The Judeo-Christian scriptures reveal to us a glimpse into God’s intended order of creation. We also learn and appreciate the interconnectedness of humankind and nature as portrayed in the two creation accounts: God charged us with the dual responsibility to have dominion and protect his creation (Cf. Gen. 1:26-29; 2: 7-24). In Replenishing the Earth, Wangari Maathai puts it well when she says our interconnectedness with nature is so critical that humankind would perish without nature; but interestingly, nature can subsist without humankind. The creation narratives reveal another critical, albeit subtle, aspect about nature: It is regenerative. In other words, God made creatures in such a way that they can multiply in order to sustain human life.

Environmental integrity essentially refers to the expected relationship between humankind and nature in hindsight of the order of creation, which reveals the interconnectedness and regenerative dimensions of nature. However, the imminent ecological crisis only reveals how much we have ignored these critical two-fold dimensions of nature going by the scale of human activity around us: indiscriminate tree cutting, bush burning, irregular fishing, and plastic pollution, etc. Consequently, the earth has reiterated with deep cries of form of desertification, warm temperatures, erratic weather patterns, rainfall variability and flash floods only to be presumed as natural calamities. So they are, but to what extent have we contributed to their occurrence? What are we doing to reduce on the likelihood of their recurrence?

Inspired by the spirit and tone of Laudato Si’, young people across the world have taken up the responsibility to remind the world about our dependence on nature; and hence our obligation to care for it. The Laudato Youth Initiative (LYI) is one such group of young people driven to create greener and healthier spaces. Pope Francis proposes change as the most fundamental remedy for combating ecological crisis: We need to embrace new attitudes towards nature.

Through climate education of young people in schools, universities and parishes, LYI advocates for care of the environment and, creative and sustainable ways of using resources through the 3 Rs: Reducing, Recycling and Reusing. For instance, Tyra Nabakooza, a high school student at Holy Cross Lake View Secondary School in Uganda applies her arts skills to reuse plastics into flower vessels and stationery holders, which she also attests as a constructive way of spending her time.

Through their Laudato Si Clubs, students engage in planting indigenous and fruit trees, which they nurture to ensure growth. For learners like Tyra, it is evident that by striving to restore environmental integrity, young people can also equip and empower themselves with life skills, such as creativity and innovation, which subsequently protects them from engaging in self-destructive behavior. This underscores a likely relationship between environmental education of young people and integral human development, which may require further exploration.

Augustine Bahemuka
Researcher – Laudato Youth Initiate