Environment & Climate Change

      Reclaiming Our Green is a faith led initiative by the IRCK’s Environment and Climate Change Program that strives to prevent, halt and restore degraded ecosystems at the congregational level. The main goal of Reclaiming Our Green Initiative is to promote environmental conservation and food security at places of worship. The initiative is pegged on three key issues namely landscape restoration, tree growing and clean renewable energy. Faith-based organizations play a crucial role in tree growing and environmental conservation in Kenya. These organizations are deeply rooted in the communities they serve, and they have a strong influence on the beliefs, values, and behavior of their members. Therefore, they can play a vital role in promoting tree growing and environmental conservation through education, advocacy, and community mobilization.

       Many faith-based organizations in Kenya have integrated environmental conservation into their teachings and activities. They promote the planting of trees as a religious duty and encourage their members to take an active role in protecting the environment. For example, some churches have established tree nurseries and encourage their members to plant trees in their homes and communities.

       Faith-based organizations in Kenya also work in partnership with government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders to promote tree growing and environmental conservation. They engage in tree planting and reforestation programs, promote sustainable land use practices, and advocate for policies that support environmental conservation. Moreover, faith-based organizations in Kenya have significant social capital and influence, which they can use to mobilize resources and promote environmental conservation. They can also use their platforms to raise awareness about the importance of environmental conservation and promote sustainable lifestyles.

The project strongly highlights the strong moral and ethical imperative for promoting these key thematic issues. Religious Leaders are uniquely positioned to inspire faith led actions in caring for the earth and their influence and inspirational power through the pulpits could provide the turning point that the country’s degraded landscape and energy demands urgently need. The calling to care for our common planet and the vulnerable poor people in our communities is getting louder hence the importance of this initiative which is grounded in the values, ethics and moral guidance of faith communities.

This is a Faith-led initiative to conserve our waters.

Our Sacred Waters is an initiative of multi-faith effort in actualizing the national Water Master Plan 2030 which is anchored on the Water Act 2016. At the congregation level it was inspired by a concern over the fast accumulating solid waste especially micro plastics and single use plastics due to the containment measures put in place to stop the spread of the Covid-19. Most of these plastic wastes end up in our oceans, lakes, rivers, streams and tributaries that meanders near our places of worship.

We realized that most plastic waste originates from households and industries that don’t practice proper waste disposal mechanisms such as waste recycle and segregation. Our Sacred Waters therefore seeks to influence behavioral change by discouraging over-dependence on plastic products and encouraging personal responsibility when it comes to consumption and waste generation.

Plastic Pollution in rivers is a menace that can only be addressed sustainably if riparian households and industries are actively involved in proper management of plastic waste and other solid wastes at individual levels. According to the holy books water symbolizes new life and faith in general and to this effect people of faith are called upon to minimize the use of this most precious natural resource. To achieve this religious leaders have introduced monthly clean up exercises in the informal settlements in a bid to create awareness on management of plastic waste, concept of minimalism and recycling resources; while bettering our living and worshiping spaces.