Earth Care Initiative

This group meets to discuss, plan, and execute projects that will ease the burden of climate change on our planet, acting locally. Let us know if you are interested in joining the core team, which meets monthly, or want to be added to the list of those interested in keeping up with our activities.

Earth-care Team Action Alert!
Recycle your Electronics at Church on June 7 and 14!

1 st UU’s very own, Mike Kane, working with Tech4Troops, will transport the donations to Tech4Troops who will use R2 certified responsible recycling methods to dismantle or upcycle the equipment.

What can I bring to Church on June 7 or 14?
Phones, Computers, Laptops, … This website provides acomprehensive list of acceptable items. Please disable & deactivate memory devices & Apple devices.

Electronics are fast contributors to our global e-waste, but up to 95% of the components can be recycled, upcycled & reused. By contributing your devices, you are supporting both a key environmental issue and our Veterans! Tech4Troops empowers under-resourced Veterans and their families by offering sustainable lifelong digital skills through training, education and technology support.

Past Initiatives – May 

Community garden with sunflowers and raised beds in front of residential buildings under a partly cloudy sky.May’s Share-The-Plate recipient is Alice Fitz Community Garden

One of the Richmond’s more recent community gardens, Alice Fitz Community Garden was founded in Manchester by neighborhood residents in 2019. The garden currently has twenty individual plots, two community beds, a large pollinator garden, flower beds, and multiple fruit trees. In 2024, a grant from the City’s Public Art Commission provided funding for the construction of a tool shed and shelter over the garden entrance that houses several mutual aid stations, including a free seed library. The shed and shelter will eventually highlight the neighborhood’s history through imagery and text.

 

Past Perennial Events and Initiatives – April

Earth Care Service: “Return the Blessing” by Rev. Anna Tulou. – April 19 2026

Some elements of the service included:

Opening Hymn: #203 “All Creatures”

Elements chant:

Earth my body

Water my blood

Air my breath

And fire my spirit

Closing Hymn: #1064 “Blue Boat Home”

Earth Day Buy Nothing was Saturday April 18! See pictures.

Logo with the text "Friends of Byrd Park" on a light green background.

April’s Share-The-Plate recipient was Friends of Byrd Park
The Friends of Byrd Park are citizen stewards of Byrd Park, listed on the National Register of Historic Place, and at 275 acres, the largest park in the City of Richmond.

We’re pleased that the Share the Plate Committee selected Friends of Byrd Park (FOBP) as the recipient for April. To help connect First UU with the Park, the Earth Care Team is sponsoring short adventures in the Park after services on April 12, 19, and 26.

Want to explore how the FOBP is using naturalist approaches to maintaining and beautifying the Park? Bring your walking shoes and meet us in the lobby at 11:15. We’ll have you back at church within the hour. Families welcome!

  • April 19: Reforested area near the picnic shelter
  • April 26: Carillon Mall

UUMFE’s 2026 Earth Day Worship Service happens on Wednesday, April 22nd at 5 pm PT/ 6 pm MT/ 7 pm CT/ 8 pm ET on Zoom. Our service will weave music, meditation, poetry, storytelling, and theological reflection on this year’s theme, “Sentience Surrounds Us.”

Earth Day event graphic with butterfly and text about the event details.

Transcribed Text:

Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth
Sentience Surrounds Us
AN EARTH DAY WORSHIP RITUAL
8:00 pm EDT • 7:00 pm CDT • 6:00 pm MDT • 5:00 pm PDT
APRIL 22

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