Sacred Grounds: Growing Native Habitats, One Faith Community at a Time By Angela Jennings, TSN Staff Writer When fi lmmaker Katherine Zimmerman released her documentary segment Sacred Grounds as part of a National Wildlife Federation project in the Chesapeake Bay, she planted more than just ideas about conservation. For many, the fi lm was an invitation to think differently about how communities can care for the land around them. For Hal Mann, that message was transformative. “I was helping Katherine when she fi lmed here,” Mann recalled. “Afterward, a group of us felt so inspired that we wanted to create something similar in Toledo.” That spark of inspiration has since grown into Sacred Grounds Toledo, a thriving community initiative that certifi es faith organizations for cultivating wildlife habitats on their properties using native plants. Zimmerman’s fi lm highlighted the simple yet powerful truth that faith communities—often with land, volunteers, and a desire to live out their values—are uniquely positioned to model ecological stewardship. After watching the Chesapeake Bay project unfold on screen, Mann and a small group of colleagues decided that Toledo could follow in those footsteps. “After the fi lm, we knew we didn’t just want to admire the idea,” Mann said. “We wanted to act.” Toledo became the second pilot project after Ann Arbor, Michigan, to embrace the Sacred Grounds concept. With a twelve-person team that included organizers like Sanja Jennings, the Toledo group began reaching out to local congregations. The effort quickly took root. Sacred Grounds Toledo now partners with 34 faith communities spread across Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan, as well as Cleveland, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Traverse City, and Grand Rapids. Collectively, the network touches nearly 140 different congregations across the region. The program offers free certifi cation to congregations that make a commitment: restore their property with native plants, create habitat for pollinators and wildlife, and steward their land in ways that benefi t the larger ecosystem But the impact goes beyond plants and pollinators. Sacred Grounds has become a way for congregations of different traditions to fi nd common ground. Whether churches, mosques, synagogues, or temples, faith communities are discovering that care for the environment is a shared value. Toledo Streets and its vendors are a powerful, community driven solution to the problem of homelessness. Be a part of the solution. Meet Vendors Continue to Page 4 Buy a Paper Get Informed Take Action • Vendors -- the people who sell the paper -- are at the core of Toledo Streets' mission. Each year more than 70 indiviuals work as vendors with Toledo Streets. At any given time, more than 25 vendors are at work, in the rain, snow, or heat. Vendors play an active role in the management of TS, meeting regularly to discuss issues of concern and even serving on our board. • With the money made selling the newspaper, vendors are able to secure basic needs, independence and dignity, and work toward obtaining housing. Vendors buy papers for a quarter and sell them for a $1, keeping all income and tips for each sale. Toledo Streets tries to tie its editorial to three basic principals: • Inspiring Hope, Fostering Community, and Cultivating Change. We are a member of INSP, our global organization of street papers around the world which provides us with content relevent to social justice, homelessness, and street community around the world. • Donate to the organization and give vendors experiencing homelessness and poverty a hand up. It supports not only the paper but also issues throughout NW Ohio. • Volunteer your time and expertise and help the organization grow. • Share Toledo Streets with your network, and tell people about the organization. Page 3
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