Environmental Guild

To join an online meeting contact enviro@stdave.org.
We meet about once a quarter to plan events, share ideas, and develop strategies to further our “greening” efforts.

Latest News

• 
  Environmental Guild Harvesting “Holy Honey”
  Coming soon to Café Divine Curbside – bottled sunshine! It’s honey from Barking Dog Ranch in Lockhart, home to the beehives sponsored by St David’s Environmental … Continue reading →Read more

Our Mission Statement

We believe that God entrusted all of creation to our safekeeping and that we are therefore called to be responsible stewards of God’s beloved earth. Accordingly, St. David’s commits to take an ever active and holistic approach to environmental stewardship through education, service, and sustainable practices. The Environmental Guild and Garden Guild are two energetic, friendly, and multi-generational groups of parishioners who take seriously our call as Christians to care for creation.

What we do

• Recycle batteries, small electronics, eyeglasses, ink cartridges, wine corks, pens and glue sticks, CD cases and more – check out our labeled drawers in the church lobby! See our June 5, Recycling Update.
• Tend the native flowering gardens on St. David’s campus. The Garden Guild meets the third Saturday of each month, 8:30-10:30. For more information contact John Touchet.
• Maintain Beehives at Barking Dog Ranch in Lockhart, TX. To learn about periodic visits and harvesting times contact enviro@stdave.org.
• Produce an annual Earth Day Celebration.
• Publish helpful articles and “green” tips in church publications.
• Coordinate recycling and waste-reduction efforts at the church.
• Network with other religious institutions and organizations to further our mission.
• Host speakers on environmental topics.

Environmental Guild Speaker Podcasts

• Poverty & Trees: What’s the Connection? Valerie Foulkes, Plant with Purpose
• Seeing Green through Human Eyes: An Exploration of Laudato Si’, Fr. Louis Brusatti, St. Edward’s University
• Seeing Green in Your Own Kitchen: Composting for a Cleaner Earth, Susanne Harm, Austin Resource Recovery
• Embracing Our Earth Series:
  • Science, Christianity, and the Concept of Stewardship, by Genaro Lopez, Ph.D.
  • Contemplative Beekeeping, by Jason Minnix
  • Food Justice Means Environmental Justice, by Ronda Rutledge

What we have done

Spring 2019:
Earth Day Celebration
Sunday, April 28,
8:30 a.m- 12:30 p.m.
We celebrated our glorious planet and our stewardship of it: New this year, there was a silent auction of eco-friendly items – art, gift certificates, a veggie box and more. Citizens Climate Lobby, a national initiative, will have a table, and St. David’s own Lydia Heisel demonstrated her Girl Scout Gold Award project to improve sustainability for St. David’s Youth Group. Gardening questions were answered by the Travis County Master Gardeners, and information was provided about Austin city programs for conservation and sustainability – especially a new, free class on solar arrays for residential roofs (with a $2,500 rebate!). Our popular beekeepers were also there. The early Bethell service was held on the labyrinth followed at 10:30 a.m. by a rededication of the church’s solar array on the deck. 

Completed a rigorous environmental certification program offered by GreenFaith (the first church in Texas to be named a GreenFaith Sanctuary).
Coordinated a ten-year-long effort with St. David’s staff to install solar panels on the garage roof (the largest solar array in downtown Austin).
Achieved National Wildlife Certification for the Labyrinth in 2011.
Continue to be a City of Austin Green Business Partner (Platinum level) since 2012.
Won the 2012 Keep Austin Beautiful Award for Recycling and Waste Reduction.