Eco-project Overview
A growing number of congregations and faith-based organizations (e.g. camps) are engaged in sustained efforts to make their settings sustainable, educational, and inspiring. Below are examples of Iowa-based projects created with a focus on sustainability, climate change, resilience, ecological care, and/or education.
Start a Project
Feeling inspired to do something similar in your setting? Reach out to an organization’s contact person. If one isn’t listed, contact the organization’s office.
You can also connect with our team about your idea. We’d love to help you take the next steps!
Submit Your Project
Has your organization installed solar or a heat pump? Do you have a prairie, community garden, or bioswale on your property? Have your members worked together to increase resilience in your faith community and beyond? Tell us about your project using this form so we can add it to the map.
Iowa Faith-based Eco-project Map
- Solar Panels
- Geothermal
- Energy Efficiency / Cool Congregations
- Other
We had an Environmental Stewardship committee for many years, starting sometime in the 1990s. After tackling all of the "low hanging fruit" and a wider church committee restructuring, the group became less formally organized. Over the years we supported the installation of a geothermal system, lighting upgrades, waste reduction (minimal use of disposable plates/utensils), etc. We continue to work on uplifting environmental responsibility. We host an annual Earth Sunday celebration that features free heirloom tomatoes started by one of our members and has also included things like e-waste and CFL collections, worm castings fertilizer sales, recycling updates from our community and anything else that seems timely. We also have an annual outdoor worship service where we celebrate God's creation.
The Iowa UMC conference published a story about our solar project when it was installed which includes some details of the installation. You can read that article at https://www.iaumc.org/newsdetail/grinnell-umc-goes-solar-17495682
Since the solar array came online, it has succeeded in reducing our power bills by more than 50%. Combined with our geothermal system, the line item in our budget to heat our very large and 130 year old building, which is all electric, is $10,000. Our most recent success: our lighting is now 100% LED lighting.
Our environmental stewardship at Grinnell UMC goes back several decades and is something that a large number of people in the congregation have been involved with and are very committed to continuing. While we don't have an active "green team", many of us see caring for creation as a part of our identity as a congregation.
