Articles

Enjoy Nature and Care for God’s Creation

Mar 30, 2022
Bonnie Kittle, Unsplash - lavender plants

Photo: Bonnie Kittle, Unsplash

Nature in its essence is the embodiment of My Name, the Maker, the Creator. 

Its manifestations are diversified by varying causes, and in this diversity there are signs for men of discernment. 

Nature is God’s Will and is its expression in and through the contingent world. It is a dispensation of Providence ordained by the Ordainer, the All-Wise. “

Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh

by Christine Muller

We all can contribute to nurture nature in some ways. If you live in a city, perhaps you can grow some herbs in a pot on your balcony, or plant a native flowering bush, a tree, or wildflowers in a small front yard. If you want to grow some of your own food in a city where the soil may be contaminated with lead, you may consider container gardening. If you have a yard, you may like to plant some berry bushes or even start a small garden. All these actions provide food for bees and butterflies, habitat for other wildlife, and some food for your own kitchen. Moreover, you will feed the souls of everyone passing by. Lawns can also serve humans and nature if they contain beautiful and diverse wildflowers such as clover and dandelions. Pesticides and herbicides are weapons of war against nature. They are effective killers of our precious and dwindling diversity of plants and animals, and also of humans who are exposed to increasing amounts of carcinogens. Enjoy nature and healthy gardening this season!

Some information about container gardening:

Vegetable Container Gardening for Beginners

10 Container Garden Tips for Beginners

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Christine Muller, Piano Teacher

Board Secretary, International Environment Forum

I was interested in environmental issues already at a young age and became a Bahá’í when I was 17, which was the beginning of a life-long study of the Bahá’í Faith. As the environmental crisis was worsening, I began to systematically study climate change at a time when not much information was easily available. I also searched the Bahá’í teachings for a spiritual solution to the climate crisis. At that time, climate change was not known to most people and there were no educational materials available. That’s why I wrote Scientific and Spiritual Dimensions of Climate Change – an Interfaith Study Course, which the International Environment Forum posted in 2009. I joined the Wilmette Institute as support faculty for its Sustainable Development course in 2011 and created its Climate Change course the following year. I served on the board of RI Interfaith Power&Light for nine years and currently serve on the board of the Bahá’í-inspired International Environment Forum (iefworld.org). My academic background is in music and I enjoy part-time piano teaching and playing music. I would have done more in the area of music were it not for the urgency of climate action, but my musical training has helped me to better understand the complexity of the climate crisis. Christine’s articles on BahaiTeachings.orgSee Faculty Bio

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