By Nuwagaba Innocent |Laudato Si Club of Holy Cross Lake View S.S.S| September 26, 2025

Our world is a paradox of boundless beauty and profound crisis. At the opening of the great ecological conversation, Laudato Si’, Pope Francis reminds us that our “Sister, Mother Earth” is a source of life and nourishment. Yet today, her agonizing cry is the most immediate challenge of our time. Rivers choke on plastic, forests vanish daily, and unpredictable weather pushes millions into uncertainty. If the Earth is to be saved, it will be the vision, energy, and conscience of the youth that leads the charge. This task is not about waiting for political leaders or distant institutions; it is about embracing a new vocation, a Global Ecological Conversion, that begins in your heart and spreads through your community.

I Have a Story to Tell

A story that will leave you with the desire to create your own story about our Mother Earth.

My story begins not in a huge city, but in the middle of an ancient forest, a place my grandmother called “The Breathing Heart.” As a child, I spent time there, not with screens or gadgets, but with my hands in the cool earth, listening to the rustle of leaves and the distant call of a hawk.

My grandmother, with her weathered hands and eyes that held the wisdom of generations, taught me to see the forest not as a collection of trees, but as a living, breathing entity.

She showed me how the roots of different trees intertwined beneath the soil, sharing nutrients and water — a silent network of cooperation. Based on the way she used them to treat me, the trees became my doctors. She taught me that even the smallest insect played a vital role, and that every fallen leaf returned its life to the earth, completing a perfect, endless cycle.

When the Forest Burned

One uncomfortably hot afternoon, or call it a very sweltering one,  a wildfire, sparked by human carelessness, raged through a section of The Breathing Heart.

The air filled with smoke, and the vibrant greens turned to a lonely, desolate place. My grandmother, usually so composed, wept.
“The heart is wounded,” she whispered, “but it is not broken. It will heal, if we help it.”

That day, something shifted within me. The abstract concept of “environmental crisis” became intensely personal.

I saw the pain in my grandmother’s eyes, the devastation in the charred landscape, and I understood that this wasn’t just about statistics or scientific reports — it was about loss, about a wound inflicted upon something sacred. I saw my doctor, my source of peace, food, and happiness, reduced to ash.

From Witness to Warrior: My Ecological Conversion

The healing of The Breathing Heart became my first lesson in ecological conversion. It wasn’t a grand, sudden revelation, but a gradual awakening, a deepening of my connection to the Earth.

I started small.

I organized neighborhood clean-ups,  not just picking up trash, but talking to people about why it mattered. I learned about composting, turning our family’s food waste into rich soil for our small garden. I researched sustainable practices, devoured books on permaculture, and even joined a small school club dedicated to environmental awareness.

My friends, initially skeptical, slowly began to join me. We planted saplings in the scarred forest, each tiny tree a symbol of hope and resilience. We learned about local ecosystems, advocating for the protection of a nearby wetland that was threatened by development.

We used our voices, writing letters to local officials, organizing peaceful protests, and sharing our stories on social media.
We discovered that our individual actions, when combined with the actions of others, created a powerful ripple effect.

Your Story, Your Power

This is where your story begins.

You don’t need to live next to an ancient forest to feel the call of Mother Earth. Look around you.
Is there a park that needs tending?
A river that needs cleaning?
A community that needs educating?

The ecological crisis is not a distant problem; it is in your backyard, your school, your daily choices.

We are all called to be stewards of creation. Your ecological conversion may start with a small step, but every step matters. Let your story begin, and let it be one that brings healing, hope, and harmony to our wounded Earth. This Season of Creation 2025. Learn more about the Laudato Si Club of Holy Cross Lake View S.S.S