During this Season of Creation, we are looking at projects in which SCNs have helped bring “living water” to others. One of the ways we have done this is through the SCN Ministry Fund. In the recent past, the Ministry Fund supported organizations such as Bluegrass Greensource, which promotes sustainability through education and community resources. One of their efforts is to promote rain barrels, which reduce stormwater runoff that can carries soil sediment to creeks and rivers, reducing habitat for aquatic wildlife.
The Ministry Fund supports the Kentucky Watershed Watch, a volunteer-driven organization that tracks water quality in our creeks and streams. Kentucky has more miles of waterways than any other state in the lowerU.S., so water quality affects every corner of the Commonwealth. Kentucky Watershed Watch volunteers sample more than 2,000 stream locations multiple times each year, providing vital data to improve Kentucky’s streams.
New Pioneers for a Sustainable Future in Springfield, KY is another organization supported with help from the Ministry Fund. New Pioneers helps improve water quality in central Kentucky by bringing watershededucation to local schools, to their annual Springfield Green Festival, and at their summer camp. One family’s children who attended summer camp reported to New Pioneers director and SCNA Julia Gerwe-Nicholson that their children have continued to notice signs of healthy waterways long after the end of camp, such as vegetative buffers around lakes and rivers. By teaching children about local water pollution and solutions, the children are educating their families as well.
These are just a few water-related projects that the SCN Ministry Fund has helped to support. As we celebrate the Season of Creation, we will look at other ways in which we are bringing living water to others.