Youth Ministry Students are Making a Difference

Youth Ministry students and their families are working to demonstrate the ways in which they’re incorporating the lessons from their trip to Calleva into their daily lives and showing how easy it is for others to do the same.

Here are the experiences of some of our eight grade students in their own words:

Patrick Knowles: “We are caring for God’s creation by cleaning up our street, alley, and nearby woods. We are especially mindful to pick up plastic, which could wash into our waterways." (photo below)

Abby O’Brien: “We are answering Pope Francis’ call to care for God’s creation by growing many vegetables in our backyard garden. We eat some of the vegetables and share some with other friends and family members. By growing vegetables in our backyard, we are able to fulfill a duty as Catholics, by caring for God’s creation in a way we are able to!” (photo of garden below - top center)

Conor O'Brien: “My family and I take it upon ourselves to make sure we recycle when possible. We do this in order to take care of Gods gift, Earth. We hope that our efforts help keep the environment cleaner.” (photo below - top right)

Hannah Howard and her family buy produce at the Chevy Chase Farmers’ Market (photo below - bottom left)

Anna Ponchione: " Growing a backyard garden reduces the amount of miles that a truck has to travel to pick up your fruits and veggies and bring them back to your house, which will cause pollution. Growing a garden in your backyard doesn’t cause any pollution from trucks. In my backyard, we grow tomatoes and cucumbers. My family uses tomatoes to put in salads. It’s super easy to grow a garden at home.

Lindsay Derrick: Pope Francis asked all people to care for the Earth and all its creations that were given to us by God...

“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish in the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” Genesis 1:26

My family shops at the local Farmers’ Market whenever we can. Buying food from our neighborhood Farmers’ Market helps to reduce the amount of waste that goes into the environment. Buying organic foods also helps to reduce the number of chemicals released into our land, waters and air.

It is very easy to shop at our local Farmers’ Market. It makes me happy to be supporting the farmers who are there to sell the food they have grown.

Below is a picture of me at our Farmers’ Market (bottom right) buying fruits and vegetables and a picture at home of me peeling the corn we bought (bottom center). I hope that more families will take the time to buy from a local Farmers’ Market each week too.