Online Resources
Note: A number of these sites are specific to Wisconsin or other states. However, even if you live elsewhere, you may be able to find similar organizations, programs, and information sources for your own locality.
Session 1: Sense of Place
Common Ground [United Kingdom]
http://www.commonground.org.uk/
“Christian Environmentalism: Cosmos, Community, and Place” (theme issue), Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 57, no. 1 (March 2005)
http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/2005/PSCF3-05dyn.html
Together with All Creatures: Caring for God’s Living Earth
A report of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
www.lcms.org/document.fdoc?src=lcm&id=341
Columbia River Pastoral – Washington State Catholic Conference
http://thewscc.org/columbia-river/
Living the Columbia River Pastoral Letter; A Project of St. Philip Neri Catholic Church
http://www.pdxpax.org/river/index.html
“Crafting An Ethic of Place: The Columbia River Pastoral Letter Project” by the Rev. John Rosenberg
http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Journal-of-Lutheran-Ethics/Issues/October-2003/Crafting-an-Ethic-of-Place-The-Columbia-River-Pastoral-Letter-Project.aspx
Creation Care
The following websites include educational and practical resources relevant to this and the other sections of the study guide.
National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Programs: Justice for God’s planet and God’s people
http://nccecojustice.org/
Care of Creation
http://www.careofcreation.net/
Web of Creation: Ecology Resources to Transform Faith Communities and Society
http://www.webofcreation.org/
Evangelical Environmental Network
http://www.creationcare.org/
Eco-Congregation
http://www.ecocongregation.org/
Earth Ministry
http://www.earthministry.org/
Lutherans Restoring Creation
http://www.lutheransrestoringcreation.org/
Session 2: Building and Grounds
Building
U.S. Green Building Council
http://www.usgbc.org/
US EPA Energy Star for Congregations
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=small_business.sb_congregations
Focus on Energy [Wisconsin]
http://www.focusonenergy.com/Default.aspx
Wisconsin Green Building Alliance
http://wgba.shuttlepod.org/
Grounds
The Prairie Enthusiasts
http://www.theprairieenthusiasts.org/
Garden for Wildlife: Making Wildlife Habitat at Home, National Wildlife Federation
http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Outdoor-Activities/Garden-for-Wildlife/Create-a-Habitat.aspx
Safety Source for Pest Management: Beyond Pesticides Least Toxic Service Directory
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/infoservices/pcos/index.htm
American Community Gardening Association
http://www.communitygarden.org/
Pesticide Action Network North America: Advancing alternatives to pesticides
http://www.panna.org/
Quiet Garden Christian Ministry of Hospitality and Prayer
http://www.quietgarden.co.uk/
Veriditas: Experience the Wisdom of the Labyrinth
http://www.veriditas.org/
Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes
http://www.for-wild.org/
Rain Garden information from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
http://dnr.wi.gov/runoff/rg/
Activities and Operations
LocalHarvest
http://www.localharvest.org/
Earth 911: Find Recycling Centers and Learn How to Recycle
http://earth911.com/
Session 3: Worship and Education
Worship
Earth Day Sunday Resources from National Council of Churches
http://nccecojustice.org/resources/index.php#earthdaysundayresources
Green Congregations Program: Worship
http://www.webofcreation.org/worship or
http://www.lutheransrestoringcreation.org/Home/congregations/worship
Earth Ministry: Worship Aids
http://earthministry.org/resources/worship-aids
Season of Creation
http://seasonofcreation.com/
Education
World Café – a conversational process
http://www.theworldcafe.com/
Sense of Place
Northwest Earth Institute, Discovering a Sense of Place
http://www.nwei.org/discussion_courses/course-offerings/discovering-a-sense-of-place
Place-Based Education Evaluation Collaborative
http://www.peecworks.org/index
Promise of Place: Enriching Lives through Place-Based Education
http://www.promiseofplace.org/
PLACE: Place-based Landscape Analysis & Community Education, A Community Education Program for Vermont Towns
http://www.uvm.edu/place/
The Watershed Wheel – Edgewood College (Madison, WI) Dept. Natural Science http://natsci.edgewood.edu/wingra/watershed/watershed_wheel.htm
Outdoor Education
The Great Backyard Bird Count
http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/
BioBlitz – University of Connecticut
http://web.uconn.edu/mnh/bioblitz/
Lifestyle
Northwest Earth Institute Discussion Courses: Voluntary Simplicity, Menu for the Future, Choices for Sustainable Living, and others.
http://www.nwei.org/discussion_courses
Center for a New American Dream
http://www.newdream.org
ENACT: Steps to Greener Living
http://www.enactwi.org/
Session 4: Community and Environment
General
Green Map: Directions to a Sustainable Future
http://www.greenmap.org/greenhouse/home
Transition Wisconsin – Community Resilience, Self-Reliance, Renewable Energy & Cooperation
http://www.transitionwisconsin.org/
Government of Dane County, Wisconsin
http://www.countyofdane.com/
Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts
http://www.wicci.wisc.edu/
1000 Friends of Wisconsin: Perfecting the Places We Live and Protecting the Places We Don’t
http://www.1kfriends.org/
Land & Water Conservation Department - Columbia County [Wisconsin]
http://www.co.columbia.wi.us/ColumbiaCounty/Default.aspx?alias=www.co.columbia.wi.us/ColumbiaCounty/lwcd
Agriculture
National Catholic Rural Life Conference
http://www.ncrlc.com/
Center for Rural Affairs
http://www.cfra.org/
Hunger and Poverty
Ample Harvest
http://ampleharvest.org/
Food Environment Atlas - U. S. Dept. Agriculture
http://www.ers.usda.gov/FoodAtlas/
Food Desert Locator - U. S. Dept. Agriculture
http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/fooddesert/
County-by-County Data from University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension Family Living Programs
Affordable Housing
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/demographics/housing/index.cfm
Statistics on the cost of renting or owning a home.
Hunger Close to Home
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/demographics/hunger/index.cfm
Includes the population in poverty, Food Stamp participation, and self-sufficiency wage information.
Making Ends Meet
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/demographics/endsmeet/index.cfm
Profiles poverty in the county, with poverty rate, median earnings, housing affordability, and unemployment rate.
Food Security Profiles
Food security indicators for each county, including economic and demographic indicators, availability and participation in federal nutrition assistance programs, and information on food production and marketing.
One-page standard profile:
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/cfs/standard.cfm
Customized report:
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/cfs/index2.cfm
Workforce Profile
http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/oea/county_profiles/
Data on population, employment, wages and income from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
Urban and Regional Planning
Bjelland, Mark D. “Land Use Planning and the Quest for Shalom” http://archive.elca.org/ScriptLib/dcs/jle/article.asp?aid=144
Smart Growth America
http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/
The National Center for Bicycling and Walking
http://www.bikewalk.org/
Project for Public Spaces: Building Community, Creating Places, Using Common Sense
http://www.pps.org/
Dane County [Wisconsin] Comprehensive Plan
http://www.daneplan.org/index.shtml
Species and Habitat Conservation
LandVote: The Trust for Public Land (dynamic interface for research on conservation ballot measures)
http://www.tpl.org/what-we-do/policy-legislation/landvote.html
Land Trust Alliance
http://www.landtrustalliance.org/
Natural Heritage Land Trust
http://www.nhlt.org/
Biodiversity Partnership
http://www.defenders.org/programs_and_policy/biodiversity_partners/
The John H. Heinz III Center: The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems
http://www.heinzctr.org/ecosystems/
The Nature Conservancy
http://www.nature.org/index.htm
National Audubon Society
http://www.audubon.org/
NatureServe: A Network Connecting Science with Conservation
http://www.natureserve.org/index.jsp
NatureServe Local Programs
http://www.natureserve.org/visitLocal/index.jsp
Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States
http://www.invasive.org/weedus/index.html
National Invasive Species Council
http://www.invasivespecies.gov/
US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Endangered Species Program in the Upper Midwest
http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/
The Biodiversity Project
http://www.biodiversityproject.org/
Gathering Waters Conservancy [Wisconsin]
http://www.gatheringwaters.org/
Ice Age Trail Alliance [Wisconsin]
http://www.iceagetrail.org/
Wisconsin Natural Heritage Inventory Program – Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/nhi/
Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History
Metropolitan Biodiversity Program
http://cbc.amnh.org/center/programs/metro.html
What You Can Do
http://cbc.amnh.org/center/programs/wycd.html
Pollution
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Beach Monitoring & Notification
http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches/
Watershed Assessment, Tracking, & Environmental Results
http://www.epa.gov/waters/
Enforcement & Compliance History Online (ECHO)
http://www.epa-echo.gov/echo/
The National Listing of Fish Advisories
http://map1.epa.gov/
Superfund
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/index.htm
AIRNow: Local Air Quality Conditions and Forecasts
http://airnow.gov/
