The O’Dowd community of staff and students brought O’Dowd’s value of kinship with creation to life in unprecedented ways for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day this April. As we increasingly hear the cry of the earth amid climate change and respond as a community to Pope Francis’ call to care for our common home, this year our Eco Leaders student group and staff showed unique knowledge and leadership to create a more beautiful future for us and our planet.
Educating
Student leaders created the Earth Day video below that combines documentary footage and education with personal stories from O’Dowd’s own Annie Prutzman and former O’Dowd teacher and Living Lab advocate Tom Tyler. Thanks to our student leaders for bringing both a global perspective personalized by O’Dowd leaders. View the O’Dowd Earth Day documentary
Engaging
Student Eco Leaders brought a combination of two of our school’s values, joy and kinship with creation, to enrich O’Dowd’s Earth Week with joyful recipes, games, and tools to encourage and educate us all in supporting a more sustainable future. You can see some of these in the teaser film they shared with students about the week. View the Eco Leaders’s Earth Week teaser:
More than a dozen activities are organized for each day, including daily overview videos (Monday – Energy, Tuesday – Land, Wednesday – Animals, Thursday – Water, Friday – Climate Action), a Home Waste Audit Challenge, scavenger hunts, quizzes, try vegan for a day, music playlists, and reference to many information resources.
Sharing Innovation
O’Dowd was given great opportunities this year to share more about our Living Lab programs, student leaders, and how our school enacts our value of kinship with creation
What does climate change demand of Catholic education? An article featured by the National Catholic Reporter highlights the ways O’Dowd students learn to care for our common home by examining this essential question Read now
Journeying With Youth Toward a Hope-Filled Future A live conversation featuring Michael Downs, O’Dowd’s Director of Justice and Kinship with Chris Kerr, Executive Director of Ignatian Solidarity Network was hosted by the Ignatian Solidarity Network Watch here
