The Anglican Climate Action Task Group will relaunch the Diocese’s Anglican Creation Care Network at St Peter’s Cathedral on the evening of Wednesday 6 March at 7pm, supported by guests including the Principal and students from Investigator College and the pioneering environmentalist Mayor of Unley, Michael Hewitson, who will deliver the keynote speech.
The event, called Creation Care: Celebration and Innovation, will focus on initiatives the Diocese is taking with its partners to carry out practical measures to improve and protect the local environment as part of a wider awareness campaign of the challenges of global warming and environmental degradation.
The Archbishop of Adelaide, the Most Reverend Geoffrey Smith, will commission Lachlan Graham as Convenor of the Anglican Creation Care Network at the event.
“There is a really strong energy around this work which we believe will prove infectious across the Diocese,” says the Rev’d Dr Steven Ogden, who leads the Climate Action Task Group.
“We also are developing connections with schools such as Investigator College, Green Adelaide, and the City of Unley who are in the forefront of wonderful local initiatives to protect and enhance the environment.”
Mayor Michael Hewitson is a practicing Anglican and one of Adelaide’s most forward-looking environmental innovators. He began his career as a microbiologist before branching into education and was first elected as mayor in 2018. In 2022 he was re-elected for a second four-year term.
Since taking office, Hewitson has led the charge to maintain a tree canopy cover target of at least 31% across the whole of Unley, reversing recent declines.
“The time for talking is over. As Mayor, I lead the charge to increase our tree canopy,” he says. “Tree cover improves property values and provides energy saving shade from our blistering summer heat.”
Unley Council is pursuing twin policies of providing incentives for private landowners to retain and plant trees as well as an accelerated council planting program.
Hewitson was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2012 for significant service to education, to the Anglican Church in Australia, and to the community of Unley.
Anglican Schools Liaison Officer Chris Prance will introduce the Principal of Investigator College, which has one of South Australia’s most innovative school environmental care programs in South Australia.
The Climate Action Task Group is keen to develop close ties with Investigator College and other Anglican schools fostering joint initiatives on the protection of ecosystems over the coming year.
The Victor Harbor-based school runs the groundbreaking Currency Creek EcoCentre, situated on nearly 10 hectares of waterfront land, which gives its students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in agriculture, science, outdoor and environmental education.
The centre is used daily, with Year 10, Year 11 and Year 12 students taking responsibility for the maintenance, monitoring and upkeep of the site, leading re-vegetation efforts through the propagation of native flora
“From facilitating Certificate-level qualifications in Horticulture, Conservation and Ecosystem Management for our Senior Years students, to offering our Early Years learners the opportunity to gain their first experience with Environmental Science, Currency Creek is an invaluable setting for real-world teaching and learning,” the school says.
