women (mostly) will spend up to 30 hours per week walking to and from the areas where firewood is available - and the distances they need to travel are getting longer and more arduous.

Winnie and George led the students through the entire process of preparing seed beds, to transplanting seedlings, to transplanting the larger seedlings into plastic bags (no pots - the bags work much better - I was impressed). What I found most interesting was Winnie's lecture on mulch - She definitely had that worked out!

The challenges of mulch production here are a bit different here than in our climates. Any organic matter is acceptable, and Winnie knew rather precisely the proportions of soil vs. organic matter that was required. The trick is keeping the moisture concentrations just right to avoid having the mulch pile invested with safari ants. These are rather troublesome ants - similar to the fire ants introduced to the SE US and TX from south america. Anyway, she showed the students how to tell if the mulch was done - put a stick in the pile all the way to the bottom - if it is hot when you pull it out - let the mulch continue to work - if it is cool - the mulch is ready to apply to the soil. She also passed around some leachate from a mulch pile - when it is done, the leachate smells alot like beer (the students thought that was pretty funny - some jokes in swahili brought some healthy laughter).

Although many of the students in the class are from towns or urban areas - Craig's message and the tree nursery tour rang true for virtually everyone. They took detailed notes and made Winnie repeat her instructions on planting and mulching techniques on many occasions. This had nothing to do with worrying about whether I would test them on the material - they wanted to know the information so they could apply it at home! How refreshing!!!

Craig has two books on his message and techniques, and there is a third book he had copies of with similar information. I purchased copies of the books for the class and distributed them with an assignment - as part of their final, they have to write a 3-4 page paper on what they thought about creation care before taking this class; how the class had changed their thinking; how they would apply this information in their personal lives; and how they would apply it in their professional life. Of course, their paper had to reflect their reading of the book they were given.

In the course I am teaching (Life Science), the students learn some basic chemistry; structure of the cell; photosynthesis & respiration; cell division, etc.; and some human biology. But I close the course with several lectures on environmental stewardship. I feel that part of the course has the potential to make the greatest difference in the lives of Kenyans - if the students take this ethic to their families and their communities. If that happens with just a few of the students I have touched, then I will feel this has been a most successful endeavor!

byefornow - HDG